- The upcoming ITV series will cover the 2023/24 British National Hunt season
- Mail Sport columnist Ed Chamberlin suggests the series will attract new fans
- Racing is eager to match the success of series like Drive to Survive and Full Swing.
The great and good of British jump racing, along with several other famous faces, gathered at BAFTA for the premiere of the sport’s long-awaited documentary series.
Champions: Full Gallop will debut on ITV1 at 9pm on Friday and the potential to attract a new audience to racing from a prime-time slot is huge; episodes two and three of the six-part series will be available to download on ITVX immediately following the first broadcast.
If the reaction is as well-received as that of an audience that included Radio Two presenter Vernon Kay, former England star Peter Crouch, Ashes-winning player Darren Gough, The Chase’s Anne Hegerty and a number of social media influencers, Champions will be a success.
The premise of the programme is to tell the story of the 2023/24 British National Hunt season from a completely different perspective, offering candid insights and remarkable stories.
The campaign, which saw Willie Mullins become the first Irish-based champion trainer in 70 years, was exciting and has the potential to have widespread appeal.
Peter Crouch (centre, with jockeys 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 peek behind the curtain”
Top coaches such as Dan Skelton and Paul Nicholls (left: left and right) and Venetia Williams were present in force.
Mail Sport columnist Ed Chamberlin (centre) suggested the series would attract new fans.
“There were a lot of ‘oohs’ and a lot of ‘aahs’. Isn’t that exactly what you expect from your TV on a Friday night?” Kay asked an audience of more than 200 people, which included ITV presenter and Mail Sport columnist Ed Chamberlin. “I loved it!”
Crouch, who has played for Liverpool, Tottenham and Stoke among others, is now a keen horse racing fan who will attend all the major festivals if his schedule allows. However, he has vowed to immerse himself in this production, after leaving the auditorium ecstatic.
“I don’t know all the ins and outs of racing,” he said. “But honestly, after that I’ll be totally into it. It’s great. I’ve watched a lot of sports documentaries and what I’d most like to know are the things you’d never dream of seeing. That was a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.”
Chamberlin added: “My goodness, I enjoyed that. They really know how to tell a story, don’t they? 9pm on a Friday night is Tess Daly, Ant and Dec time. To have races in that situation is really exciting and I hope people enjoy it.
Other great sportsmen who were present included the English Ashes-winning bowler, Darren Gough.
‘I’m watching Tour de France: Unchained at the moment; I have a 15-year-old and an 18-year-old who have just watched Wimbledon. They’d never watched Wimbledon before, but they did this year because they knew the characters from the tennis documentary.
“There have been others, like rugby, golf and Full Swing. Now the public will have the opportunity to find out who (the jockeys) Gavin (Sheehan) are, who Nico (De Boinville) are and others, and I think the public will connect with them.”
Champions: Full Gallop will air on ITV1 at 9pm on Friday. Episodes two and three will be available to stream live on ITVX immediately afterwards.