Sporting Chance

1 9 8 1 (Australia)
10 x 50 minute episodes

Ray Barrett had the lead in this primetime drama series from the ABC (Australia), playing Robbo – a divorced loner and freelance investigative sports journalist for a Sydney newspaper who often upset his editor with his column “Robbo’s World”.

Things began to change when Robbo took on an assistant – a fresh-faced budding young reporter from the country called Jo Travinska (played with impish glee by Liddy Clark).

Each self-contained episode had a different sport as its backdrop but focussed more on the people, the challenges, attitudes, and ethics (or lack thereof) involved in sport as an industry. Supporting Barrett and Clark throughout the series were a selection of actresses and actors including Belinda Giblin and Noni Hazelhurst.

For the series, ABC-TV carpenters built an almost full-scale model of the Sydney Journalist’s Club at a giant studio in Frenchs Forest. The carpenters also whipped up a large apartment where Robbo lived and worked.

Robbo
Ray Barrett
Jo Travinska
Liddy Clark
Walker
Brian Blain
Kerry
Sarah Kemp
Eddie
Trevor Kent
Clare
Belinda Giblin
Bulldog
Michael Petrovitch
Cathy
Noni Hazelhurst