Going for a Song

Host

Tony Ross (1965)

Max Robertson (1965-77)

Hugh Scully (stand-in, 1977)

Michael Parkinson (1995-99)

Anne Robinson (2000)

Michael Aspel (2001-02)

Co-hosts

Expert:
Arthur Negus (1965-77)
Eric Knowles (1995-2002)

Team Captains:
Tony Slattery (1995-97)
Leslie Ash (1995)
Mariella Frostrup (1996-97)
Helen Lederer (1996)
Penelope Keith (1997-98)
Kit Hesketh-Harvey (1998-2000)
Penny Smith (1999-2000)
Dr Mark Porter (2001-02)
Rachel de Thame (2001-02)

Broadcast

BBC1 South (regional), 31 March to 7 July 1965 (15 episodes in 1 series)

BBC Bristol for BBC1, 6 October 1965 to 16 October 1977 (up to 206 episodes in 13 series)

Maverick Television and BBC Pebble Mill for BBC1, 29 August 1995 to 3 February 2002 (348 episodes in 8 series)

Synopsis

Antiques guessing game that carried Arthur Negus to fame as the show's resident expert, and this was all in the days before Antiques Roadshow.

However, British law has changed since then and now all antiques game shows are obliged to include the word "Great" or "Going" in the title and feature Eric Knowles as an authority. (OK, except Bargain Hunt. We'll give you that.)

In the middle of the format, there was an "identify the mystery object" round. But the meat of the show was about discussing specific antiques. The teams of panellists took turns to identify the nature, materials, age etc. of the objects d'art, and most importantly take a stab at the value. The expert would then give a mini lecture about the piece before revealing the correct answers.

Inventor

John King

Theme music

First movement from Respighi's suite Gli Uccelli (The Birds).

Trivia

Our episode count is slightly unclear: 14 episodes aired on Tuesday afternoons during 1972. They might be repeats, but aren't marked as repeats in the Radio Times, so we've listed them as new episodes.

Alongside Call My Bluff, BBC Four repeated episodes from the original Robertson/Negus run from 12 August to 16 September 2024. Well we say Robertson/Negus. For the last of these, future Antiques Roadshow host Hugh Scully deputised as Robertson was unavailable. This episode, first broadcast in 1977, was recorded in Stratfield Saye House; we suspect this series may have gone on tour à la early Mastermind. Face the Music took over from 23 September.