The Best of the 80s

The documentary looks back at a selection of sports that ITV covered throughout the 1980s, showcasing the breadth of its sports programming. Viewers are treated to footage of football, boxing, wrestling and the unusual double‑decker racing spectacles that featured during the decade.

The series is a retrospective that revisits the sporting output ITV aired during the 1980s. It compiles clips and commentary from that decade, giving viewers a chance to see how the channel presented its sport coverage. The programme is structured as a look back at that period's broadcasts, and it concentrates on the four main types of sport that ITV featured during those years. The episode highlights a selection of disciplines that featured on ITV's schedule at the time. Covered sports include football matches, boxing bouts, professional wrestling events and the more unusual double‑decker racing competitions. Each segment presents footage and context taken from the original broadcasts. The inclusion of double‑decker racing highlights a less common but memorable part of the schedule. The show moves sequentially from one sport to the next, allowing the audience to observe the variety of events ITV chose to air. By placing football alongside boxing, wrestling and double‑deckers, the programme demonstrates the breadth of the channel's sporting palette throughout the eighties. The sequence allows viewers to compare the production style across the different events. Overall, the series functions as an archive of ITV's 1980s sport programming, showcasing the range of coverage without introducing material beyond the listed events. It provides a straightforward reminder of what the network broadcast, offering a clear snapshot of that era's televised sport landscape. The final compilation gives a clear picture of ITV's approach to sport broadcasting in the 1980s.