Description

Bloomsbury presents BBC Sports Report written and read by Pat Murphy

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023 SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR

Sports Report is as much a 75year history of sport as a BBC radio institution and Pat Murphy pays handsome tribute to a programme that is still followed affectionately by millions

For nearly 75 years one BBC programme has been a constant factor in chronicling the way sport is covered in all its many facets It has been a window on the sporting world all over the globe packed tightly into every Saturday evening for the bulk of the year

First broadcast in 1948 Sports Report is the longestrunning radio sporting programme in the world and one of the BBCs hardy perennials Pat Murphy has been a reporter on the programme since 1981 and here he sifts comprehensively through the experiences of his contemporaries and those who made their mark on Sports Report in earlier decades

He hears from commentators reporters producers presenters and the production teams who regularly achieved the broadcasting miracle of getting a live programme on air without a script adapting as the hour of news reaction and comment unfolded

Drawing on unique access from the BBC Archives Unit he highlights memorable moments from Sports Report details the challenges faced in getting live interviews on air from draughty noisy dressingroom areas and celebrates the feat of just a small production team in the studio who somehow get the show up and running every Saturday with the clock ticking implacably on