Classic TV: Forty Acts For Whom Opportunity Knocked

Some became TV legends, some became TV faces you’d see on a regular basis, some were popular in their day but have now faded into obscurity whilst some burned bright and then vanished. TV variety show Opportunity Knocks gave us hundreds of acts who were only destined for the northern working men’s club circuit but over the years it did give us quite a few acts who had genuine star potential.

Here is our top forty list of acts and performers who made their debut on the show.

1 Les Dawson
2 The Bachelors
3 Freddie Starr
4 Peters and Lee
5 Frank Carson
6 Lena Zavaroni
7 Bobby Crush
8 Freddie ‘Parrotface’ Davies
9 Bonnie Langford (at the age of six)
10 The Real Thing

11 Pam Ayres
12 Paul Daniels
13 Peters & Lee
14 Les Dennis
15 Tom O’Connor
16 Mary Hopkin
17 Little & Large
18 Paper Lace
19 Cannon & Ball
20 Ken Goodwin

21 Middle of the Road
22 Stan Boardman
23 David Whitfield
24 Bernie Clifton
25 Muscleman Tony Holland
26 New World
27 Paul Melba
28 Bernie Flint
29 Millican & Nesbitt
30 Iris Williams

31 Stuart Gillies
32 Candlewick Green
33 Neil Reid
34 Concert pianist Clara Evelyn
35 Black Abbots (who included Russ Abbot)
36 Grace Kennedy
37 Tony Monopoly
38 Harry Scott
39 Gerry Monroe
40 Mike Newman