Horse racing's answer to Drive to Survive hits the screens! 'Champions: Full Gallop' is a 'fully open book' about the sport, claims Paul Nicholls... so will YOU be watching?

Paul Nicholls is adamant nothing has been kept from public consumption after opening his doors to the docuseries that could ignite interest in jump racing.

The first episode of Champions: Full Gallop will be broadcast at 9pm on Friday night on ITV1 – it was premiered at BAFTA on Tuesday night with Nicholls’s stable jockey Harry Cobden, in particular, getting rave reviews for his role.

It has been likened to Drive To Survive, the revolutionary series for Formula One, and Tour De France: Unchained and Champions: Full Gallop tells the inside story of the 2023/24 National Hunt campaign from a vantage point that has never been seen before.

Nicholls, who relinquished his grip on the Champion Trainer title last season to Willie Mullins, has never been afraid to speak up for racing and is one of the best communicators in the business, in terms of detailing his plans for runners.

But this series shows him in a complete different light and we are given a candid insight into the forensic way he trains his horses at his Ditcheat Stables near Glastonbury and the meticulous planning that goes into deciding which races he will target. He hopes it will have an impact.

‘When they came to me with this idea, I just thought it was a wonderful way to showcase our marvellous sport,’ Nicholls enthused. ‘For the people involved and to show, which is massively important, the way the horses are cared for. I wanted to get the message across.

‘There are so many characters in the game. I’m delighted it has gone from stage to stage and to me, it was all positives for jump racing. It was a fully open book – when I’m at home with the staff, with the people (at the races), with my owners.

‘You’ll see all the experiences – the ups, the downs. We were followed 24/7 in a lot of ways. It shows a different side to all of us but, more than anything, it is about the sport. You’ll see that we want to win – that’s what we are in it for. But I couldn’t see a downside to being involved. I really couldn’t.’

ITV lead presenter and Mail Sport columnist Ed Chamberlin added: ‘This is such a brilliant opportunity. Now the public are going to get the chance to know who Harry is, who Gavin (Sheehan) is, who Nico (De Boinville) and others are. I think the public will connect with them.’

Champions: Full Gallop airs on ITV1 at 9pm on Friday. Episodes two and three will be available to livestream on ITVX immediately afterwards.