Conch (noun) a thick heavy spiral shell occasionally bearing long projections of various marine gastropod molluscs of the family Strombidae.
Give Us A Conch (later The Conch Quiz) was a light-hearted natural history quiz that ran on BBC Radio 2 between 1984 and 1987. Teams wrestled with “animal sounds, songs and riddles” in an attempt to win the (virtual) “glittering Conch Shell”. Given its subject matter it’s perhaps not surprising that it was produced by the Bristol-based Natural History Unit, with programmes recorded at the city’s Watershed Theatre.
Chairing every edition was Paddy Feeny (pictured with conch above), at the time co-chairing Top of the Form and presenter of the World Service sports service Saturday Special. Paddy told the Radio Times: “We’re so surrounded by scientific hardware these days that I get the impression people just can’t hear enough about natural history”. He later confessed that chairing the quiz has “turned me into a real enthusiast. I now read books on the subject just so that I can suggest a few questions.”
The panellists were a mix of zoologists, botanists and so on, and showbiz guests chosen for their particular interest in the subject such as Frank Thornton, Eric Morecambe, Spike Milligan, Bill Oddie, Bernard Cribbins and Andrew Sachs. (They had all previously appeared as guests on Sounds Natural with Derek Jones, episodes of which have been repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra). Folk that regularly worked for the Natural History Unit also popped up, names such as Derek Jones, Tony Soper and Johnny Morris. For later episodes they split into two teams captained by Pam Ayres (sometimes Don Maclean) and marine biologist Dr Sheila Anderson.
The questions were set by Kate Tiffin and later Tess Lemmon, both of the Natural History Unit. Kate went on to write natural history books and contribute to the BBC Wildlife magazine. The producers were Melinda Barker (for series one and two) who also produced Radio 4’s The Living World. She later married wildlife film director and producer Alastair Fothergill. Producing series three and four was John Harrison who was with the BBC in Bristol for 18 years from 1973, working mainly on The Living World with Derek Jones
Give Us A Conch ran for 20 episodes in 1984 and 1985 and came back in late 1985 for a further 18 episodes as The Conch Quiz. Other than the last series being aired on the BBC World Service the quiz has never been repeated, so this is a rare opportunity to hear what it was all about. From 1st January 1985 this is the first programme in series two with Don Maclean, Derek Jones, Sheila Anderson and zoologist Professor Mike Stoddart. The continuity announcer is Jean Challis.
It’s a week later, 8th January 1985, for the second episode with Pam Ayres, Johnny Morris, Sheila Anderson and Mike Stoddart. The announcer at the end of the recording is Nick Page.
Give Us A Conch series details
Series 1: 25 January to 28 March 1984 (10 episodes)
Windsor Davies, Andrew Sachs, Pat Morris, Chris Mead, Frank Windsor, David Shepherd, Mike Stoddart, Wilma George, Carol Drinkwater, Derek Jones, Michael Clegg, Sheila Anderson, Bill Oddie, Tony Soper, Penny Anderson, Malcolm Coe, Eric Morecambe, Pam Ayres and David Bellamy
Series 2: 1 January to 5 March 1985 (10)
Don Mclean, Derek Jones, Sheila Anderson, Mike Stoddart, Pam Ayres, Johnny Morris, Tom Baker, Michael Clegg, Judy Geeson, Jeremy Cherfas, Jeffrey Boswell, Frank Thornton and Andrew Sachs
Name changed to The Conch Quiz
Series 3: 25 November 1985 to 13 January 1986 (8)
Don Maclean, Sheila Anderson, Irene Christie, Malcolm Coe, Pam Ayres, Bernard Cribbins, Michael Clegg, Roger Lovegrove, Bill Oddie, Johnny Morris and Joe Henson
Series 4: 24 January to 28 March 1987 (10)
Pam Ayres, Sheila Anderson, Don Maclean, Roger Lovegrove, Johnny Morris, Michael Clegg, Joe Henson, Bernard Cribbins, Peter France, Spike Milligan and Lionel Kelleway
This series was repeated on the BBC World Service August to October 1987
The answers to the picture quiz are (l-r) a slug, a North American salamander, a furry armadillo
