Saint and Greavsie

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Saint and Greavsie was a popular double act between two famous ex-footballers. It is best remembered for the cult ITV show, Saint and Greavsie, that ran in its own right from 1985 to 1992. Previously the duo had presented "On the Ball" in the World of Sport show.

[edit] Format

Although Jimmy Greaves and Ian St John had been contemporaries in the 1960s football world, they had never played for the same club and were English and Scottish respectively. However, a bond was quickly struck up and a long-running partnership soon began. Greaves had only recently won his battle against alcoholism when he began co-presenting but he was forever cracking his unique brand of gags that would have the audience either laughing or crying. Jokes about Scottish goalkeepers were a particular favourite, in a bid to wind up straight man St John.

The show was normally broadcast shortly after 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, a point when much of its target audience were on their way to a match. At various points of the 30-minute show there would be goal round-ups, with ITV having exclusive rights to Football League action from 1988-1992. Other main components of the show included features on clubs from both England and Scotland and a look ahead at the main games from the weekend (with particular emphasis on any live match ITV would be showing). In later years, the introduction to the show began with St John and Greaves as cigarette cards from their playing days on the opening credits.

Although the show predominantly dealt with football, it also covered sports such as cricket and boxing, with interviewees including Mike Tyson and Chris Eubank.

When Greaves was ill at Christmas 1990, he was replaced in successive episodes by a puppet modelled on him from Spitting Image, a show he had often featured on.

In 1991-92, the Rumbelows Cup draw was broadcast on Saint and Greavsie. The quarter-finals were drawn by Donald Trump when the duo were out in America for a programme looking at how the USA was preparing for World Cup 1994.

[edit] The End of an Era

Football on ITV was dealt a major blow in the summer of 1992 when they lost the rights to the newly-formed Premier League to Sky Sports. At the same time, Saint and Greavsie was axed from the schedules. The final programmes were broadcast from Sweden during Euro 92, with the pair singing "This could be the last time" in the final credits.

The pair did not present under this name again but continued to link up together. They occasionally presented Champions League preview shows together and both remained employed by ITV for several years. They also hosted the topical show, Sport in Question together.

In 2004, Saint and Greavsie were studio guests in an episode of Fantasy Football Euro 2004, when they were described as the "godfathers" of football comedy by Frank Skinner and David Baddiel. In earlier years they had been parodied in sketches on the show. St John criticised Baddiel and Skinner in his autobiography, The Saint, following their appearance on the show.

In 2006, Saint and Greavsie released a DVD quiz, featuring retro football action.