Starstrider was a children’s quiz show that aired on ITV for two series between 1984-85. The host, Starstrider, a space being from the planet Ulphrates III on the search for intelligence, was played in Series 1 by Roger Sloman (Nuts in May, The Young Ones) and in Series 2 by Jim Carter (The Golden Compass, Shakespeare in Love).  Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who)  co-hosted both series, playing Starstrider’s bumbling assistant Wart.

Both the host and co-host would greet the teams each week with the words, “Hello and welcome” and similarly they would end the show saying, “Goodbye and farewell”.

Each week 3 teams of 4 youngsters from schools around the country played over 5 rounds. Weirdly, there were not any prizes as such on the show but the teams did take home a Starstrider goody bag, including a pin badge, a sweatshirt and a mug.

There was one round where you answered questions while sat on a fairground bull dressed up as a space beast called “the Grunderhunter”, and a round where you had to guide a blindfolded teammate to stand on a square grid containing some white squares (for points) while avoiding standing on the red squares (for a penalty)