title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's Lane. On 9 March 1946, thirty-three Bolton fans lost their lives in a human crush, the Burnden Park disaster. In 1997, Bolton moved to what is now known as the University of Bolton Stadium. They have spent more seasons, 73, than any other club in the top-flight without winning the title.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Formed as Christ Church Football Club in 1874, it adopted its current name in 1877 and was a founder member of the Football League in 1888. The club moved between the First Division and the Second Division eight times in thirteen seasons between 1899 and 1911, winning the Second Division title in 1908–09. Bolton won the FA Cup three times in the 1920s: in 1923 – the "White Horse Final", 1926 and 1929; they had finished as runners-up in 1894 and 1904. The club spent just two seasons outside the top-flight between 1911 and 1964, having won promotion from the Second Division at the second attempt at the end of the 1934–35 season. They lost the 1953 FA Cup final and then won the competition for a fourth time in 1958 under the stewardship of Bill Ridding. Bolton were relegated in 1964 and 1971, but regained their top-flight status after winning the Third Division title in 1972–73 and then the Second Division title in 1977–78. However, three relegations left them in the fourth tier by 1987, though promotion out of the Fourth Division was secured in 1987–88 and they lifted the Football League Trophy in 1989 after being beaten finalists in 1986.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Promotions in 1992–93 and 1994–95 – they won the 1995 First Division play-off final but lost the 1995 League Cup final – saw them reach the Premier League. Bolton won the First Division title in 1996–97, but were unable to survive more than one season in the Premier League until Sam Allardyce returned them to the top-flight with victory in the 2001 First Division play-off final. Bolton spent eleven consecutive seasons in the Premier League, reaching the 2004 League Cup final and reaching the knock-out stages of the UEFA Cup twice. However, two relegations in five years left them in League One by 2016, and though they won promotion in 2016–17, severe financial difficulties saw the club enter administration in May 2019 after relegation back into the third tier was confirmed. Facing possible EFL expulsion and probable extinction, the club was acquired by new owners on 28 August 2019. Relegated to the fourth tier in 2020, they won promotion out of League Two in 2020–21.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The club was founded by the Reverend Joseph Farrall Wright, Perpetual curate of Christ Church Bolton, and Thomas Ogden, the schoolmaster at the adjacent church school, in 1874 as Christ Church F.C. It was initially run from the church of the same name on Deane Road, Bolton, on the site where the Innovation factory of the University of Bolton now stands. The club left the location following a dispute with the vicar, and changed its name to Bolton Wanderers in 1877. The name was chosen as the club initially had a lot of difficulty finding a permanent ground to play on, having used three venues in its first four years of existence.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League, which formed in 1888. At the time Lancashire was one of the strongest footballing regions in the country, with 6 of the 12 founder clubs coming from within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire. Having remained in the Football League since its formation, Bolton have spent more time in the top flight (Premier League/old First Division) than out of it.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 1894 Bolton reached the final of the FA Cup for the first time, but lost 4–1 to Notts County at Goodison Park. A decade later they were runners-up a second time, losing 1–0 to local rivals Manchester City at Crystal Palace on 23 April 1904.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The period before and after the First World War was Bolton's most consistent period of top-flight success as measured by league finishes, with the club finishing outside the top 8 of the First Division on only two occasions between 1911–12 and 1927–28. In this period Bolton equalled their record finish of third twice, in 1920–21 and 1924–25, on the latter occasion missing out on the title by just 3 points (in an era of 2 points for a win).


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: On 28 April 1923, Bolton won their first major trophy in their third final, beating West Ham United 2–0 in the first ever Wembley FA Cup final. The match, famously known as The White Horse Final was played in front of over 127,000 supporters. Bolton's centre-forward, David Jack scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. Driven by long-term players Joe Smith in attack, Ted Vizard and Billy Butler on the wings, and Jimmy Seddon in defence, they became the most successful cup side of the twenties, winning three times. Their second victory of the decade came in 1926, beating Manchester City 1–0 in front of over 91,000 spectators, and the third came in 1929 as Portsmouth were beaten 2–0 in front of nearly 93,000 fans.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 1928 the club faced financial difficulties and so was forced to sell David Jack to Arsenal to raise funds. Despite the pressure to sell, the agreed fee of £10,890 was a world record, more than double the previous most expensive transfer of a player.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: From 1935 to 1964, Bolton enjoyed an uninterrupted stay in the top flight – regarded by fans as a golden era – spearheaded in the 1950s by Nat Lofthouse. The years of the Second World War saw most of the Wanderers' playing staff see action on the front, a rare occurrence within elite football, as top sportsmen were generally assigned to physical training assignments, away from enemy fire. However, 15 Bolton professionals, led by their captain Harry Goslin, volunteered for active service in 1939, and enlisted in the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. By the end of the war, 32 of the 35 pre-war professionals saw action in the British forces. The sole fatality was Goslin, who had by then risen to the rank of Lieutenant and was killed by shrapnel on the Italian front shortly before Christmas 1943. 53rd Bolton Artillery took part in the Battle of Dunkirk and also served in the campaigns of Egypt, Iraq and Italy. Remarkably, a number of these soldiers managed to carry on playing the game in these theatres of war, taking on as 'British XI' various scratch teams assembled by, among others, King Farouk of Egypt in Cairo and Polish forces in Baghdad.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: On 9 March 1946, the club's home was the scene of the Burnden Park disaster, which at the time was the worst tragedy in British football history. 33 Bolton Wanderers fans were crushed to death, and another 400 injured, in an FA Cup quarter-final second leg tie between Bolton and Stoke City. There was an estimated 67,000-strong crowd crammed in for the game, though other estimates vary widely, with a further 15,000 locked out as it became clear the stadium was full. The disaster led to Moelwyn Hughes's official report, which recommended more rigorous control of crowd sizes.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 1953 Bolton played in one of the most famous FA Cup finals of all time – The Stanley Matthews Final of 1953. Bolton lost the game to Blackpool 4–3 after gaining a 3–1 lead. Blackpool were victorious thanks to the skills of Matthews and the goals of Stan Mortensen.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton Wanderers have not won a major trophy since 1958, when two Lofthouse goals saw them overcome Manchester United in the FA Cup final in front of a 100,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium. The closest they have come to winning a major trophy since then is finishing runners-up in the League Cup, first in 1995 and again in 2004.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: While Bolton finished fourth the following season, the next 20 years would prove to be a fallow period. The club suffered relegation to the Second Division in 1963–64, and were then relegated again to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1970–71. This stay in the Third Division lasted just two years before the club were promoted as champions in 1972–73. Hopes were high at Burnden Park in May 1978 when Bolton sealed the Second Division title and gained promotion to the First Division. However, they only remained there for two seasons before being relegated.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Following relegation in 1980, Bolton signed up talented striker Brian Kidd, as they prepared to challenge for a quick return to the First Division. Kidd scored a hat-trick in his third game for Bolton, a 4–0 win over Newcastle United in the league, but the rest of the season was a struggle as Bolton finished close to the relegation places. By the end of the 1981–82 season, Bolton were no closer to promotion and had lost several key players including Peter Reid and Neil Whatmore. The following season Bolton were relegated to the Third Division after losing 4–1 at Charlton Athletic on the final day.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Despite a new-look, much younger team and an 8–1 win over Walsall, Bolton's best league win for 50 years, Bolton failed to win promotion in the 1983–84 season, and would remain in the Third Division for another three seasons. In 1986 Nat Lofthouse was appointed President of the football club, a position he would hold until his death on 15 January 2011. At the end of the 1986–87 season, Bolton Wanderers suffered relegation to the Fourth Division for the first time in their history, but won promotion back to the Third Division at the first attempt. The club won the Sherpa Van Trophy in 1989, defeating Torquay United 4–1. During the 1990–91 season, Bolton were pipped to the final automatic promotion place by Southend United and lost to Tranmere Rovers in the play-off final, but they failed to build on this and the following season saw the club finish 13th.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The early 1990s saw Bolton gain a giant-killing reputation in cup competitions. In 1993 Bolton beat FA Cup holders Liverpool 2–0 in a third round replay at Anfield, thanks to goals from John McGinlay and Andy Walker. The club also defeated higher division opposition in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers (2–1) that year before bowing out to Derby County. Bolton also secured promotion to the second tier for the first time since 1983. In 1994 Bolton again beat FA Cup holders, this time in the form of Arsenal, 3–1 after extra time in a fourth round replay, and went on to reach the quarter-finals, bowing out 1–0 at home to local rivals (and then Premiership) Oldham Athletic. Bolton also defeated top division opposition in the form of Everton (3–2) and Aston Villa (1–0) that year.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton reached the Premiership in 1995 thanks to a 4–3 victory over Reading in the Division One play-off Final. Reading took a 2–0 lead before a Keith Branagan penalty save in the 42nd minute changed the course of the game. Bolton scored two late goals to take the game to extra time, scoring twice more before a late Reading consolation. The same year Bolton progressed to the League Cup Final, but were defeated 2–1 by Liverpool. Bolton were bottom for virtually all of the 1995–96 Premiership campaign and were relegated as they lost their penultimate game 1–0 to Southampton.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The club won promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt thanks to a season in which they achieved 98 league points and 100 goals in the process of securing the Division One championship, the first time since 1978 that they had finished top of any division. This season also marked the club's departure from Burnden Park to the Reebok Stadium, the last game at the stadium being a 4–1 win over Charlton Athletic.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton were relegated on goal difference at the end of the 1997–98 Premiership campaign. They finished on the same number of points as Everton, whom they faced in the first competitive match at the newly built Reebok Stadium. The game finished 0–0, but a goal by Gerry Taggart for the Whites was mistakenly not given; the point swing in Bolton's favour would have kept them up. The following season they reached the 1999 Division One play-off Final but lost 2–0 to Watford.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 2000 Bolton reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Worthington Cup and play-offs but lost on penalties to Aston Villa, 4–0 on aggregate to Tranmere Rovers and 7–5 on aggregate to Ipswich Town respectively. In 2000–01 Bolton were promoted back to the Premiership after beating Preston North End 3–0 in the play-off final.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton struggled in the following two seasons, but survived in the Premiership. The 2001–02 season began with a shock victory as they destroyed Leicester 5–0 at Filbert Street. They then followed the win with two more over Middlesbrough and Liverpool to go top of the top flight table for the first time since 1891. Despite a 2–1 win away at Manchester United, becoming the first team since the formation of the Premiership to come from behind and win a league game at Old Trafford, they went into a deep slump during the middle of the season and needed a Fredi Bobic hat-trick against Ipswich Town to survive. Despite losing the final three games, 16th place was secured. The 2002–03 season began with a poor start and, despite another win away at Manchester United, they were bottom until a 4–2 win against Leeds United at Elland Road. Despite suffering from a lack of consistency, Bolton achieved the results needed and secured survival in a final day 2–1 victory over Middlesbrough.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton reached the League Cup final in 2004, but lost 2–1 to Middlesbrough. Nevertheless, the club finished eighth in the league, at the time the highest finish in their Premiership history.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 2005, Bolton finished sixth in the league, thus earning qualification for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history. The following season, they reached the last 32 but were eliminated by French team Marseille as they lost 2–1 on aggregate. Between 2003–04 and 2006–07, Bolton recorded consecutive top-eight finishes, a record of consistency bettered only by the big four of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. Towards the end of the 06–07 season, long-serving manager Sam Allardyce departed the club, stating that he was taking a sabbatical; he would be hired shortly thereafter as manager of Newcastle United. Allardyce later cited a lack of ambition on the part of the club's board for his departure; he had sought financial backing in January 2007 to push the club towards Champions League qualification, which he had not received.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The 2007–08 season saw Bolton survive with a 16th-place finish, their safety being confirmed on the final day of the season, as they went on an unbeaten run for their final five games, as well as getting to the last sixteen of the UEFA Cup. Former assistant manager Sammy Lee replaced Allardyce as manager, but a poor start to the season saw him replaced by Gary Megson. During the European run, Bolton gained an unexpected 2–2 draw against former European champions Bayern Munich, as well as becoming the first English team to beat Red Star Belgrade in Belgrade. They also defeated Atlético Madrid on aggregate before being knocked out by Sporting Lisbon.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton broke their record transfer fee with the signing of Johan Elmander from Toulouse on 27 June 2008, in a deal which cost the club a reported £8.2 million and saw Norwegian striker Daniel Braaten head in the opposite direction. Megson was replaced part-way through the 2009–2010 season by former Wanderers striker Owen Coyle, after Megson endured a difficult relationship with the fans. In the 2010–11 FA Cup, Bolton progressed all the way to the semi-finals, but were beaten 5–0 by Stoke at Wembley, with the match being described as "a massive anti-climax".


