Kelly Cates opened the first episode on 8 August 2015, ushering Channel 5 back into English league football after a three-year absence. The rights deal, struck for a reported £1 million a year, guaranteed highlights of the Championship, League One, League Two and both domestic cups would air at 9 pm, deliberately ahead of Match of the Day. Early editions experimented with a studio audience, a gimmick binned within weeks, and the show soon settled into a straight highlights format fronted by George Riley and later Colin Murray.
Production company Sunset + Vine inherited much of the BBC’s old talent pool: Paul Walker’s dry commentary returned, while pundits rotated through Adam Virgo, Michael Gray, Gus Poyet and Alex McLeish. Ratings hovered around 300,000, a fifth of what the BBC had delivered, and sponsors Sky Bet, Ginsters and Evans Halshaw found themselves underwriting a programme quietly dropped when the contract expired in May 2018. Quest picked up the baton for the following season, leaving Channel 5’s football portfolio once again limited to Serie A and the occasional Europa League night.
Production Details
Channel 5 / 3 Seasons / 42 Episodes / 2015
Main Cast
