Bizarre twist after Question of Sport 'axing' as it's revealed that show could make shock return

A QUESTION Of Sport may have been shelved – but I can reveal it is likely to be making a comeback sooner than expected.

Host Paddy McGuinness is expected to be shown the door and the old format restored as part of a move by the BBC to give fans the best bits of their show back.

The programme has been going for 53 years but in 2020 it was revamped with some non-sporting figures on the panel, which did not go down well with viewers.

So a quiz that in its Eighties heyday got as many as 19million watching — thanks to rounds such as What Happened Next? — suddenly saw its figures drop below a million.

A TV insider said: “The axe hasn’t fallen permanently on the programme - the BBC just want to put it on ice for a while before bringing it back.

“It’s essentially a face-saving exercise because they realise they made a mistake fixing something that wasn’t broken.

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The shift seemed to be blasted by ex host Sue in her book, when she wrote: “It amazes me that the BBC don’t think sports stars are big enough names to carry a show.

“This is A Question of Sport. The clue is in the title.”

At least Beeb bosses seem to have finally picked up on that.

Daisy's big kiss-off

THERE was nobody waiting to snog Daisy May Cooper under the mistletoe after an embarrassing rumour at a works Christmas party.

Before her rise to fame, the This Country comic’s chances of kissing her supermarket job crush were ruined when someone told colleagues she was hiding a big secret.

On Sky Max music quiz Never Mind The Buzzcocks’ Christmas special, which is being screened at 8pm tomorrow, Daisy tells her co-stars Noel Fielding, Harry Hill, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Ricky Wilson: “When I was working at Waitrose, someone spread a rumour that I was a man. I never found out who it was.

“But there was a bloke who fancied me, and he was going to snog me at the Christmas party.

“But then he said, ‘I can’t snog you under the mistletoe because, apparently, you’re a man’.”

The tale is followed by another Christmas mishap story, when Daisy reveals she was given a used razor by her grandad.

She says: “He was really tight, so he gave me an old razor with just bits of old flesh in it.”

Quick as a flash, show host Greg Davies responds: “He heard those rumours you were a bloke.”

Sally's stopped running

SALLY Nugent has finally stopped “running away” from Strictly.

She appears on the BBC One Christmas Day special and said: “I’ve always run in the other direction but it was time to do something joyful, fun and happy – and at Christmas, it doesn’t feel like a competition to me.”

Fry's on message

STEPHEN Fry will deliver Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message this year, following in the footsteps of Danny Dyer and a deepfake version of Queen Elizabeth II in previous years.

The former QI host will use the ten-minute slot at 5.10pm on Christmas Day, two hours after the King’s traditional speech, to tackle the rise in anti-Semitism amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Stephen will say: “There is real fear stalking the Jewish neighbourhoods of Britain.

“It’s agonising to see all the violence and destruction ...and the terrible loss of life on both sides brings me an overwhelming sadness and heartache.

“But whatever our opinions on what is happening, there can be no excuse for the behaviour of some of our citizens.”

James in Manilow LP chase

JAMES Nesbitt plays a bank-robbing Santa this Christmas – but his first brush with crime was stealing a Barry Manilow record.

The actor, who appears in Sky Max’s festive special The Heist Before Christmas on Sunday, said: “I got caught stealing a Barry Manilow album in a shop when I was 16 or 17.

“I went on a wild chase through the streets of Bournemouth, chased by a shop assistant who caught me and took me back.

“The owner was so angry he threw me up against a rack of LPs.

“I would say the record was for my sister, but I think it must have been for me.

“It made me realise I shouldn’t do that again, so that was my brush with theft.”

He is reminded of his crime whenever he hears Barry’s song Copacabana, and said: “It’s still very traumatic.”

Neighbours' festive theme

AMAZON Freevee has announced new episodes of Neighbours will continue to air through the festive season, with a Christmas theme.

The final show of the year is on December 28, then it is back on New Year’s Day.

Storylines will include the wedding of Chloe Brennan and Elly Conway.

Men, Taik him away

RITA Ora's husband Taika Waititi has made a guest appearance in The Simpsons – for an episode called Murder She Boat.

The New Zealand filmmaker and actor played the villain as Homer and the family went on a “nerd cruise”.

Taika starred as a detective in the Agatha Christie-style mystery on Fox in the US on Sunday, and he was revealed as the criminal.

His character said: “You haven’t seen the last of me, I’ve got powerful friends in New Zealand, Hobbits, Orcs, Lords, Imps and Melanie Lynskey.”

Dave's huge thanks

HAIRY Biker Dave Myers says a special thank you to people who have cared for him since his cancer diagnoses, as he and co-star Si King are reunited for their Coming Home For Christmas on BBC Two tonight.

He said of the special: “It’s just a glorious celebration of life.”

Ryan in a fit fight

RYAN Thomas hit the gym after seeing how muscular his Dancing On Ice co-star Miles Nazaire looked on the rink.

Ryan’s brother Scott joked about the former Coronation Street star on their Mancs On The Mic podcast: “Ryan talked about how Miles had his top off and looked amazing, and he’s a threat.

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