- The upcoming ITV series will cover the 2023/24 British National Hunt season
- Mail Sport columnist Chamberlin suggested the series will attract new fans
- Sport wants to match the success of series such as Drive to Survive and Full Swing
The greats and gentlemen of British obstacle racing – along with a host of other famous faces – gathered at BAFTA for the premiere of the highly anticipated documentary series about the sport.
Champions: Full Gallop premieres on ITV1 at 9pm on Friday and has huge potential to attract a new audience to primetime racing. Episodes two and three of the six-part series will be available to download on ITVX immediately after the first broadcast.
If the response is as well received as it was by the audience, which included Radio Two presenter Vernon Kay, former England star Peter Crouch, Ashes-winning bowler Darren Gough, The Chase’s Anne Hegerty and a number of social media influencers, then Champions will be a hit.
The premise of the programme is to tell the story of the 2023/24 British National Hunt season from a completely different perspective, one that offers candid insights and remarkable stories. The campaign, which saw Willie Mullins become Ireland’s first Champion Trainer in 70 years, was breathtaking and has the rich potential to have broad appeal.
‘There were lots of ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ and isn’t that exactly what you want from your TV on a Friday night?’ Kay asked an audience of more than 200 people, including ITV presenter and Mail Sport columnist Ed Chamberlin. ‘I thought it was great!’
Peter Crouch (centre, with L-R Harry Skelton, Bryony Frost, Nico de Boinville, Harry Cobden, Gavin Sheehan and Sean Bowen) praised Champions: Full Gallop for giving racing fans ‘a glimpse behind the scenes’
Top trainers such as Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls (left: left and right) and Venetia Williams were present in large numbers
Mail Sport columnist Ed Chamberlin (centre) suggested the series will attract new fans
Crouch, once of Liverpool, Tottenham and Stoke, is now an avid racegoer who will attend all the major festivals if his schedule allows, but he has vowed to immerse himself in this production after leaving the auditorium in raptures.
“I don’t know everything about racing,” he said. “But honestly, I’m all for it. It’s awesome. I’ve watched a lot of sports documentaries and all I want to know is the stuff you’d never dream of seeing. That was a real behind-the-scenes look.”
Chamberlin added: ‘My goodness, I’ve enjoyed it. They can really tell a story, can’t they? On Friday night at 9pm it’s Tess Daly, Ant and Dec! It’s really exciting to race in that situation and I hope people enjoy it.
Other sporting greats in attendance included Ashes-winning England bowler Darren Gough
‘I’m watching Tour De France: Unchained at the moment; I’ve got a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old who just watched Wimbledon. They’d never watched Wimbledon before, but they did this year because they knew the characters from the tennis documentary.
“You’ve had others; you’ve had rugby, you’ve had Full Swing with golf. Now the public will get a chance to know who (jockeys) Gavin (Sheehan) is, who Nico (De Boinville) and others are and I think the public will connect with them.”
Champions: Full Gallop airs on ITV1 at 9pm on Fridays, with episodes two and three streaming live on ITVX straight after