The Show Must Go On Part IV

Well, in fact it has gone on. My latest five minutes of fame has passed.

Remember that quiz show I recorded way back in the long lost days of Southampton? It began broadcasting this week, and already my one and only major appearance has been and gone. Technically, it was about the twentieth show 'in the can' but for what ever reason the powers that be have decided to show them out of order.

This has thrown up a few strange points though. Firstly I use the phrase "I'm 99.99% sure'. By the time I filmed this episode, that sentence had become a catchphrase of all the traders. We even had t-shirts made with it on! By broadcasting the shows out of order though, it looks like I created it. (I didn't)

That also explains the strange penguin dance I did at the end. One trader (real name Scott) looked exactly like a penguin (no, really, he did). He was selected to 'trade' several times early on, and always did the 'Happy Penguin' dance and once again it stuck as a sort of catchphrase. While they were resetting the cameras and I was stood at the front, I was hit by a barrage of shouts from my fellow contestants, reminding me to 'do the dance'. If the shows had gone out in chronological order, you would have seen a multitude of Happy Penguins, but now it again looks like I invented it (which I didn't).

There was also a text box that appeared stating I had 'driven across the USA'. It seems that my family see that as a lie (as it was my Dad that did all the driving) but how else would you phrase it? You can't write 'I was a passenger across America' can you? Whether you were in the driving seat, or just a navigator, you still 'drove across the country' didn't you?

I was a bit upset they said I was from Southampton. I remember they specifically asked me where I wanted to be said to be from and I chose The Isle of Man. I wouldn't want to be remembered as being from Hampshire - ever. But that's it, it's all over. I'll probably make a few more appearances in the crowd scenes, and there is one more show where I do a ten second 'pitch' on the subject of rugby union, but lose out to my good friend Darryl. It'll be a few years now before I can try to get on another show...

..but the bug is still there :)