Meeja Hor

Not knowing what else to write I thought I would let you all into a seedy and sordid area of my life - my television career.

A number of years ago I decided that it would be fun to liven up my drab existence by applying to go on a tv gameshow. I was lucky enough to get picked to go on 'Pass The Buck' a BBC daytime gameshow hosted by Eamonn Holmes. It was filmed in Manchester and so they paid for me to head up North and put me up in a hotel. Now it just so happened that in the hotel there were a lot of other PTB contestants because PTB has 10 players a show and films 6 shows a day.

So needless to say in the bar we were all sizing each other up - wondering how we would all do against each other. Me, being in it for a laugh, was one of the last to leave the bar (at about 1am) despite having to be in the studio to start filming at 9. It got worse than that, because as I headed to my room I heard noise coming from another bedroom and as I unlocked my room a head poked out from next door - it was an Irish chap called Ian and he invited me to join an impromptu room party. Ah the memories of Uni flooded back.

It was 3am and 2 complaints from the hotel porters later that I eventually crawled into bed. Suffice to say when I got to the studio the next morning I was not on top form. Despite this, in the first show I did well enough to get to the final 3 players and secure an invite for the next show. God knows how, but I remember it involved picking mercilessly on an OAP. By the time show 2 was filmed it was 10.30am and being hungover and having already spent an hour under lights I was feeling worse and worse.

So in round 1 of show 2, the question was - "Name something that runs on batteries". I was the 10th in line to answer and couldn't repeat what anyone else had said. So after all of the options I had thought of had been used up it got round to me and there was only one thought in my drink addled, dehydrated brain "vibrator". I couldn't say it, surely? Well if I said nothing I was out - and so like the muppet I am out it came "Vibrator Eamonn". Hushed silence, then laughter. Clearly my answer couldn't be used. So we were given another question. By this point my brain was in meltdown and I was unable to even come up with a smutty answer to save myself and was eliminated.

Despite everything I had had a great time. A ray of light had shone in my dull life and I knew I had found my spiritual home - daytime tv gameshows. But with 3 caveats - next time I would not get drunk beforehand, next time I would play to win, and in future I would apply for quiz shows (more my forte).

Since then I have been on a number of shows with a fair smattering of success. Maybe one day I'll share some more of my exploits.

luv and best wishes.