King of daytime shows
I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame… and some!
Iknow what you might be thinking… His face looks familiar.
You may recognise me from the telly. See, I’ve appeared on daytime TV a fair few times over the last few years.
In fact, it’s become a bit of a hobby.
It all started in 2014, when a friend messaged me on Facebook.
‘ Come Dine With Me is looking for applicants,’ they wrote.
The Channel 4 cooking show was a favourite of mine.
And I thought it might be fun to host my very own dinner party.
So I applied online and filled out a number of forms.
Next, I was invited to an audition and camera test.
Then, months on, I was told I’d made it as a reserve.
I was a bit disappointed.
‘I’ll never make it onto the show,’ I told my wife Julie, 56.
I mean, really, what were the chances of another contestant dropping out? Well, I had to eat my words because a few weeks later I got a call from a producer… ‘We need you to fill in at short notice,’ they said. They were about to start filming, but a contestant had pulled out at the last minute. ‘Do you think you can create an 80s-inspired menu?’ the producer asked. I jumped at the chance. A few days on, a camera crew filmed me making a prawncocktail starter. Then I rustled up coq au vin for the main course, and a delicious strawberry cheesecake
for the dessert.
It was exhausting, but so much fun.
And I spent the rest of the week scoring the other contestants’ efforts.
At the end, the winner was announced. ‘Ivor!’ someone said. I couldn’t believe it. I’d scooped the £1,000 cash prize.
Over the moon, I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Julie.
‘You deserve it, love,’ she said, chuffed for me.
I split the cash with her, and we both treated ourselves to a few bits and pieces.
When the show aired later that year, I got such a buzz out of seeing myself on TV.
‘You’re famous!’ my son Jud, 29, laughed.
And I seemed to get a taste for being a TV star...
I started looking online for my next big break.
Soon I came across an advert for the Channel 4 game show
The Question Jury.
‘I’m going to apply,’ I told Julie delightedly.
And of course she supported me.
Then she was thrilled when I made it as a contestant on the show.
Last November, I travelled to Manchester for filming.
I made it to the very last hurdle of the show. But at the last minute, my luck ran out when my team got the final question wrong.
I walked away with nothing.
Gutted!
Still, when the show aired, I was excited to see myself on screen again.
‘Another 15 minutes of fame,’ I laughed. And I was hungry for more. So I applied to be on David Dickinson’s Name Your Price on ITV.
And, amazingly, I made it onto the show.
This time I took Jud with me for the filming, in March this year.
We competed against other teams and made it to the last round.
We had to guess the true value of two items – one worth £5,000 and one worth £50.
Incredibly, we guessed right and won the five grand. Jud and I had so much fun. ‘You keep the money,’ I told him afterwards.
He’s getting married next year, so I wanted to help him out. He was unbelievably grateful. Besides, my reward was appearing on TV for a third time.
‘I’ve seen you on telly again,’ friends said, phoning me after the show was on the box in June this year.
‘Getting recognised is all part of the job,’ I teased.
I’m not ready to give up my brush with fame just yet, though.
It’s my aim to appear on even more daytime TV shows.
So watch this face – it may well be appearing on a small screen near you very soon!
I couldn’t believe it. I’d scooped the £1,000 cash prize!