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The following season began as the previous one had ended with just one win and six defeats, their worst start since the 1902–03 season when they were relegated. On 17 March 2012, manager Owen Coyle travelled to the London Chest Hospital with Fabrice Muamba who had suffered from a cardiac arrest whilst playing against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in a FA Cup match. Muamba stayed in a critical condition for several weeks and Coyle was widely praised for the manner in which he represented the club during the period. That 13 May, Bolton were relegated to the Championship by one point on the last day of the season after drawing 2–2 with Stoke City.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The following season back in the Championship started badly for Bolton, with only three wins in ten league matches and a second round exit from the League Cup following a loss at Crawley Town. As a result of poor performances leaving them in 16th place, Bolton sacked Coyle on 9 October 2012, replacing him with Crystal Palace's Dougie Freedman. They finished in seventh place, losing out on a play-off place to Leicester City on goal difference. The 2013–14 began with a trip to Turf Moor, in celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Football League. Freedman was fired after a torrid run of results at the beginning of the 2014–2015 season; he was replaced by former Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who promptly won his first game in charge 1–0 away at Birmingham.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In December 2015, Bolton, who were £172.9 million in debt, were handed a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs over unpaid taxes, and a transfer embargo for the following month's window. Much of this debt owed to former owner Eddie Davies was confirmed to have been written off in March 2018, to assist with the club's potential sale prospects. After ending a 17-game winless run, Lennon, who had been investigated by the club due to allegations about his personal life, said that the club had "been through hell". On 18 January 2016, the club avoided an immediate winding-up order after their case was adjourned until 22 February to give it time to either close a deal with a potential buyer or raise sufficient short-term funds from asset sales. The club was said to owe HM Revenue and Customs £2.2m. The financial situation had improved as a takeover bid by Dean Holdsworth's Sports Shield was successful in March 2016. Lennon was removed from his position for the final few games of the season, replaced by Academy manager Jimmy Phillips. On 9 April 2016, Bolton lost 4–1 away at Derby County to confirm their relegation to the third tier for the first time since 1993.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Under new manager Phil Parkinson, Bolton won promotion from League One at the first time of asking with a second-place finish. On 14 September 2017, the board announced that the embargo was over. Bolton started their first season back in the Championship poorly, only earning their first victory in October. Their form improved mid-season, however going into the final round of fixtures Bolton were in the relegation zone, needing a win to stand a chance of securing survival. They achieved this to finish 21st, narrowly avoiding relegation, having fought back from 2–1 down to win 3–2 at home against Nottingham Forest in the last ten minutes of their final match of the season.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Throughout the 2018–19 Championship season Bolton faced financial difficulties. On 12 September 2018, Bolton reached an agreement with their main creditor BluMarble Capital Ltd over an unpaid loan, avoiding administration and a points deduction from the EFL. Bolton were served a winding-up order on 27 September 2018 after failing to make a payment to HM Revenue and Customs. This was the fourth such petition the club had faced in the previous 14 months. After the collapse of the permanent signing of on-loan striker Christian Doidge, Forest Green Rovers commenced legal action over lost earnings. In February 2019, Bolton were again issued a winding-up petition by HMRC which was subsequently adjourned until the end of the season as their search for a new owner continued. The match against Brentford on 26 April was called off by the English Football League 16 hours before kick off after Bolton's players, supported by the Professional Footballers' Association, refused to play until they had received their unpaid wages; the EFL awarded the win to Brentford. The Bolton Whites Hotel, owned by Ken Anderson, was also issued with a winding-up petition in March 2019 (it closed on 1 May and went into administration on 14 May). The team was relegated to League One in April after a 23rd-place finish.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In May 2019, the club went into administration due to a £1.2m unpaid tax bill, incurring a 12-point penalty for the 2019–2020 season. Fildraw (former owner Eddie Davies' trust fund) appointed administrators from insolvency firm David Rubin and Partners. A 17 July statement from the Bolton players said that no-one at the club had been paid by owner Ken Anderson for 20 weeks, the training ground had no potable drinking water nor hot water for showers. Pre-season friendlies were cancelled as Bolton could not give assurances about fielding a competitive team.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Anderson failed to find a buyer before the start of the season, and Bolton started their opening League One game on 3 August at Wycombe Wanderers with only three contracted senior outfield players, and lost 2–0. A week later, Bolton fielded its youngest ever side, with an average age of 19, in a goalless home draw against Coventry City. Manager Phil Parkinson expressed concern about the welfare of the youth players used in all of Bolton's games, leading Bolton to postpone the game against Doncaster Rovers on 20 August but without informing either Doncaster or the EFL.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Parkinson and assistant Steve Parkin resigned the following day, with academy manager Jimmy Phillips taking interim charge. On 26 August, it was announced that the takeover by Football Ventures had fallen through one day before the EFL deadline, potentially risking the club going into liquidation. After Bolton failed to meet that deadline, the suspension of its notice of withdrawal from the EFL was lifted; however, the club was not immediately expelled from the EFL – it was given until 12 September 2019 to meet all outstanding requirements of the League's insolvency policy.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: On 28 August, Bolton announced that the club's sale to Football Ventures (Whites) Limited had been completed, with the administrator paying tribute to the Eddie Davies Trust and their legal team, and criticising Ken Anderson who had "used his position as a secured creditor to hamper and frustrate any deal that did not benefit him or suit his purposes." Days later, Keith Hill was announced as the new club manager. He signed nine players before the transfer deadline closed, and his first win came on 22 October, 2–0 against Bristol Rovers, Bolton's first win in 22 matches.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: On 21 November 2019, Bolton were handed a five-point deduction, suspended for 18 months, and fined £70,000, half of which was suspended for 18 months, for failure to fulfil two fixtures (against Brentford and Doncaster). The points would not be deducted if Bolton fulfilled all fixtures during the 18-month period. An EFL appeal against what it saw as a "lenient" penalty was rejected by an arbitration panel in January 2020. On 9 June 2020, the EFL League One decided to end the 2019–20 season early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, causing bottom club Bolton Wanderers to go down to the fourth tier of English football for the first time since 1988 and only the second time in their history. Following relegation, the club announced that Keith Hill and assistant David Flitcroft would leave the club when their contracts expired at the end of June. Barrow manager Ian Evatt was appointed Hill's successor on 1 July 2020. Despite being in 17th place after 24 matches, Bolton orchestrated an impressive season turnaround under Evatt. They completed the 2020–21 League Two season in third place after a 4–1 win against Crawley Town on the final day – enough to secure automatic promotion to League One – and early in the 2021–22 season settled debts with unsecured creditors to remove the threat of a 15-point deduction.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In January 2022, it was confirmed that the club had received an emergency loan from The Future Fund, a financial support scheme set up during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was subsequently converted into shares of the club, with around 8% of shares now owned by the British Business Bank, an economic development bank developed and run by HM Government.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton Wanderers' home colours are white shirts with navy and red trim, traditionally worn with navy shorts and white socks. Their away kits have been varied over the years, with navy kits and yellow kits among the most popular and common. Bolton did not always wear a white kit; in 1884 they wore white with red spots, leading to the club's original nickname of "The Spots". The traditional navy blue shorts were dispensed with in 2003, in favour of an all-white strip, but they returned in 2008. The club had previously experimented with an all-white kit in the 1970s.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The Bolton Wanderers club badge consists of the initials of the club in the shape of a ball, with a red scroll and Lancashire rose underneath. The current badge is a reimagining of one designed in 1975; this was replaced in 2001 by a badge which retained the recognisable initials but controversially exchanged the scroll and rose for blue and red ribbons. The re-design has been welcomed by fans as the red rose returned to the badge and those who saw the ribbons as a poor choice. The original club badge was the town crest of Bolton, a key feature of which was the Elephant and Castle motif with the town motto – Supera Moras meaning “Overcome Delays”. This feature has been reincorporated on the back of some more recent club shirts which was seen as a nice touch by some.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The club's nickname of "The Trotters" has several claimed derivations; that it is simply a variation on "Wanderers", that it is an old local term for a practical joker, or that one of the grounds used before the club settled at Pikes Lane resided next to a piggery, causing players to have to "trot" through the pig pens to retrieve the ball if it went over the fence.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: When the club was first founded, Christ Church had a nomadic existence, playing at a number of locations in the area. The club, which had by then been renamed Bolton Wanderers, started playing regularly at Pike's Lane in 1881. Spending £150 on pitch improvements, season tickets cost a guinea. They played here for fourteen years until the tenancy expired and they moved to Burnden Park.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Situated in the Burnden area of Bolton, approximately one mile from the centre of the town, the ground served as the home of the town's football team for 102 years. In its heyday, Burnden Park could hold up to 70,000 supporters but this figure was dramatically reduced during the final 20 years of its life. A section of The Embankment was sold off in 1986 to make way for a new Normid superstore. At this time, Bolton were in a dire position financially and were struggling in the Football League Third Division, so there was a low demand for tickets and the loss of part of the ground gave the Bolton directors good value for money.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: By 1992 the club's directors had decided that it would be difficult to convert Burnden Park into an all-seater stadium for a club of Bolton's ambition, as the Taylor Report required all first- and second-tier clubs to do. A decision was made to build an out of town stadium in the town of Horwich, with the eventual location chosen 5 miles due west of the town centre. The stadium opened in August 1997, as a modern, all-seater stadium with a capacity of around 29,000. In recognition of the club's former ground the stadium stands on "Burnden Way". It has four stands, though the lower-tier seating is one continuous bowl. It was originally known as the "Reebok Stadium" after long-time team sponsor, Reebok. This was initially unpopular with many fans, as it was considered impersonal, and that too much emphasis was being placed on financial considerations. This opposition considerably lessened since the stadium was built. In April 2014, the stadium was renamed as part of a four-year deal with new sponsors Macron sportswear. When this deal came to an end in August 2018 the stadium was again renamed, this time as the University of Bolton Stadium.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 2014 the club established Bolton Wanderers Free School at the stadium, a sixth form offering sports and related courses for 16 to 19-year-olds. However, this was later closed in 2017 due to low pupil numbers which deemed it 'not financially viable'.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton Wanderers Supporters' Association (BWSA) is the official supporters' association of Bolton Wanderers Football Club. The Supporters' Association was formed in 1992, on the initiative of a fan, Peter Entwistle. Later that year the Directors of the football club, satisfied that the Association had proven itself to be organised and responsible, officially recognised Bolton Wanderers Supporters' Association as the club's supporters' group.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In 1997, shortly after the move from Burnden Park to the Reebok Stadium, the BWSA accepted the invitation from the football club to hold its monthly meetings at the new stadium. The University of Bolton Stadium has continued to be their venue ever since. In the year 2000, the Association expanded significantly when its invitation to affiliate was accepted by Bolton Wanderers supporters groups in other parts of Britain, and also by groups around the world. All of these foreign groups have come on board to become independent, but integral, parts of the official Bolton Wanderers supporters' family. Requests for affiliated status continue to be received regularly from other places around the world where Wanderers fans find themselves gather together.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Historically Bolton's traditional rivals were near neighbours Bury, though due to limited league meetings and Bury's expulsion from the Football League in August 2019 the rivalry has lessened considerably. The club also has traditional rivalries with fellow Lancashire clubs Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End, as all three sides are separated by less than fifteen miles and are all founder members of the Football League. More recently, Bolton have developed an enmity with Wigan Athletic, whose fans generally regard Bolton as their main rivals. Wigan eventually became known as Bolton biggest rivals, and crowd trouble marred the 16 October 2021 meeting between the two clubs. A study in 2021 found that the Bolton/Wigan rivalry was the most competitive in all of English Football history, with both teams having an identical record against each other at the time. Bolton fans also maintain a mutual dislike with the fans of nearby Burnley, Oldham Athletic, Tranmere Rovers, and the more distant Wolverhampton Wanderers.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: According to a survey conducted in August 2019 entitled 'The League of Love and Hate', Bolton supporters named Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Athletic, Oldham Athletic and Bury as their biggest rivals.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: The holding company of Bolton Wanderers F.C. is Burnden Leisure Ltd, a private company limited by shares. Burnden Leisure was previously a public company traded on the AIM stock exchange until its voluntary delisting in May 2003 following Eddie Davies's takeover. The club itself is 100% owned by Burnden Leisure; businessman Davies owned 94.5% of the shares, with the remaining stakes held by over 6,000 small shareholders with less than 0.1% holding each. After Bolton exited the Premier League, Davies revoked his investment into the club. This led to published debts of almost £200m and brought the club very close to being wound up over unpaid tax bills owed to HMRC. As a gesture of his goodwill and as incentive to sell the club, Davies promised to wipe over £125m of debt owed to him when the club was sold, which wiped a significant proportion of debt the club owed.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: In March 2016, Sports Shield, a consortium led by Dean Holdsworth, bought Davies' controlling stake; a year later, Holdsworth shareholding in Sports Shield was bought out by Ken Anderson. Under Anderson, financial difficulties dogged the club, with player strikes, further winding up orders and financial disputes with other creditors. These culminated in the club (Burnden Leisure Ltd) going into administration in May 2019, and, with the club's future ownership unresolved, being threatened with expulsion from the EFL in August 2019. On 28 August, the club was sold to Football Ventures (Whites) Ltd despite opposition from Ken Anderson.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton Wanderers had a long-established partnership with sporting goods firm Reebok, which was formed in the town. Between 1997 and 2009 this partnership encompassed shirt sponsorship, kit manufacture and stadium naming rights. The combined shirt sponsorship (1990–2009) and kit manufacture (1993–2012) deals covering 22 years represent the longest kit partnership in English football history. The stadium's naming rights were held by Reebok from its opening in 1997 until 2014.


