There’s a very nice (and knowledgeable) woman who regularly attends one of my quizzes with her husband (also a knowledgeable chap – a formidable pairing!). A few months ago, before the start of the quiz, she let slip that she had appeared on the ITV teatime quiz show ‘Tipping Point’. This instantly piqued my interest – I’d never seen anyone I know on a TV quiz show before! Unfortunately she didn’t know the date on which the particular episode in which she featured was due to air…but she’d let me know when she found out.
So a few months passed…I didn’t forget what she’d said, though! Every time I saw her, I would ask if she knew the air date. Then, finally, she was informed by…someone at ITV, I guess…about the date. It was the following week. I instantly put a reminder on my phone’s calendar (I honestly don’t know what I’d do without it!) to Sky Plus the transmission as soon as I got home. In a nutshell, here’s what happened on the programme that day…
(P.S. Sorry if you’ve never seen ‘Tipping Point’ before, you may not fully understand the next bit. On a side note, I’m reliably informed that Ben Shephard, who hosts the show, is a really nice guy when the cameras aren’t rolling, as well as when the cameras are rolling.)
Round 1 – she got all her questions right, and did nothing wrong, but the machine wasn’t on her side, and she ended up in a tiebreak situation. Fortunately her speed on the buzzer got her through to…
Round 2 – she showed some good knowledge and fast recall to get a great score and secure plenty of counters to put into the machine. Again, the machine wasn’t kind to her, but the money she’d amassed in her kitty was enough to see her through to…
Round 3 – in a closely-fought head-to-head, the machine was a little (but not much!) kinder to her, and on the last question she secured the counter she needed to take the lead at the end where it mattered most, so she ended up in…
The final round – again, some top knowledge and strong instincts got her plenty of counters, but unfortunately the jackpot counter was NOT for moving! She did, nevertheless, win a very nice prize and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the show! It’s amazing how different it is seeing someone you know on TV!
Overall though, well worth the wait. Very enjoyable, and quite nerve-(w)racking – and I was just watching from the comfort of my living room! To those people brave enough to participate ‘under the lights’ on TV quiz shows…I salute and respect you! And I hope to do the same one day…now, where did I put those application forms…?