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Television Shows featuring Skiing / Wintersports

Below is a list of all the programmes relating to winter sports that we're aware of. If you can remember any others then let us know.

Ski Sunday - BBC2 - 1978 to Present

Still going ? Yes.

The daddy of British winter-sports programmes, it's been the staple-diet of British ski fans since it's introduction back in the 70's following the beeb's popular coverage of the Innsbruck Winter Olympics. It's struggled for a number of years since the halcyon days of the legendary David Vine, but the arrival of Graham Bell and Ed Leigh seem to have given it a bit of a kick up the backside and there are signs of it regaining it's appeal. The magic interactive red button allows access to further race highlights. Shame they can't make the actual show at least 60 minutes long though rather than trying to cram it all into a shorter slot. And will someone please try and explain why on earth it can't be scheduled to start at the beginning of the ski race calendar, rather than halfway through it, or make it last until the end of the season !?!

The Jump - Channel 4 - 2014 to Present

Still going ? Yes.

When Channel 4 first start advertising their Celebrity-Winter-Sports TV programme at the start of 2014, little did they know the carnage that the show was about to unleash on the watching British public.

Whilst many viewers originally expressed their dismay that the celebs weren't hurtling off a 90m hill but opting for a K15 instead, they soon realised why as the show highlighted just how impressive the professionals are at what they do, and how difficult some of the winter sports are. As the celebs were forced to tackle giant slalom, skeleton, bobsleighing, speed-skiing and ski-cross a trail of injuries followed in their wake, and even two of the show's most experienced skiers, Marcus Brigstocke and Sir Steve Redgrave, both had to withdraw because of injuries sustained in the training.

The injuries got even worse in the third series as seven competitors had to withdraw from the show, including serious injuries to Tina Hobley and Rebecca Adlington, and a really serious back injury to Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle.

Following all those injuries it was widely expected that Channel 4 would cancel the show, but it came back for a fourth series at the start of 2017, with recently-retired cycling legend Sir Bradley Wiggins headlining the list of entries.

The Mountain - BBC1 Scotland - 2015

Still going ? No.

Series charting life around the Cairngorms, heavily featuring the ski centre and life around the resort of Aviemore.

Ice Hockey Elite League - Sky Sports - 2007 to 2011

Still going ? No.

The UK's professional ice hockey league featured regularly on Sky Sports from 2007 to 2011, with a regular weekly live match on a Friday evening and a highlights show featuring the likes of the Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers.

The Season - BBC2 - 2009 to 2010

Still going ? No.

Before the likes of "Made in Chelsea" and "The Only Way is Essex" became so popular with a certain section of the British public, BBC2 produced a 'constructed reality' style of show based around a set of seasonnaires in the French resort of Val d'Isere. The idea was to use scripts but film it as though it was actually reality. The 10 episode show featured the likes of Tommy and Emily (who arrived at the start of the winter as a couple, but then promptly split up), Holly and boyfriend Sam (a wannabe professional snowboarder), and Aby (a gossip-queen),

High Altutude - BBC2 - 2009

Still going ? No.

Having started to add in a few non-race items to Ski Sunday in the mid 2000's, the racing purists complained that it was diluting Ski Sunday into something resembling a winter travel show. Someone took note and decided to create another show called High Altitude, first airing in 2009. Graham Bell and Ed Leigh got the nods as hosts of this as well as Ski Sunday and the show followed them around the world trying different high-octane winter activities. A late night Sunday slot allowed for a bit more laddish behaviour, and whilst the hosts 'let's off-road' attitude and the impression that some of the items are a bit staged may not have appealed to everyone, it had some cracking moments (many probably unintentional) and was well worth 40 minutes of anyone's Sunday evening.

Unfortunately, probably due to budget cuts, the show never got a second series, and the money was probably spent on yet more cookery or antiques shows.

On Thin Ice - BBC2 - 2009

Still going ? No

After completing an epic Atlantic rowing race, James Cracknell and Ben Fogle returned to the screen along with actor Jonny Lee Miller to compete in a ski race to the South Pole. The expedition involved facing temperatures of nearly -50°C, skiing nearly 500 miles 480 miles whilst pulling a 1501b sled, and having to cope with frost-bite and crevasses, and complete physical and mental exhaustion.

Skiing World Cup - Channel 4 - 2002 to 2005

Still going ? No.

Following on from the surprise success of its Snowboarding coverage, Channel 4 managed to seal a 3 year deal to broadcast the Skiing World Cup, from November 2002. There was a decent amount of coverage, including a 60 minute Saturday morning programme, often showing live races, as well as a late night programme featuring all of the weeks action.

Snow Boarding World Cup - Channel 4 - 2000 to 2004

Still going ? No.

Channel 4's programme that showcased the Nokia Snow Boarding World Cup proved surprisingly successful. So much so that on the back of it they decided to bid for the coverage of the Alpine Skiing World Cup a couple of years later.

Ski Jumping - BBC2 - 1985 to 1987

Still going ? No

Between 1985 and 1987 BBC2 would show the first round of the Four Hills Tournament from Oberstdorf as a special post-Christmas treat for all us fans of the white stuff. Seeing the likes of Jens Weissflog and Matti Nykaenen flying through the German air were a sight to behold, and the subsequent hills were also shown as part of Ski Sunday.




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