Dame Judi left me a note to say she loves Tipping Point
IPPING Point has no shortage of celebrity admirers – but even longtime host Ben Shephard was surprised to discover its latest convert.
For it seems the daytime quiz show, which sees four players take on an extraordinary machine (think arcade-style penny falls) in the hope of winning a cash jackpot, has proved quite the hit in the Dench household.
“The other week I went into my dressing room on Good Morning Britain and there was a signed photo on my desk...” Ben, 44, begins.
“It said, ‘Hi Ben, thank you for letting me use your dressing room. I just wanted you to know that we love Tipping Point in our house, lots of love Ju’. It was from Dame Judi Dench!” he recalls.
“I was like, ‘Someone’s having a laugh,”’ he admits. “But she’d taken the time to write it, so that’s pride of place now. I’ve moved the kids off the mantelpiece.”
It’s not the only time the Essexborn presenter has been caught off-guard by famous fans.
“I remember just after the referendum vote for Scottish independence, I was up in Glasgow with Susanna [Reid], and Brian Cox, the Scottish actor, came in...” Ben remembers.
“He sat down, lent over to me, and said, ‘Just to say, Ben, we love
Tipping Point’. On the eve of this extraordinary moment in political history, here in the UK , that was what he wanted to say to me!”
“And Andrew Lloyd Webber is a big fan [too] – I think he had an injury and he was sitting at home convalescing and really got into it...” Ben adds.
Since its inception in 2012, the IT V series has gone from strength to strength, with a consistent reach of nearly 8.5 million viewers a week.
It’s even branched out into celebrity specials known as Tipping Point : Lucky Stars – and recently Ben filmed its 10th series, and 1,000th episode, both of which will air next year. So why is it so popular? “I’ve worked in telly for quite a long time now, but what you can never really be sure of, is how something will translate,” Ben muses, confessing he struggled to understand the concept in its initial stages.
“But what we’ve somehow been able to do is take the little bit of nostalgia that you get from that machine, and put it into people’s front rooms – and everybody watches and enjoys it together.” From Ninja Warrior to Good Morning Britain to Tipping Point, Ben Shephard has a full-on schedule, but the presenter wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, he counts his lucky stars to be where he is, he tells
“That’s what has made it so magical,” he insists. “It’s ver y rare that anybody, even on a piece of paper, sees an idea for a T V show and thinks : ‘This is going to be a hit’. All you’d write is hits if that was the case.”
He continues : “But I think there is a number of reasons : The level of questions is really accessible, but also, the machine is a real leveller.”
“You can have brilliant general knowledge, but the machine might not take a liking to you and that might make it really difficult,” he elaborates.
“The element of luck, balanced with the need to answer questions and buzz in and give general knowledg knowledge, makes it a level playin playing field.” Y Yet, having been in th the business for when you do the breakfast show, and o over two decades, that’s a very different experience,” he Ben – who used to details. “But in the afternoon it’s present the now warm, relaxed, people are getting defunct breakfast home for tea, feet up. p programme GMT V “There’s a sense that you’re in the – refuses to take the room with them in a very cosy way,” show s show’s s success su for he reasons, keen to make it “the best gran t“granted. possible experience” for viewers. “One of the “I’ve done a thousand of these th things – and shows now, so I’ve stood before 4,000 I I’ve talked contestants! to Bradley “It’s something like 65,000
[Walsh] questions I’ve probably asked; we’ve about this, given away nearly £4m, and I still get a and as much delight, no matter how tired A Alexander I am or how many I’ve done.
[Ar [Armstrong] “I’m just obsessed by it!” concludes from Pointless the father of two.
– is that you can’t It’s still a far cr y from Ben’s other underestimate what a privilege it is to weekday gig, co-hosting the IT V be in someone’s household,” he breakfast show Good Morning notes. Britain, alongside Susanna Reid and
“I get that people wake up with us Kate Garraway.
“Oh, I don’t know, the machine can be just as tricky as some Brexit negotiations...” he teases, addressing the contrast.
“The lovely thing about Good Morning Britain, particularly, is that it’s live, and there’s nothing like being live to keep you on your toes.
“Breaking news and the nature of that show, and how much goes into it, is really exciting – it’s a real test of your different skills,” he adds.
“But [Tipping Point] is my show; this is the show that is an absolute baby for me and it’s been nurtured and evolved from its initial incarnation to where it is now.”
Ben also co-presents
IT V ’s Ninja Warrior in addition to Sky Sport’s Goals On Sunday, alongside Chris Kamara.
It’s a nice position to be in, to have four solid shows under his belt.
“It means I can have a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and not get too consumed by each of them,” he says.
“It’s not like having a proper job – all of this works at the same time...” he says. “Ninja is in the can, I’m doing Tipping Point at the moment, Good Morning Britain on Thursdays and Fridays, and Goals On Sunday,” he lists.
“So I just do a working week – it’s not like I’ve got loads of jobs.
“Someone once said to me, ‘Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’ and I don’t think anything could be more true.”
“I wouldn’t ever deny the fact that I have been very lucky to have the opportunities that I’ve had,” he finishes.
“And hopefully I can keep enjoying them all and doing the best job I can.”