Gillette Soccer Saturday is a weekly television programme broadcast on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the football season. It is broadcast from 12 noon on Sky Sports News and lasts for up to six hours. The programme begins with the host (Jeff Stelling) and four regular in-studio pundits (Matt Le Tissier, Paul Merson, Phil Thompson, Charlie Nicholas) previewing the weekend's matches, reviewing recent results and debating current issues in football. The show is also famous for the rapport between the pundits and the presenter. There is much banter between the pundits and Jeff Stelling, who, in good-humoureded manner, often points out each other's mistakes and incorrect predictions. Stelling exuberantly celebrates goals scored by his favourite team Hartlepool United. Viewers are kept updated on the progress of early kick-offs by reporters at the games and by graphics below and to the right of the director's cut. These graphics also includes latest team news and league standings.
From 3 pm to 5.15 pm, Soccer Saturday provides running coverage of the 3 pm league matches, none of which are televised in the UK (and only one of which is televised in Ireland). The graphics display a vidiprinter and cycle through current scores in the English and Scottish leagues, with Jeff Stelling providing commentary on the events as they unfold. Significant events at the most high-profile games – almost always in the Premier League – are described by the studio panel who each watch a game on a monitor. Other games deemed important are reported on by correspondents at the grounds connected to the studio by a video link, ISDN or telephone.
After the 3 pm games finish, the classified football results are read by Alan Lambourn and this is followed by a run-through of the updated league tables. A commercial break then follows and this is when the vidiprinter is removed from the screen. For the final 45 minutes of the programme the studio pundits discuss the games they have been watching, and post-match interviews with players and managers are shown conducted by that evening's Football First commentators.The majority of Soccer Saturday is filmed in a television studio. However, there are often cuts to football reporters at various grounds around the country when a key event has occurred in a game.
