The Mavericks - Episode Guide

The first programme, Snooker Mavericks, explores how the sport was in danger of becoming a forgotten pastime until a young man from Northern Ireland - Alex ‘Hurricane' Higgins - rocked the status quo and pushed the sport into the mainstream.

With a fast and furious style of play on the table and an attitude to match, the self-proclaimed ‘Muhammad Ali of snooker' made headline news on the front and back pages. The first ‘people's champion' of the game, Higgins opened the door to the snooker boom of the ‘80s when players were treated like rock stars, which climaxed as 19 million tuned into the 1985 World Championship final.

He was followed by the likes of Jimmy White and Ronnie O'Sullivan, who proceeded to dominate column inches for years for their entertaining styles of play and for their personal lives.

But for every hero there has to be a villain, and in Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry the game delivered the perfect antidotes to the maverick players. When the likes of Higgins, White and O'Sullivan came head to head with the two most successful players in the history of the sport, the game became a must-watch for fans.

With many of those personalities long since retired, the programme asks if the game needs a new Hurricane - to blow it back to where it once belonged.

A guide through a gallery of top level racers who have provided some of the most memorable thrills and spills.

The third programme, The Boxing Mavericks, explores a unique sport filled with characters. First up is Muhammad Ali, a man who TV presenter Jim Rosenthal describes as, ‘The greatest, the original, the ultimate maverick.' With his famously outspoken public comments and his fluidity in the ring, the man formerly known as Cassius Clay became a favourite with fans and the media. Barry McGuigan says: "Ali was the first guy that brought poetry and artistry to the heavyweight division. He was incredibly articulate, incredibly charismatic, he was a beautiful looking man, he had skill, he had balance. He wasn't a particularly devastating puncher, but he had poise. He could move like a lightweight. He could hit you five times before you knew it."