Jim Bowen brings Bullseye back at Blackburn club (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Jim Bowen brings Bullseye back at Blackburn club

9:08am Thursday 16th April 2009 in

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DARTS fans had a super, smashing, great time when comedy legend Jim Bowen hosted a special Bullseye-themed quiz night.

Mill Hill WMC, in Moorgate Street, Blackburn, was packed to the rafters for the ‘Thwaites Dart Quiz’ which saw punters compete for a host of prizes.

Tuesday’s event followed a similar format to cult 1980s TV darts quiz Bullseye, which Jim hosted, and he said it was great to be back in East Lancashire.

He said: “I actually started my career as a comedian at Mill Club back in the late 1960s and was sent home because I was so bad.

"To be back there after all those years was really nice.

“To hear the Blackburn accent again was great and it was an absolute joy to be surrounded by honest, working class people.

"It’s always fantastic to be back in Blackburn.”

The Thwaites Dart Quiz was also held at Burnley Miners’ Club, Burnley, last night, as part of a drive by the brewery to support pubs and clubs in tough times.

Punters threw darts to win prizes – more beer-based than the kitchenware and speedboats on Bullseye.

Padiham-born Jim, who has lived across East Lancashire, threw his support behind Thwaites’ ‘Axe the Tax’ campaign to stop the Chancellor adding more tax on beer at this month’s budget.

Jim, who used to be landlord of the Royal Oak, in Hornby, near Lancaster, said: “The situation is very worrying.

"Pubs are the heart and soul of many small towns and villages and to see them in this situation is distressing.”

It's the Bullseye

• Bullseye was on our screens between 1981 - 1995.

• Host Jim Bowen's catchphrase was “You can't beat a bit o' Bully!”.

• The show's mascot was Bully, a cartoon bull.

• In its prime, it was viewed by 15million people on Sunday evenings.

• The show placed three pairs of contestants against one another to win prizes ranging from a new car to a luxury holiday.

• Consolation prizes included a set of darts, a tankard and a 'Bendy Bully', a rubber model of the show's mascot.

• Jim Bowen once described Bullseye as "the second-best darts-based game show on television". There are no others.

• It is now hosted by comedian Dave Spikey on satellite channel Challenge.