Strictly star Sam Quek had short-lived stint on Question of Sport

Sam Quek is one in all many Olympians who’ve made the leap from sports activities to display, however none of her jobs has been as talked about as Query of Sport.

The hockey participant – who’s headed for Strictly’s upcoming collection – turned a captain on the much-loved programme in 2021 as a part of a revamp. Nevertheless, the shake up did not go down nicely with viewers who weren’t satisfied the long-running collection wanted tweaking, and simply two years later Query of Sport ended altogether.

As Quek indicators up for this yr’s collection of Strictly Come Dancing, we remind ourselves of what occurred.

Sam Quek joined Query of Sport as a part of revamp

Presenter Sue Barker had hosted the sports activities quiz present from 1997 however in 2020 it was introduced that she was departing and that Paddy McGuinness was taking on. The present’s workforce captains Matt Dawson and Phil Tufnell had been changed by Quek and rugby star Ugo Monye.

On the time Quek stated it was a “dream job”. “I’ve watched Query of Sport since I used to be somewhat woman and my ambition to look on the present got here true 5 years in the past – however I by no means thought that I’d in the future be a captain,” she stated.

Nevertheless, it quickly turned clear that many viewers missed the previous guard. Many posted messages on social media saying they wished to see Barker, Dawson and Tufnell again.

Quek did not let the backlash hassle her an excessive amount of, with the Each day Star quoting her as saying: “Getting the response got here with the job… there are keyboard warriors who don’t have something higher to do than resolve to say horrible issues about individuals. Social media has a darkish aspect. However I don’t actually care what individuals are saying.”

Plummeting rankings

However viewers switched off of their thousands and thousands after the modifications on the present, tumbling from 4 to 5 million to round 2.2 million for the primary collection with the brand new workforce.

An episode in August 2022 noticed a document low of simply 730,000 individuals watching, and there began to be whispers about how lengthy it might go on.

Query of Sport ended after 53 years

In December 2023 it was confirmed that Query of Sport was ending after 53 years.

The BBC insisted it could possibly be again in the future, saying it was “not the ultimate whistle” however that “attributable to inflation and funding challenges, tough selections need to be made, subsequently Query of Sport is at the moment not in manufacturing in the meanwhile”.

Star might be ‘aggressive’ on Strictly

Quek, who’s mum to 2 toddlers along with her husband Tom Mairs, has already given actuality TV a go. She was a camper on I am A Movie star… Get Me Out Of Right here! in 2016 and went on Movie star MasterChef in 2020, coming third.

It has now been confirmed that she might be slipping into spandex and sequins for the brand new collection of Strictly Come Dancing. Quek appeared on The One Present when the information was introduced, and instructed followers she “cannot not be aggressive”.

“It is tough although as a result of with hockey I knew I had the power, I knew what I used to be trying ahead to and what I wanted to do,” she stated. “However with Strictly, I can dance on the dancefloor with the women on an evening out, that is so far as my dance expertise goes.”

She additionally stated: “I’m satisfied to be part of this legendary present and Quickstep into the footwear of a performer, it feels completely surreal however I’m prepared for each little bit of the journey.”

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this autumn.

Learn extra: Strictly