Matt Dawson admits he was ‘unimpressed’ by Question of Sport axe and reveals stars’ secret talks for spin off show
ENGLAND rugby legend Matt Dawson has revealed he was unimpressed by the way the BBC axed him and his co-stars from A Question of Sport.
The classic line-up of host Sue Barker and team captains Phil Tuffnell and Matt filmed their last episode of the panel show in 2021 after 15 years together.
The trio were subsequently replaced by Paddy McGuinness, Ugo Monye and Sam Quek as the Beeb sought to freshen up the franchise - but it was axed completely after just one series of the reboot.
While he accepts their tenure had to end eventually, Matt didn't like the way it unfolded, which included the Corporation pretending long-serving Sue had quit.
"We were at peace with it pretty early on," said Matt in an exclusive interview with The Sun on behalf of
"I think Phil [Tuffnell] was 15 years, I was 17 years, Sue [Barker] was 23 years. We'd been doing it a long time. We loved it, we enjoyed it. We'd like to think it was a great success.
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"We were very philosophical. We knew at some stage it was going to end. I don't think the three of us were particularly impressed with how it ended but as sports people you get used to being picked and getting dropped. It's one of those things. The fundamentals were that we loved and still love the show.
"We wanted the show to be a success. It didn't matter who was going to do it. All three of us were desperately disappointed that the BBC decided to take a break from it. Hopefully it's just a break and it comes back."
Ever the good sports, Matt, Phil and Sue offered their wisdom to their replacements and tuned in to watch them put their stamp on it.
They were keen to see it thrive for the large behind-the-scenes team who worked so hard to bring it to life.
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"We were tuned in from day one," said Matt. "You want to see what it's like. You want to see the next iteration. You know it's going to be different. It's not like we were watching and thinking it was going to be a mirror image of the show we created. That's just unrealistic.
"We spoke to Paddy [McGuinness] and Ugo [Monye] and Sam [Quek] wished them luck and offered any help. We were always like the show is a lot bigger than just the three of us, or any two captains and a presenter. The show is 50-60 people, it always has been that way. It just so happens that the three of us were sort of fronting it.
"The beauty of that show was the green room, all of the floor staff, the camera crew, everybody involved, including all the guests that we had on."
After they left the show, talks were held about other TV opportunities involving the trio.
When asked if they could follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, who launched the lucrative Grand Tour on Amazon after their Top Gear axing, Matt joked: "Get it out there, go and sell it for us."
He continued: "We had a couple of conversations. I think it's quite tricky to do because of all the footage. It's a BBC brand; it's not easy to get clips from motorsport, dance, cricket, rugby, and football because they're all on different platforms. It's quite tricky to piece together.
"It didn't materialise but as I said at the very beginning, the three of us were at peace with it and were very happy with the way we delivered our version of the show. We were fortunate we had other things to carry on with our lives."
Next month they are reuniting for a 10-date reunion theatre tour which will appease QoS fans.
Free from the shackles of strict BBC guidelines, Matt said there's an opportunity to be freer with their jokes.
"I would like to think that maybe with a couple of beers in the green room beforehand we could potentially be a little bit looser than we are usually," he said.
"But in the same breath we are who we are and the three of us are respectful of ourselves and the show that got us to where we are. Ultimately we'll be forever thankful for them asking us to do it in the first place and letting us do it for so long."
Now, Matt has his fingers in many pies with one foot in the rugby world and another running Lemon and Lime Associates, a business development consultancy.
With the 6 Nations in full swing, Matt has teamed up with official mobile gaming partner Monopoly Go! to shine a spotlight on the importance of digital connection and communication.
New research has found that more than a third of Brits feel they don't see enough of their loved ones. To help them stay connected and celebrate Monopoly Go! becoming the official gaming partner of the 6 Nations, the mobile game is offering rugby fans a luxury trip to Paris for Super Saturday, including first-class travel, 2 night stay at IHG hotel, Kimpton St Honoré Paris, and matchday tickets.
An avid player of the game, Matt said: "That whole idea of social interaction, I'm generally fascinated to know how these types of things fit in with sport across the board, but it feels like quite a significant shift for rugby to have a partner, a mobile gaming partner, first time it's ever been done in rugby so to be a part of that big shift for the sport is something I'm very pleased to be a part of.
"Whether it be a mobile gaming app or if it's over a Zoom conversation with you you feel a lot more connected and I think from a sports perspective that's really important."
It's a dramatic change from Matt's time on the field two decades ago when social media and communication apps were in their infancy.
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"I didn't necessarily understand that 20 odd years ago," he said. "But on reflection and I see it, it's quite inspiring, you see a lot of the current players talk about it quite a lot on how much time they're spending with their teammates and they might say it generically, but actually it will involve spending time on mobile gaming as much as spending time at the pub or spending time over dinner or on the rugby pitch or in the gym.
"It's starting to become quite fluid and natural to do that and having that comparison to the people in the audience, the fans, the millions of people that are loving rugby I would say a vast group of that people are already doing that, but wouldn't necessarily connect that to rugby."