title: Bolton Wanderers F.C.

text: Bolton's kit manufacturer from the 2014–15 season changed to Italian sportswear brand Macron, who also became stadium name sponsors for four years. In August 2018, the stadium naming rights went to the University of Bolton in an undisclosed deal.


title: Daymond John

text: Daymond Garfield John (born February 23, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, and television personality. He is best known as the founder, president, and chief executive officer of FUBU, and appears as an investor on the ABC reality television series "Shark Tank". Based in New York City, John is the founder of The Shark Group.


title: Daymond John

text: John was born February 22, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York City, but grew up in the Hollis neighborhood of Queens and attended Catholic school for seven years. He began working at the age of 10, when his parents divorced; one early job entailed handing out flyers for $2 ($7.42 today) an hour. In high school, he participated in a program that allowed him to work a full-time job and attend school on an alternating weekly basis, which he credits with instilling an entrepreneurial spirit. After graduating from high school, he started a commuter van service and waited tables at Red Lobster. When John was 16, his mother had a boyfriend, an attorney, who he considered a stepfather and mentor.


title: Daymond John

text: John started FUBU in his mother's house in Hollis, Queens. When John first had the idea for a clothing company for young men, his mother taught him how to sew and supported him by allowing her house to be taken over to grow the business.


title: Daymond John

text: Wool ski hats with their tops tied off with fishing line were popular at the time, and John noticed them being sold for $20, which he considered overpriced. He went home and sewed about 90 hats with his next-door neighbor. They sold their homemade hats for $10 each on the corner of Jamaica Avenue and made $800 in a single day in 1992. After the hats, they began selling screen-printed T-shirts. To break into the market, they sold on consignment and at large events around the Northeast. To make ends meet, John held a full-time job at Red Lobster, working on the FUBU business in between shifts.


title: Daymond John

text: Sensing potential, John and his mother mortgaged their house for $100,000 to generate start-up capital. In addition to Brown, he recruited longtime friends J. Alexander Martin and Keith Perrin into the business, and began sewing the FUBU logo onto hockey jerseys, sweatshirts, and T-shirts. They loaned about 10 of the hockey jerseys out to rappers for their music videos for two years and got product placements in about 30 videos. They were perceived as a large clothing brand, despite being a relatively small company and stores started requesting their brand. In 1993, he convinced LL Cool J, an old neighborhood friend, to wear a FUBU T-shirt for a promotional campaign. Later, while filming a 30-second advertising spot for The Gap, LL Cool J wore a FUBU hat in the commercial and incorporated the line "for us, by us" in his rapping.


