“You can’t beat a bit of Bully!” – James Ross Sinclair and his Bullseye Star Prize Fiat Panda

For those readers too young to remember the magnificence of Bullseye, it was a quiz show from 1981 to 1995. ATV made the early editions, followed by Central after 1982. Your host was Jim Bowen, who, despite popular mythology, never said “Super, smashing, great!” It should also not be forgotten that the general knowledge questions were often quite demanding. Such was the show’s popularity that there was a five-year waiting list merely to be in the studio audience.

Bullseye involved three teams of two players - a “knower” and a “thrower” - and the victors could gamble for “Bully’s Special Prize.” The last-named might be a holiday abroad, a selection of wonderfully awful clothes or a caravan. But, most infamously, the producers often made a deal with a speedboat manufacturer. As a result, Bowen later reflected, “The only contestants who ever won them lived in top-floor flats in Coventry.”

Alternatively, you might have won a car. A Morris Ital was one such prize during the ATV era, and as the years progressed, Jim would proudly showcase a Mini, a Talbot Samba - “It’s got electronic ignition!” - or a Vauxhall Nova Merit. By the 1990s, you could even be awarded the keys to a Proton - Bullseye - Contestants win one of the best cars you can buy! - Jim Bowen, BFH, Proton - YouTube. As for the losers, they might gain a “Bendy Bully,” some darts and tankards as consolation prizes in addition to their “bus fare home.”

The show was revived in 2006 with Dave Spikey, but it never caught the public’s imagination. Only the Bowen-hosted Bullseye sufficed, as he told the contestants, “Look what you could have won” or “The subjects that are lit are the ones you can hit!” On one memorable occasion, he asked, “In which city of the United States was John F. Kennedy assassinated in Dallas, Texas?”

And since 1995, this writer has mused on one of life’s great mysteries – “Is there anyone who actually owns a Bullseye star prize?” For a long time, this remained a conundrum on par with “Who commissioned C4’s The Word, and why?” – until now. James Ross Sinclair is a connoisseur of fine motor cars, and he recently complemented his fleet with a Panda 750L. But this is no ordinary 1990-model Fiat, as a Bullseye contestant won it.

We look forward to telling you more about James’s remarkable car during the year. Thirty-five years ago, the winner probably drove home from Birmingham with the words of the announcer Tony Green ringing in their ears – “And Bully’s Special Prize…!”

With Thanks To: James Ross Sinclair