'Peter O'Sullevan didn't speak to me for 18 months' - the dramatic inside story of how Channel 4 stole Cheltenham from the BBC

Thirty years ago this weekend, Cheltenham staged a Saturday fixture that no longer exists. The recorded attendance of 8,555 was nothing special but this was indubitably a momentous meeting, one that came hot on the heels of a broadcasting bombshell. It was the start of a new era. It was the start of something special. 

Channel 4 stealing Cheltenham from the BBC once seemed more fanciful than Norton Coin's 100-1 Gold Cup triumph. Just the idea of it caused some in the county set to fear the end of civilisation as they knew it. Across four decades, the BBC – and only the BBC – had brought racing from Cheltenham into people's homes. Thanks to an audacious and superbly executed coup, everything changed.

Central to the snatch was a man who lived and breathed show business. Michael Grade, then chief executive of Channel 4, had previously worked as controller of BBC1 and went on to become BBC chairman and executive chairman of ITV. As a talent agent, he mixed with entertainment royalty on both sides of the Atlantic. He was a mover, a shaker and the individual who delivered an extraordinary tour de force that convinced Cheltenham's directors tradition could be left behind.