title: Daymond John

text: In 1992, or 1994, John received $300,000 in orders and also an offer for participating in Macy's (M) at a Las Vegas fashion trade show, MAGIC. They had to take out a second mortgage of his mother's house in order to fulfill the orders. After being turned down by 27 banks for a loan, his mother used the last of their money to take out an advertisement in the NY Times. As a result of the ad, FUBU made a deal with Samsung Textiles, allowing them to complete their orders.


title: Daymond John

text: In 2009, John received a call from Mark Burnett asking him to join the cast of ABC's new reality business show "Shark Tank", which gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their businesses to investors, or "Sharks" in the hopes of receiving an investment. Shark Tank completed its 13th season in May 2022. John has invested $8,567,000 of his own money in "Shark Tank" companies as of May 12, 2017. His favorite investments on record by 2015 were Al "Bubba" Baker's boneless ribs and Bombas socks. In 2016, "Shark Tank" won an Emmy Award, and won Outstanding Reality Program from 2012-2014.


title: Daymond John

text: John invested in Bubba's-Q Boneless Ribs on Season 5 of "Shark Tank" and has helped grow the company from $154,000 in sales to $16 million in 3 years. In 2017, Bubba's-Q Boneless Ribs partnered up with Carl's Jr. to create the limited-edition Baby Back Rib Burger.


title: Daymond John

text: On Season 5 of "Shark Tank", John made a unique deal with 15-year-old Moziah "Mo" Bridges, who is the owner of Mo's Bows. John decided not to invest in Mo's Bows but instead to mentor the young entrepreneur. Recently, Mo's Bows agreed to a seven-figure licensing partnership with the NBA to create bow ties that use the teams' logos. During an update on the show, Mo's Bows were being sold at Neiman Marcus.


title: Daymond John

text: After investing in Bombas Socks on Season 6 of "Shark Tank," total sales for the company increased from $450,000 in the first nine months to $12 million. For every pair of socks sold, Bombas donates a pair to someone in need.


title: Daymond John

text: John invested in Sun-Staches on Season 6 of "Shark Tank" and they have done over $4.2 million in sales.


title: Daymond John

text: John is the CEO and founder of The Shark Group, a brand management and consulting firm. The Shark Group office is located in Manhattan, New York.


title: Daymond John

text: In 2015, John co-founded Daymond John's Success Formula, a program designed to teach business owners and entrepreneurs how to start and grow their business.


title: Daymond John

text: The program offers a $1,500 scholarship to two students a year. This scholarship is given in hopes to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs.


title: Daymond John

text: In 2022, John competed in season eight of "The Masked Singer" as "Fortune Teller" who rode in a fortune teller machine-type vehicle. He was eliminated on "TV Theme Night" alongside Christopher Knight, Mike Lookinland, and Barry Williams as "Mummies".


title: Daymond John

text: John has released five books: "Display of Power", "The Brand Within", "The Power of Broke", "Rise and Grind" and 'Powershift'.


title: Daymond John

text: John has received numerous awards, including Brandweek Marketer of the Year, the NAACP Entrepreneurs of the Year Award (which he won twice), the Advertising Age Marketing 1000 Award for Outstanding Ad Campaign, the Essence Award, Crain's New York Business Forty Under Forty Award, Ernst & Young's New York Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Brandeis University International Business School's Asper Award for Excellence in Global Entrepreneurship, Details 50 Most Influential Men, and the Congressional Achievement Award for Entrepreneurship (which he won twice).


title: Daymond John

text: In April 2017, John was diagnosed with stage II thyroid cancer. John successfully underwent surgery to remove the cancerous nodule.


title: Daymond John

text: In 2018 John married Heather Taras, his second wife, with whom he has a daughter named Minka Jagger. He has two daughters from his first marriage, named Destiny and Yasmeen.


title: Daymond John

text: John is on the Board of Overseers and volunteer as a host or judge at NFTE events. NFTE is a global organization with chapters in 12 countries that teaches the value of entrepreneurship and core competencies to students in low income areas.


title: Daymond John

text: "What a powerful speech from Minister Louis Farrakhan...His deep understanding of the Bible and respect for other people's religions was truly inspiring".


title: Daymond John

text: John garnered instant backlash as people brought up Farrakhan's history of anti-Semitism and John immediately apologized and tweeted:


title: Daymond John

text: "In regards to my tweet regarding DMXs funeral, my comments on Minister Farrakhan were only related to what I just witnessed tonight, unbeknownst to his prior stances...As someone who was fortunate enough to have a step dad of the Jewish faith, I do not condone and never would condone any anti Semitic, prejudice or any remarks of hatred. The prior tweet will be removed to avoid further pain and confusion to anyone who has felt hurt in the past by any negative comments of his."


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Peep Show is a British television sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. It was written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb, among others. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 2003 until 2015. In 2010, it became the longest-running comedy in Channel 4 history in terms of years on air.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: "Peep Show" follows the lives of Mark Corrigan (Mitchell) and Jeremy "Jez" Usbourne (Webb), two very different, dysfunctional best friends who share a flat in Croydon, South London. Mark is a socially awkward and despondent loan manager, while Jeremy is a childish slacker and unemployed musician who lives in Mark's spare room. Stylistically, the show uses point of view shots—giving the programme its title—with the thoughts of main characters Mark and Jeremy audible as voice-overs. The show is also noted for its veristic portrayal of human life through a general lack of conventional character development in Mark and Jeremy, and their purgatorial lifestyle together from their twenties to their forties as a result of their shared inability to change. The show has been described by co-creator Sam Bain as portraying "the stubborn persistence of human suffering", and, through the exploration of existentialism and loneliness, as a realistic portrayal of "why ordinary people are evil".


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Though it never achieved high viewing figures during its original run, the show received consistent critical acclaim and has since become a cult classic. In April 2019, three years after its final episode, "Peep Show" was named the 13th greatest British sitcom in a poll by "Radio Times". The television series has been considered one of the best ever produced in the 21st century.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Writers Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain met actors/writers Mitchell and Webb during a failed attempt to complete a team-written sitcom for the BBC. They had an old, unproduced script that they wanted to revive called "All Day Breakfast" and brought in Mitchell and Webb to help out. The show did not work out but the four developed as a partnership, and one idea eventually evolved into "Peep Show" for Channel 4. "Peep Show" was originally conceived as a sitcom in the style of "Beavis and Butt-head" revolving around two characters watching and discussing television. However, the idea was dropped due to the large expense that airing clips from other shows would bring as well as Mitchell and Webb's fear that, because their characters would only be watching television, "[they] wouldn't be in the show".


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Instead, Armstrong and Bain opted to produce a more story-based sitcom with an unconventional filming style. The events of the two main characters' lives are seen almost exclusively from their own points of view with a voice-over providing their internal thoughts. Scenes in the show are sometimes filmed using cameras strapped to the actors' heads, or attached to a hat, to give the viewer a point of view identical to that of the protagonists. The quality of footage captured with this method is sometimes poor and the technique was used less and less in later series. When head-mounted cameras are not used, scenes are filmed with the camera being held over the actor's shoulder, or directly in front of their face; each scene is therefore shot multiple times from different angles. Armstrong and Bain's choice of the style was influenced by the 2000 Channel 4 documentary "Being Caprice" about the model Caprice Bourret which featured a similar technique that had in turn been copied from the 1999 film "Being John Malkovich". Bain noted: "So it's a third-hand steal, really. We thought it would be great for comedy, hearing someone else's thoughts. The voices give you a whole other dimension in terms of jokes." The idea for using voice-overs came from a scene in the Woody Allen film "Annie Hall" in which the true feelings of the characters are conveyed by subtitles. The POV technique separates "Peep Show" from other sitcoms and Mitchell claims that without it "Peep Show" would be similar to shows like "Spaced" and "Men Behaving Badly".


