text: In its earliest form, the show emphasised skill or organisation applied in a bizarre way, for instance picking up eggs with an industrial excavator, as well as traditional village sports such as climbing a greasy pole. Games of strength were included, for example, carrying a Mini Moke without wheels. From the beginning, a "mini-marathon" would run the length of the programme, with updates on progress between shorter contests. The shift to spectacular displays, with or without costumes, came later, to improve audience appeal and to follow continental traditions.
  A recurring event in early episodes was "piano smashing" where the teams had to break up an old upright piano with sledgehammers into small enough pieces to push through an aperture shaped like a large letterbox.  The event drew regular complaints from viewers who did not like to see pianos end in this way.  The complaints eventually drove the managing director of BBC Television Huw Weldon to have the event withdrawn.
  The winning team in each event scored three points, the second-place finisher scored two, and the third-place team scored one. Each team was given a joker card, which they could play before any one event to double the points they scored for it.
  The winner of each edition was awarded an It's a Knockout! trophy and a chance to represent the UK in Jeux sans frontières. Three local teams appeared in the UK show, with around 6 to 8 countries competing in the European finals.
  In other countries