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  Format Entertainment
  Runtime 30 minutes
  Starring David Baddiel ,<br> Frank Skinner
  Channel BBC Two
  First Aired January 1994
  Last Aired May 1996<br>(specials in 1998 and 2004)
  Producer Avalon Television
  Related '' Baddiel And Skinner Unplanned ''
  Imdb Id 0108769


''Fantasy Football League'' was a British Television programme hosted by Frank Skinner and David Baddiel . It began on BBC Radio 5 which was hosted by Dominik Diamond before transferring to BBC 2 , with three series being broadcast from January 1994 to May 1996. The show then moved to ITV for live specials on alternate nights throughout 1998 World Cup and then again through the 2004 European Championship . It is not known if the show is likely to return in the future, although Baddiel and Skinner continue to link up together on other projects.


FORMAT

The format was originally heavily reliant on an actual Fantasy Football league, made up of teams picked by regular guest celebrities at the point that the game became popular in the mid-1990s. Each week, one or more of the celebrities would appear on the show and chat about football and their fantasy line-ups. As the show progressed on television, however, the fantasy league was pushed to the background in favour of sketches and clips, and was eventually dropped altogether. The latter shows still had guest appearances, from the likes of Nick Hornby , Damon Albarn , Peter Cook etc.

The television set was designed as a mock-up of the London flat where the hosts were purported to live (the two did indeed share a flat for some years, and the set was partially inspired by it), the idea being to represent the environment in which normal "lads" watch football at home. Celebrity guests would stand outside the "front door" of the set and ring the "doorbell" (always prompting Baddiel or Skinner to wonder out loud, "Who could ''that'' be?") before being let in and announced.

In the 'kitchen' area stood the third regular on the show, Angus Loughran , referred to only as "Statto". Clad only in a dressing gown and Pyjamas , he would dispense footballing facts and statistics on demand, particularly in the early shows when the fantasy league element was strongest. He was the butt of many of Frank and David's jokes, and was often made fun of for being apparently dull and naive, but quickly became an audience favourite (with chants of "Statto! Statto!" becoming common later in the run).

Other recurring moments in the show included:
  • Phoenix from the Flames - David and Frank recreate a famous moment from footballing history, usually with a retired pro or other famous footballing figure.

  • Jeff Astle Sings - the late former West Bromwich Albion player (and Frank's idol) Jeff Astle would come in at the end of the show and lead the guests in an improbable rendition of a classic song over the credits. A minute's silence was broadcast on the show in his memory in Euro 2004 after he died two years earlier, and various ex-players (eg Simon Garner , Brian Kilcline ) continued the tradition by singing on the show.

  • The Big Hello - David and Frank would announce that they were going to say a 'Big Hello' to someone (usually some relatively obscure person with a connection to football) who would then say 'hello' on a pre-recorded video clip. The whole studio would then reply with a very loud (big!) "HELLO".



MEMORABLE MOMENTS

  • Skinner and Baddiel performed a sketch with toys, using a Mr Potato Head to portray Nottingham Forest manager Frank Clark and a toy footballer with a (genuine) pineapple on top to portray Forest striker Jason Lee and his unusual hairstyle. This led to Lee suffering torrents of abuse from fans at actual matches, including chants like "He's got a pineapple, on his head, he's got a pineapple, on his head!" (to the tune of He's Got The Whole World In His Hands by Laurie London).

  • The programme featured a parody of Eric Cantona's assault on a Crystal Palace fan. Statto began to talk about the Five Nations Rugby , a member of the audience (who was part of the sketch) heckled him from the front row with a chant of "boring, boring Statto", and Statto flung himself slippers first into the audience.

  • On one of the 1998 World Cup special episodes Johnny Rotten featured as a guest, but was ejected during the commercial break after becoming overly aggressive with the hosts.

  • Jimmy Greaves and Ian St John (Saint and Greavsie) made a rare appearance back together as guests on the show during Euro 2004 . St John admitted in his autobiography he had not enjoyed the experience.



GUESTS

The show was noted for its guests, which were a mixture of football people and celebrities.


THEME SONG

The show's theme song consisted of the words "Fantasy Football League" sung over and over to the tune of "Back Home", the England National Football Team 's official song from the 1970 World Cup . Various segments in the show (such as '' Saint and Greavsie Talk About The Endsleigh League As If It's Important'' and ''Phoenix From The Flames'') would be introduced by having their titles sung over the same music, as would the names of any guests as they made their way into the "flat".


UNOFFICIAL VOICE OF WORLD CUP 2006


Baddiel & Skinner worked with Skinner's production company Avalon Television and '' The Times '' to produce a series of podcasts covering the 2006 FIFA World Cup . {Link without Title}


EXTERNAL LINKS