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Two pilots were filmed for the show, which allowed Armstrong and Bain to firmly develop and finalise the style of the show. Armstrong said, "On the run of doing those two pilots, we really created the show in the way that you couldn't if you hadn't tried it out." In the original pilot, Olivia Colman's character Sophie Chapman had a voice-over as well as Mitchell and Webb's characters Mark and Jeremy. The POV technique was also restricted solely to the character thinking at the time; it was later expanded so that the view could come from a third party. Bain and Armstrong are the show's principal writers and Mitchell and Webb provide additional material. Many story lines come from experiences in the writers' lives, particularly Bain's. For example, the series 5 episode "Burgling" sees Mark apprehend a burglar by sitting on him, something Bain once did in a video shop before he was told to get off as he was scaring the customers. The writing for each series takes place seven to eight months before filming begins; once each episode is mapped out scene by scene they must be approved by the producer Andrew O'Connor and Channel 4. Rehearsals take two weeks and filming lasts for six to seven weeks.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: For the first two series, the scenes set in Mark and Jeremy's flat were filmed in a real property in Croydon, where the show takes place. The flat's owners did not allow it to be used for series 3, so a replica was constructed in a carpet warehouse in Neasden. Further filming took place at West London Film Studios. Mark and Jeremy's flat was chosen to be in Croydon because pilot director, Jeremy Wooding, “liked the idea of there being trams”, but Channel 4 stopped him using trams in the series.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The theme tune for the first series was an original composition by Daniel Pemberton and is featured on his "TVPOPMUZIK" album, and can be heard on his Myspace page. From the second series onwards, the theme music is the song "Flagpole Sitta" by the American band Harvey Danger (although the original first series composition was still heard briefly during scene changes). A working title for the programme was "POV", as noted by David Mitchell on the DVD commentary for the first episode of the first series.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: In 2005, The Carsey-Werner Company created a pilot for a US remake starring Johnny Galecki as Mark. However, the pilot failed, and the series was never produced. Galecki went on to star in "The Big Bang Theory" shortly afterwards.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Spike TV commissioned its own version in 2008, originally to be written and directed by Robert Weide, who is the executive producer of "Curb Your Enthusiasm". It was to be written by Armstrong and Bain, but it never went to series.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: In May 2019, Sam Bain, co-creator of the original "Peep Show" series, confirmed in a "Guardian" article that another US remake is in the works in collaboration with FX Networks. It was being written by Karey Dorenetto and would feature two female leads, but thus far has not come to fruition.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Mark and Jez start out with similar aims of sleeping with their next-door neighbour Toni (Elizabeth Marmur). Jez does this, while she is separating from her husband, Tony. Mark is obsessed with his colleague Sophie (Olivia Colman), who is more interested in their manly colleague Jeff. Mark has a one-night stand with a teenage goth girl. Mark and Jez endure awkward situations: Mark admires his boss, Alan Johnson (Paterson Joseph), and struggles to work out whether or not he is sexually attracted to him. Jez remembers engaging in fellatio with Super Hans (Matt King) during a drug binge. Sophie beats Mark to a promotion, so Mark and Jez desperately team up to prank call Sophie, which leads to her shooting them with a pellet gun. They also launch a pepper spray attack on Super Hans, who has begun a fling with Toni. Mark sees a therapist, and nearly succeeds in having sex with Sophie, but this chance is ruined by Jez's apparent drug overdose. Shortly afterwards, Jez claims to Toni that he has a terminal illness in order to persuade her to have sex with him.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Tony moves back in with Toni. Super Hans develops a crack cocaine addiction. At Sophie's dance class, Jez meets, falls in love with and starts an relationship with Nancy (Rachel Blanchard), an attractive and happy-go-lucky American. They briefly enjoy a wild sex life, but tensions brew after she makes it clear that she believes in free love, announcing that she has no commitment to him in front of their friends without his consent. Jez is further humiliated by Nancy having sex with a member of the dance class in front of him, but he remains naively enamoured with her. Things make a turn for the worst for Jez after Nancy then decides to become celibate. Jez briefly appears to be having some success with his music career with Super Hans. Mark's life is falling apart, as Sophie plans to move in with Jeff. Mark forges a brief friendship with a colleague, Daryl, which he ends after he discovers that Daryl is a Neo-Nazi. Mark falls for a shy, attractive student in a shoe shop and makes an ill-judged visit to his old university, Dartmouth, where she studies. Mark finds out from Jez that Jeff has been cheating on Sophie, and when Mark informs Sophie of that, Sophie begins to slowly end the relationship. Nancy asks Jez to marry her, for visa reasons, and despite the fact she does not love him and he will get nothing out of the marriage, he accepts gleefully out of his own love of her. Out of concerns for Nancy arguably using him, Mark gets Super Hans to lie to Jez and say that the latter had sex with her, but after they see his reaction they cannot go through with it. Jez and Nancy do get married despite Mark's efforts, but after they decide to start having sex again Jez admits to Nancy, who is now his wife, that he hooked up with Toni. Despite her previously making it clear to Jeremy that their wedding would be just a meaningless "administrative procedure" – and her own infidelity – Nancy angrily leaves him.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The series begins with Jez in a relationship with Michelle, of whom he is not fond but with whom he stays as they plan a threesome with another woman. Big Suze (Sophie Winkleman) re-enters Jez's life, but has a new boyfriend, Stu, whom Jez is both deeply jealous of and somewhat sexually attracted to. Despite Stu's benevolence towards him, Jez plans to punch him, which ends in him getting punched himself. Mark and Sophie have finally become a couple, but their relationship is made difficult by Mark's unwillingness to both be intimate with her and do pleasurable things she has taken an interest in, such as clubbing and drug-taking. This hesitance is worsened when Mark is "mugged" by some unarmed street thugs (whom he non-forcibly gives his phone and wallet to out of cowardice), which, much to Sophie's horror, leads him to carry around an illegal knife. Things get worse for the couple when Mark is separated from Sophie once again when their employer relocates her to Bristol. Merry, Jez and Mark's friend from university, visits and Mark arranges for her to be sectioned. Jez and Super Hans attempt to run a pub. Jez holds a magic mushroom party in the flat. Jez has a fling with Mark's sister, whom he quickly grows to dislike, while Mark falls in love with Suze. Jez becomes extremely jealous with Mark and Suze's closeness, and outs his feelings for her in front of them both. Despite Big Suze seeming to genuinely have mutual feelings for Mark, he ruins the opportunity due to his lack of self-esteem and feelings of obligation towards Sophie. Jez serves on a jury and has a date with the female defendant. In the last episode, Jez tries to get back together with Suze but is hindered somewhat by Super Hans attempting to go cold turkey. Meanwhile, Mark, having ruined his chances of starting a relationship with Big Suze, plans to propose to Sophie, and becomes obsessed and neurotic about doing so. He spends his saved-up "Sunday Times" "mega-vouchers" on taking her to a hotel in the Quantocks, a trip on which Jez, Big Suze and a withdrawing Super Hans accompany him. Despite it being apparent that Mark has privately begun to loathe Sophie, he nonetheless remains committed to proposing to her. Sophie gets lost out on the hills one night, forcing Mark and Jez to go and look for her. They then get even more lost themselves; it is only after Jez asks Mark what he truly likes about Sophie that he changes his mind about the proposal, upon coming to terms with the truth that they not only have nothing in common, but that he also finds her incredibly annoying. However, Sophie accidentally finds his engagement ring in his bag before he returns and "says yes", which Mark reluctantly accepts to avoid embarrassment.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: During this series, recently engaged Mark and Sophie visit Sophie's parents, and Jez has sex with Sophie's mother. Big Suze breaks up with Jez once again after Johnson offers to pay him in order to have sex with her and he agrees. Despite being disgusted by the offer, she subsequently starts a relationship with Johnson claiming that he is an "alpha male". Mark's attempt, at Johnson's request, to head a group of staff to formulate a merger between two departments is a failure, which leads to Mark being humiliated at JLB's conference. In an attempt to get away from Sophie, Mark joins a gym and discovers that Nancy is working there, after which Jez makes a failed attempt to reconcile. Sophie leaves on a business trip to Frankfurt, leaving Mark to consider a fling with a woman whom he recently met at his school reunion. Jez finds some well-paid work as a handyman for "The Orgazoid", one of his musical heroes, but discovers that his new employer expects him to give him "a hand". Mark and Sophie attend couples counselling which Mark hopes will unearth all their problems and end the engagement. Mark is less than pleased when the conversation turns to his poor sexual performances. Mark and Jeremy spend a weekend on a narrowboat on the Shropshire Union Canal for Mark's stag do, at which Mark and Jez meet two sisters in a pub. After meeting the businessman father of the girls, Mark attempts to secure a job with him in Bangalore as a means of escaping his impending wedding. The plan backfires when Jez accidentally kills the pet dog of one of the girls and the family find out when a series of attempts to cover it up lead to him eating it. On Mark's wedding day, Mark has resigned himself to marrying Sophie. Meanwhile, Jez is having difficulty juggling a hungover Super Hans, his best man speech and Nancy's imminent return to America. On the way to the church, Mark impulsively proposes to a woman in a cafe and steps out in front of a car making him realise that he should call the wedding off. However, after hiding in the church with Jez while all the guests arrive, Mark, with visible reluctance, feels obliged to marry Sophie when Jez gives away their hiding place. However, realising he was trying to get out of marrying her by hiding, Sophie runs out on Mark after the ceremony, planning to seek an annulment because he is "horrible". Jez gets into the car with Mark after he sees Nancy kissing Super Hans.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Much of the series revolves around Mark's search for "the one". His first date since his wedding is a double date which goes wrong due to going to a boring play, his date being uninterested in him and then returning to the house to find a burglar. He asks out the IT girl, Dobby (Isy Suttie), although the date ends badly when they find a vomiting Sophie in the toilets, who reveals to Dobby that she is married to him. Dobby remains interested, even when Mark rejects her offer to be his date at his upcoming birthday party to take a young Australian woman whom he had recently met whilst speed dating. Jez runs out of money and steals from Johnson's credit card and is temporarily evicted by Mark. Jez asks Big Suze if he can stay with her and Johnson, but is rejected. He tries to obtain money from his mother after his great aunt dies, which reveals their strained relationship. Mark, however, thrives in her company and is given the job of writing her boyfriend's military biography. Angry, Jeremy ruins Mark's ambitions by revealing how Mark was raped by the veteran's daughter, which she had initiated while he was asleep. Jeremy and Hans get a manager, Cally, for their band and go to a music festival. Jez and Mark both have sex with Cally, but she quickly rejects both of them. Mark fails to ask Dobby out and she finally moves on. Jez and Hans join a cult. Mark is promoted to Senior Credit Manager by Johnson but does not fire Sophie as ordered, after she reveals that she is pregnant with what may be his child. In the closing moments of the series, Jez tells Mark that he recently had sex with Sophie and that her baby might be his.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The series begins with JLB Credit closing down. Sophie tells Mark and Jez that Jeff is also a possible father of her baby. The mystery is solved when Sophie reveals that Mark is the baby's father. Jez meets Elena, a beautiful young Eastern European woman and occasional marijuana dealer who lives in their building. Jeremy quickly falls in love with her, but things deteriorate when it is revealed that Elena has a long-term partner, Gail, who is returning to London. Mark looks for work, starting a company with an ill-equipped Johnson, almost landing his dream job as a guide for historic walks, then becoming a waiter in Gail's Mexican restaurant—all the while trying to get anywhere with Dobby. To resolve their woman troubles, Jeremy and Mark host a party, which ends in Jeremy trying to rekindle his love for Elena, Mark failing to win over Dobbie, and Gail and Elena deciding to enter into a civil partnership. Mark pledges to take driving lessons in order to drive Sophie to the hospital when the baby arrives, but lies to her when he fails his test. Jeremy is upset over losing Elena, especially after she reveals that she is moving to Quebec with Gail. Sophie goes into labour early, and with Mark forced to reveal he cannot drive, a drunk Jeremy attempts to drive Sophie to the hospital and nearly runs Gail over. Jeremy admits that he and Elena were having an affair, then Sophie drives herself to the hospital with the two boys in the back seat.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Zahra and her boyfriend Ben are introduced, whom Jez meets while Sophie is giving birth. Jez is instantly attracted to Zahra and is selfishly pleased when he discovers that Ben is in a coma, potentially making Zahra single. However, Ben recovers fully, and, as thanks for being so friendly to Zahra, offers Jez a job with his record company, which Jez accepts as he hopes it will allow him to get closer to Zahra. The job does not go well, and his attempts to sign up his and Super Hans's band fails badly and ends up with him being fired from the band. Mark finally beats off competition from Gerrard to become Dobby's boyfriend, although he continues to behave awkwardly in her company. Gail sacks Mark from his job at the restaurant. Jez pretends to be an intellectual in order to impress Zahra, which enables him to have sex with her. When Mark comes to meet him the next morning the two find themselves locked in Zahra's flat, causing Ben to discover them and Mark to miss his son's christening. Jez, Hans, Dobby, Mark, Mark's sister and parents all have Christmas dinner at Jez and Mark's, with Mark pretending Dobby is a platonic friend rather than a girlfriend; Mark's father humiliates Dobby when he realises they are together, and she leaves, causing an enraged Mark to put his Christmas dinner through a paper shredder. After Zahra tells Jez that she has split from Ben, Jez accepts her offer to move in with her. Mark, needing to salvage his relationship with Dobby, asks her to move in with him, to which she agrees. Zahra rejects Jez after she learns he has been flirting with Super Hans's girlfriend, dumping him.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The series begins with Mark waiting for Dobby to move in, while Dobby waits for Jez to move out. Mark suspects that Dobby will never move in, and that Gerrard is trying to steal her from him; however, Gerrard dies of flu. Jez and Super Hans amicably end their band, and this causes Jez to contemplate his life so far: he eventually agrees to undertake therapy sessions, which are paid for by Mark. Impressed by the therapy, Jez decides to become a life coach, but he fails a course of questionable value. Mark then gives Jez a fake life coach certificate and he begins "coaching" anyone who will let him, causing emotional and personal harm. Mark writes a book, which is published by an incompetent vanity publisher. Mark, Dobby, Jez and Hans go paintballing. Mark gets a job at the bathroom supplies company where Hans works, but is soon sacked. He also starts an evening course to gain an MBA. Jez falls in love with Dobby and declares his feelings, as does Mark. While Mark and Jez fight, Dobby leaves the scene and heads to New York, where she has a new job.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The final series opens with Mark and Jez meeting for the first time since their fight over Dobby, with Mark still bearing a grudge over the role Jez played in his break-up with her. Jez is living in Super Hans's bathroom, while Mark has a new flatmate. After reconciling, Jez moves back in with Mark and they go back to their old ways. Jez begins a relationship with a younger man, Joe, and also has sex with Joe's girlfriend Megan. Mark seeks out April (Catherine Shepherd—previously seen only in a single episode in series 2), whom he always thought to be his perfect woman, despite her now being married. Dobby has moved to New York and has a new boyfriend. He beats up Mark when he discovers Mark had been tracking Dobby's movements. Hans marries Molly in Norfolk. Sophie turns up at the flat depressed and appears to have a drink problem. She is in a relationship with a man whom she thinks is having an affair. She offers Mark a chance to give their relationship another go, which he initially accepts, but Mark decides to try and break up April's marriage and start a new life with her. In the final episode, all the duo's past lies and selfish decisions catch up with them. Mark loses his job at a bank because of a loan he gave Jez previously (ironically, to exploit him) without asking for correct identification paperwork, and he is replaced by his rival Jeff. Joe leaves Jez after his lies about him being popular and young are caught out, and Jez claims he is tired of partying all the time. Super Hans's wife is upset because he is unwilling to stop his old disreputable lifestyle, and after he kidnaps and threatens April's husband, she finally leaves him. Super Hans ends up leaving for Macedonia to open a moped hire business and leaves Mark and Jez right back where they always end up due to their bad choices, with Mark losing his newest relationship and job, while Jez remains stuck in a rut with no prospects. It ends with the two watching TV together, asking and answering inane questions, with Jez thinking to himself how they both "love each other really" and Mark reminding himself that he "simply must get rid of him".


