by elliott west
Probably the most iconic television programme in snooker was Pot Black. The show ran on the BBC from 1969 until 1986 with a short format, players would play one frame in each programme and progress until the ultimate winner won the title. Pot Black was special because it was trialed to test the first use of colour on television. Commissioned by David Attenborough, then Controller of BBC television, it acted as a visual testcard for viewers allowing them to preview snooker in a new realistic light instead of the dull grainy images of black and white pictures.
This was the first time that snooker fans got to see their heroes play on the green baize with the likes of Eddie Charlton, Alex Higgins, Ray Reardon, John Spencer and Ray Reardon gracing the stage and battling to make it to the next stage. With a catchy theme tune using the ragtime music “Black and White Rag” presenters such as Keith Macklin, Alan Weeks and David Vine, filled in the viewers at the start and end of the programme. Sadly the show ended in 1986 after producing an adult and junior version and a brief return to the tour a few years ago held at the Automobile Club in London.
The purpose of this blog is to revive the spirit of Pot Black and bring it back to our screens. With the snooker season about to end in May, there is a month window for a new version of this programme to be revived. Rather like the end of the football season, fans go into a melancholic state when their favourite sport is off air and so I really feel there is a niche in the market. People may not agree with my broadcaster choice but I believe that Eurosport is the natural choice. Branded as the “home of snooker”; Eurosport already shows the vast majority of the tour events. With an expert team of presenters and commentators Pot Black would be ideal on this channel. Joe Johnson, Neil Foulds and Jimmy White all played on the original show and are obvious choices to provide similar roles. The programme could be fronted by Colin Murray or Andy Goldstein.
Played over an hour each week the tournament could be easily completed over a month and the winner would receive ranking points. They would then get to play the junior champion who had won the junior version on the other Eurosport channel for the ultimate title of Pot Black Champion. Not only would this raise the profiles of players but it would also showcase the talent and skill of the junior fields; our future stars of the snooker world.
Pot Black is missed and ask any fan for a memorable snooker programme or theme tune and this will always be at the top of the memory list. It works because it has a simple format and the running time is brief. Unlike a match viewers are treated to a snippet of snooker and can walk away when the hour has completed. Unlike a new format it is tried and tested and so the formula is already there. Also by using Eurosport as the broadcaster, one gets to expand the market of the programme, exporting it across Europe and using mother tongued crews to present.
I don’t want Pot Black to fade away into our distant memories and this is our chance to fill the void and bring back a national treasure. Snooker is expanding but the rebirth of Pot Black will educate the viewers, especially new, young viewers, who probably won’t recognise the show’s purpose, let alone its title. Sometimes we get bored of the humdrum of the main tour and so Pot Black would bring back a breath of fresh air to the sport. We all deserve a bright future and this is definitely a way of opening up a closed shop, one that can be opened again with Pot Black’s key.