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The series was met with critical acclaim, and is considered to be a cult television show. Early previews called it "promising" and noted it had "the sniff of a cult favourite"; Jane Simon of "The Daily Mirror" claimed that "Peep Show" in years to come will "be seen as the pinnacle of comedy it obviously is." "Peep Show" won the titles "The Best Returning British TV Sitcom 2007" and "Comedy of the Year 2008" in "The Comedy.co.uk Awards".


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: "The Guardian" newspaper described it as "the best comedy of the decade". "The Times" praised the show's "scorching writing" and named it the 15th best TV show of the 2000s.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Ricky Gervais has been cited as saying "the last thing I got genuinely excited about on British TV was "Peep Show", which I thought was the best sitcom since "Father Ted"". While presenting an award at the 2005 British Comedy Awards, Gervais called it "the best show on television today" and said it was a "debacle" that it did not win an award.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: In 2019, "Peep Show" was named the 13th greatest British sitcom of all time in a poll by "Radio Times". In the same year, "The Guardian" ranked it 9th on its list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: In June 2020, a scene from season 2 episode 1 of Jeremy in blackface was removed from Netflix due to concerns over racism.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: Despite the critical acclaim, "Peep Show" never garnered consistently high viewing figures. At the beginning of 2006 there were rumours that the show would not be commissioned for a fourth series due to insufficient ratings of just over a million viewers. However, due to the large DVD revenues of the previous series, a fourth series was commissioned. The premiere of the fourth series showed no improvement on the ratings of the previous one, continuing to attract its core audience of 1.3 million (8% of viewers). Despite the low viewing figures, the fifth series of the show was commissioned prior to the broadcast of series 4. Channel 4's decision to commission the show for a fifth series was said to be for a variety of reasons, including again the high DVD sales of the previous series (400,000 to date), the continued high quality of the show itself, and the rising profile of Mitchell and Webb due to the success of their BBC sketch show "That Mitchell and Webb Look", their advertisements for Apple, and their feature film "Magicians". The fifth series showed no improvement with 1.1 million viewers. Producer Andrew O'Connor cited the POV filming style as the reason for the low ratings: "It made it feel original and fresh and got it commissioned for a second series, but it stopped it from being a breakout hit and stopped it finding a bigger audience." Bain and Armstrong agreed that the POV style stopped it from becoming mainstream.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: The first episode of series 6 – the first to be shown in its new earlier time slot of 10pm – attracted "Peep Show's" highest ratings to date, with 1.8 million viewers (9.2% audience share), with a further 208,000 (1.8%) watching it on Channel 4 +1.


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: A book entitled "Peep Show: The Scripts and More", which featured the scripts of every episode from the first five series as well as an introduction from Mitchell and Webb, was released in 2008. To celebrate the show, Channel 4 aired a "Peep Show Night" on Christmas Eve in 2010, which included the documentary "Peep Show and Tell" and the fan-selected episodes "Wedding" (s4 e6) and "Shrooming" (s3 e3).


title: Peep Show (British TV series)

text: In 2018, a fan-hosted podcast was created, called ‘Podcast Secrets of the Pharaohs’, a play on words based on the book ‘Business Secrets of the Pharaohs', a fictional book in the show. Hosted by Rob Graham and Tom Harrison, the podcast reviewed episodes of the show, alongside guests, including David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Paterson Joseph, Vera Filatova, Sophie Winkleman and Paul Clayton. The podcast concluded in 2022.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Independence Day is celebrated annually on 15 August as a public holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the day when the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, which transferred legislative sovereignty to the Indian Constituent Assembly, came into effect. India retained King George VI as head of state until its transition to a republic, when the Constitution of India came into effect on 26 January 1950 (celebrated as Indian Republic Day) and replaced the dominion prefix, Dominion of India, with the enactment of the sovereign law Constitution of India. India attained independence following the independence movement noted for largely non-violent resistance and civil disobedience.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Independence coincided with the partition of India, in which British India was divided along religious lines into the Dominions of India and Pakistan; the partition was accompanied by violent riots and mass casualties, and the displacement of nearly 15 million people due to religious violence. On 15 August 1947, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru raised the Indian national flag above the Lahori Gate of the Red Fort in Delhi. On each subsequent Independence Day, the incumbent Prime Minister customarily raises the flag and gives an address to the nation. The entire event is broadcast by Doordarshan, India's national broadcaster, and usually begins with the shehnai music of Ustad Bismillah Khan. Independence Day is observed throughout India with flag-hoisting ceremonies, parades and cultural events. It is a national holiday.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: European traders had established outposts in the Indian subcontinent by the 17th century. Through overwhelming military strength, the East India Company fought and annexed local kingdoms and established themselves as the dominant force by the 18th century. Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Government of India Act 1858 led the British Crown to assume direct control of India. In the decades following, civic society gradually emerged across India, most notably the Indian National Congress Party, formed in 1885. The period after World War I was marked by colonial reforms such as the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms, but it also witnessed the enactment of the unpopular Rowlatt Act and calls for self-rule by Indian activists. The discontent of this period crystallised into nationwide non-violent movements of non-cooperation and civil disobedience, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: During the 1930s, the reform was gradually legislated by the British; Congress won victories in the resulting elections. The next decade was beset with political turmoil: Indian participation in World War II, the Congress' final push for non-cooperation, and an upsurge of Muslim nationalism led by the All-India Muslim League. The escalating political tension was capped by Independence in 1947. The jubilation was tempered by the bloody partition of colonial India into India and Pakistan.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: At the 1929 session of the Indian National Congress, the "Purna Swaraj" declaration, or "Declaration of the Independence of India" was promulgated, and 26 January was declared as Independence Day in 1930. The Congress called on people to pledge themselves to civil disobedience and "to carry out the Congress instructions issued from time to time" until India attained complete independence. Celebration of such an Independence Day was envisioned to stoke nationalistic fervour among Indian citizens, and to force the British government to consider granting independence.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: The Congress observed 26 January as the Independence Day between 1930 and 1946. The celebration was marked by meetings where the attendants took the "pledge of independence". Jawaharlal Nehru described in his autobiography that such meetings were peaceful, solemn, and "without any speeches or exhortation". Gandhi envisaged that besides the meetings, the day would be spent " ... in doing some constructive work, whether it is spinning, or service of 'untouchables,' or reunion of Hindus and Mussalmans, or prohibition work, or even all these together". Following actual independence in 1947, the Constitution of India came into effect on and from 26 January 1950; since then 26 January is celebrated as Republic Day.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: In 1946, the Labour government in Britain, its exchequer exhausted by the recently concluded World War II, realised that it had neither the mandate at home, the international support nor the reliability of native forces for continuing to maintain control in an increasingly restless India. On 20 February 1947, Prime Minister Clement Attlee announced that the British government would grant full self-governance to British India by June 1948 at the latest.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: The new viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, advanced the date for the transfer of power, believing the continuous contention between the Congress and the Muslim League might lead to a collapse of the interim government. He chose the second anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, 15 August, as the date of power transfer. The British government announced on 3 June 1947 that it had accepted the idea of partitioning British India into two states; the successor governments would be given dominion status and would have an implicit right to secede from the British Commonwealth. The Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo 6 c. 30) of the Parliament of the United Kingdom partitioned British India into the two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan (including what is now Bangladesh) with effect from 15 August 1947, and granted complete legislative authority upon the respective constituent assemblies of the new countries. The Act received royal assent on 18 July 1947.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Millions of Muslim, Sikh and Hindu refugees trekked the newly drawn borders in the months surrounding independence. In Punjab, where the borders divided the Sikh regions in halves, massive bloodshed followed; in Bengal and Bihar, where Mahatma Gandhi's presence assuaged communal tempers, the violence was mitigated. In all, between 250,000 and 1,000,000 people on both sides of the new borders died in the violence. While the entire nation was celebrating the Independence Day, Gandhi stayed in Calcutta in an attempt to stem the carnage. On 14 August 1947, the Independence Day of Pakistan, the new Dominion of Pakistan came into being; Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in as its first Governor General in Karachi.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: The Constituent Assembly of India met for its fifth session at 11 pm on 14 August in the Constitution Hall in New Delhi. The session was chaired by the president Rajendra Prasad. In this session, Jawaharlal Nehru delivered the Tryst with Destiny speech proclaiming India's independence.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: The members of the Assembly formally took the pledge of being in the service of the country. A group of women, representing the women of India, formally presented the national flag to the assembly.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: The Dominion of India became an independent country as official ceremonies took place in New Delhi. Nehru assumed office as the first prime minister, and the viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, continued as its first governor general. Gandhi's name was invoked by crowds celebrating the occasion; Gandhi himself however took no part in the official events. Instead, he marked the day with a 24-hour fast, during which he spoke to a crowd in Calcutta, encouraging peace between Hindus and Muslims.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Independence Day, one of the three National holidays in India (the other two being the Republic Day on 26 January and Mahatma Gandhi's birthday on 2 October), is observed in all Indian states and union territories. On the eve of Independence Day, the President of India delivers the "Address to the Nation". On 15 August, the Prime Minister hoists the Indian flag on the ramparts of the historical site of Red Fort in Delhi. In his speech, the Prime Minister highlights the past year's achievements, raises important issues and calls for further development. He pays tribute to the leaders of the Indian independence movement. The Indian national anthem, "Jana Gana Mana", is sung. The speech is followed by a march past of divisions of the Indian Armed Forces and paramilitary forces. Parades and pageants showcase scenes from the independence struggle and India's diverse cultural traditions. Similar events take place in state capitals where the Chief Ministers of individual states unfurl the national flag, followed by parades and pageants. Until 1973, the Governor of the State hoisted the National Flag at the State capital. In February 1974, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi took up the issue with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi that the Chief Ministers, like the Prime Minister, should be allowed to hoist the national flag on Independence Day. Since 1974, Chief Ministers of the respective states have been allowed to hoist the national flag on Independence Day.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Flag hoisting ceremonies and cultural programmes take place in governmental and non-governmental institutions throughout the country. Schools and colleges conduct flag hoisting ceremonies and various cultural events. Governmental and non-governmental institutions decorate their premises with paper, balloon decorations with hangings of freedom fighter portraits on their walls and major government buildings are often adorned with strings of lights. In Delhi and some other cities, kite flying adds to the occasion. National flags of different sizes are used abundantly to symbolise allegiance to the country. Citizens adorn their clothing, wristbands, cars, household accessories with replicas of the tri-colour. Over a period of time, the celebration has changed emphasis from nationalism to a broader celebration of all things India.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: The Indian diaspora celebrates Independence Day around the world with parades and pageants, particularly in regions with higher concentrations of Indian immigrants. In some locations, such as New York and other US cities, 15 August has become "India Day" among the diaspora and the local populace. Pageants celebrate "India Day" either on 15 August or an adjoining weekend day.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: As early as three years after independence, the Naga National Council called for a boycott of Independence Day in northeast India. Separatist protests in this region intensified in the 1980s; calls for boycotts and terrorist attacks by insurgent organisations such as the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, marred celebrations. With increasing insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir from the late 1980s, separatist protesters boycotted Independence Day there with "bandh" (strikes), use of black flags and by flag burning. Terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jaish-e-Mohammed have issued threats, and have carried out attacks around Independence Day. Boycotting of the celebration has also been advocated by insurgent Maoist rebel organisations.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: In the anticipation of terrorist attacks, particularly from militants, security measures are intensified, especially in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai and in troubled states such as Jammu and Kashmir. The airspace around the Red Fort is declared a no-fly zone to prevent aerial attacks and additional police forces are deployed in other cities.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Since the assassination of Indira Gandhi, prime ministers would give their speeches from behind a bullet-proof glass panel. Since 2014, when Narendra Modi was elected as prime minister, he did away with this tradition. So additional intense measures were taken to ensure security.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: On Independence Day and Republic Day, patriotic songs in regional languages are broadcast on television and radio channels. They are also played alongside flag hoisting ceremonies. Patriotic films are broadcast. Over the decades, according to "The Times of India", the number of such films broadcast has decreased as channels report that audiences are oversaturated with patriotic films. The population belonging to Generation Y often combine nationalism with popular culture during the celebrations. This mixture is exemplified by outfits and savouries dyed with the tricolour and garments that represent India's various cultural traditions. Shops often offer Independence Day sales promotions. Some news reports have decried the commercialism. Indian Postal Service publishes commemorative stamps depicting independence movement leaders, nationalistic themes and defence-related themes on 15 August.


title: Independence Day (India)

text: Independence and partition inspired literary and other artistic creations. Such creations mostly describe the human cost of partition, limiting the holiday to a small part of their narrative. Salman Rushdie's novel "Midnight's Children" (1980), which won the Booker Prize and the Booker of Bookers, wove its narrative around children born at midnight of 14–15 August 1947 with magical abilities. "Freedom at Midnight" (1975) is a non-fiction work by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre that chronicled the events surrounding the first Independence Day celebrations in 1947. Few films centre on the moment of independence, instead highlighting the circumstances of partition and its aftermath. On the Internet, Google has been commemorating Independence Day of India since 2003 with a special doodle on its Indian homepage.


title: Ben Askren

text: Benjamin Michael Askren (born July 18, 1984) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. Askren was the former Bellator and ONE Welterweight Champion, remaining undefeated for over a decade before competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).


title: Ben Askren

text: An accomplished grappler, he was the 2008 US Olympic Team Member and National champion and the 2005 Pan American champion in freestyle wrestling, a two–time NCAA Division I national champion (four–time finalist), and three–time Big 12 Conference champion (four–time finalist) for the Missouri Tigers, and was the second wrestler to secure multiple Dan Hodge Trophies (the wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy) in folkstyle wrestling. He was also a world champion in submission wrestling.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren was introduced to the sport of wrestling by his father Chuck at age six, but only took the sport seriously when he started the sixth grade and joined a club. During high school, he became a two–time WIAA state champion out of Arrowhead High School in Wisconsin. Nationally, he placed in the podium at multiple US National tournaments in folkstyle, freestyle and Greco-Roman.


title: Ben Askren

text: In college, Askren wrestled for the Missouri Tigers at 174 pounds, where he was teammates with future UFC Welterweight Champion Tyron Woodley and future Bellator Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler. During his freshman campaign (2003–2004), Askren won the Big 12 Conference Championships and placed second at the NCAA Championships, with both matches being against standout from Oklahoma State Chris Pendleton. During his sophomore campaign (2004–2005), Askren placed second at both the NCAA and Big 12 Championships, losing both championship matches to Pendleton. After being a runner–up for half of his career, Askren shined as a junior and a senior, becoming the third athlete to ever earn the Dan Hodge Trophy in multiple occasions, as he received the award in both seasons after compiling a combined 87–0 record. Throughout his career, Askren defeated multiple NCAA champions such as Jake Herbert and Keith Gavin. After a legendary run, Askren graduated with a 153–8 record (seven of the losses were handled by Chris Pendleton and one of them by Ryan Lange), two Dan Hodge Trophies and a Schalles Award, two NCAA championships, three Big 12 Championships and 91 pins, the third most in NCAA Division I history.


title: Ben Askren

text: One of the most dominant collegiate wrestlers of all time, Askren's "funky" style relied heavily in unorthodox scrambling techniques and was known for his pinning ability as well as his massive afro. His peculiar and uncommon body shape for a wrestler allowed him to complete moves that his competition could not, thus constantly putting them in awkward positions. On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Askren would be one of six new inductees to the University of Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.


title: Ben Askren

text: Despite his style relying heavily in folkstyle rules, Askren was able to adapt fairly well to freestyle wrestling after his graduation from college. After working on adapting his style during 2007, Askren claimed the US National Championship in April and followed up by making the US Olympic Team in June. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Askren defeated Hungarian István Veréb via fall in the first round, but fell in the quarterfinals to Cuba's Iván Fundora on points. Fundora was then defeated by Russia's Buvaisar Saitiev, thus eliminating Askren's chances of competing for a medal.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren was then asked if inexperience in the new ruleset was a factor, but he responded; "That wasn't it," he said with tears in his eyes, "I just wasn't good enough. I sucked."


title: Ben Askren

text: Although Askren decided to pursue a career in MMA after the Olympics, he continued to compete in wrestling occasionally. In 2010, he avenged his Olympic loss by defeating Fundora in the semifinals of the Cerro Pelado International in Cuba. This came shortly after Askren won the Dave Schultz Memorial International. Later the same year, Askren defeated 2009 world silver medalist Jake Herbert in a folkstyle rules match at the Midlands Tournament. Askren also competed in the Agon Wrestling Championships and the Flo Premier League. In May 2019, Askren lost by technical superiority to five–time World and Olympic champion Jordan Burroughs in the annual Beat the Streets benefit event.


title: Ben Askren

text: After spending a little over a year in retirement from his MMA career, Askren announced a successful hip surgery in 2020 and revealed that he intends to return to competitive freestyle wrestling soon.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren made his professional MMA debut on February 7, 2009. It was held by Headhunter Productions at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center in Columbia, Missouri. He defeated Josh Flowers via TKO early in the first round.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren had his second fight at Patriot Act 2 in Columbia, Missouri. He defeated Mitchell Harris via submission by arm triangle. The fight was at a catchweight of 175 pounds.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren competed at the 2009 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship from September 26–27, in Barcelona, Spain. He won his first match against Toni Linden by arm triangle choke. He lost his second match to Pablo Popovitch, a veteran grappler he had trained with the previous summer, by figure four footlock early in the match. Popovitch went on to win the championship in the under 77 kg (169 lb) division.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren also competed at the 2009 FILA 2° World Grappling Championship. Askren faced the 2008 World Champion, Jacob Volkmann, in the 84 kg no-gi division. Askren out-wrestled Volkmann and won gold in the category.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren was a participant in Bellator Fighting Championships Welterweight Tournament. In his first fight, Askren defeated Ryan Thomas via technical submission at Bellator 14 on April 15, 2010. The outcome of the fight was controversial because Thomas protested the stoppage as soon as Askren released the choke.


title: Ben Askren

text: After Jim Wallhead was pulled from the tournament, Thomas was given another chance to compete. Thomas defeated Jacob McClintock by TKO in the first round at Bellator 15 and was awarded a rematch with Askren. When the two fought at Bellator 19, Askren came out victorious again with a unanimous decision after controlling Thomas with wrestling for three rounds.


title: Ben Askren

text: At Bellator 22, Askren defeated Dan Hornbuckle via unanimous decision with his superior wrestling dominating Hornbuckle for all three rounds, becoming the .


title: Ben Askren

text: On October 21, 2010 in Philadelphia Askren took on the Bellator Welterweight Champion Lyman Good. Despite being hit with a brutal upkick and almost getting caught in a triangle choke with one minute left, he was able to take down and control Good in every round. Askren won via unanimous decision (49–46, 48–47, and 50–45) to win the Bellator Welterweight Championship.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren next returned at Bellator 40 to fight and defeat Nick Thompson after taking down and controlling Thompson for all three rounds. Although Askren started off quickly in the third round with a spinning back fist and several other strikes, he was caught with an overhand right by Thompson, causing Askren to take down and control Thompson for the remainder of the round. Askren went on to win by unanimous decision (30–26, 30–27, and 30–27).


title: Ben Askren

text: Following his unanimous decision win over Thompson in a non-title affair at Bellator 40 in Newkirk, Oklahoma, Askren revealed that he was moving to Milwaukee to train under Duke Roufus at Roufusport.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren successfully defended his title against season 4 welterweight tournament winner Jay Hieron at Bellator 56 following a close split decision.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren successfully defended his title against season 5 welterweight tournament winner Douglas Lima at Bellator 64 on April 6, 2012, on Good Friday at the Caesars in Windsor, Canada.


title: Ben Askren

text: Next for Askren was a title defense against Karl Amoussou, the fight taking place at Bellator 86 on January 24, 2013. Askren once again used his top control wrestling to shut down his opponents grappling, and opened a cut on Amoussou's forehead with an elbow strike. The doctor stepped in between the third and fourth rounds, judging the cut too severe for Amoussou to continue.


title: Ben Askren

text: In the final fight of his contract, Askren faced tournament winner Andrey Koreshkov at Bellator 97. He dominated the fight with his wrestling and ground strikes, outstriking his opponent by a wide 248 to 3 margin before winning via TKO in the fourth round.


title: Ben Askren

text: On November 14, 2013, following a negotiation period, Bellator announced they had released Askren from the company, and that he was now an unrestricted free agent.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren met Bakhtiyar Abbasov, who had been riding a nine-fight win streak, in the main event of ONE FC: Honor and Glory on May 30. He won the fight via submission (arm-triangle choke) in the first round, and proceeded to call out ONE champion Nobutatsu Suzuki, stating "Suzuki is going to bring me my belt. He can put it in the middle of the cage and give it to me, or I can take it the hard way!”


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren faced Suzuki at ONE Fighting Championship: Reign of Champions on August 29, 2014. He won the fight via TKO due to strikes in the first round to become the new ONE Welterweight Champion.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren faced Luis Santos in the main event at ONE Championship: Valor of Champions on April 24. The fight was ruled "no contest" after an accidental eye poke from Askren at 2:19 of round 1 rendered Santos unable to continue.


title: Ben Askren

text: In the next fight Askren beat Russia's Nikolay Aleksakhin at the ONE Championship: Global Warriors on April 15, 2016 by unanimous decision.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren then fought Agilan Thani at the ONE Championship: Dynasty of Heroes on May 26, 2017. He won the fight via submission due to an arm-triangle choke in the first round.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren then faced Zebaztian Kadestam at the ONE Championship: Shanghai on September 7, 2017. He won the fight via TKO due to punches.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren then faced fellow veteran Shinya Aoki at ONE Championship: Immortal Pursuit on November 24, 2017. Prior to the bout, he claimed this would be his last fight. He won the fight via TKO due to punches early in the first round. He retired from the sport after the win.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren left the door open for one last match if he was made an offer to "prove I'm the best welterweight in the world". He discussed the possibility of facing Georges St-Pierre, claiming "He doesn't want a title fight. He just wants to build on his legacy," adding that he felt he would be the perfect opponent for St. Pierre. The contest never materialized.


title: Ben Askren

text: On November 3, 2018, it was announced that the UFC had signed Askren under the "trade UFC and One Championship agreement", in exchange for former UFC Flyweight Champion Demetrious Johnson.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren made his UFC debut against the former UFC Welterweight Champion Robbie Lawler on March 2, 2019 at UFC 235. The bout was initially scheduled for UFC 233, but after the event was cancelled the fight was rescheduled for UFC 235. Askren won the fight via bulldog choke in the first round, through a controversial stoppage by referee Herb Dean. Replays appear to show Lawler's arm going limp and giving a thumbs up right after, which some attribute to Lawler slipping in and out of consciousness. Although controversial, Nevada Athletic Commission executive director Bob Bennett explained that the commission had "no problem" with Dean's decision to stop the fight.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren faced long–time veteran Jorge Masvidal on July 6, 2019, at UFC 239. Leading up to the match, Askren utilized heavy trash-talk as usual. He was knocked out with a flying knee five seconds into the first round, the fastest knockout in UFC history, ending his undefeated run.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren faced ADCC World Champion and MMA veteran Demian Maia on October 26, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 20, and lost the fight via technical submission in round three. This fight earned him the "Fight of the Night" award.


title: Ben Askren

text: After a back-and-forth on social media, Askren fought YouTube personality Jake Paul in a boxing match on April 17, 2021, losing by TKO. The legitimacy of the match was questioned by fans and fellow MMA fighters. The match reportedly generated at least 1.45 million pay-per-view buys as per Triller. The legitimacy of the pay-per-view numbers have also been questioned by multiple personalities such as UFC president Dana White.


title: Ben Askren

text: He is competitive in the sport of disc golf. In 2009, Askren finished ninth in the Amateur World Championships. Askren is sponsored by Discraft. He is also involved in cryptocurrency investing.


title: Ben Askren

text: Askren co-hosts a few weekly wrestling podcasts: 'FloWrestling Radio Live' with Christian Pyles on FloWrestling, 'The Funky & FRB Show' with Front Row Brian on Rokfin and 'The T-Row & Funky Show' with two–time NCAA champion Tommy Rowlands.


title: K.d. lang

text: Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the songs "Constant Craving" and "Miss Chatelaine".