Before They Were Famous

Guide 10 - Famous people who were game show contestants

Introduction

Fame. It's a fickle mistress. One minute you're the host of a popular ITV game show and the next you're doing panto in Godalming. But this Good Game Guide takes a view of the opposite side of the mountain. The North Face. The way up. For many wannabees, being a contestant on a high profile game show is a chance to be noticed by an agent, the newspapers or just have an extra 15 minutes of fame.

So we bring you our guide to celebrities who were on game shows before they were famous:

Actors/Presenters/Broadcasters

Stephen Fry was on University Challenge.

Michael Underwood appeared as a contestant on the children's version of The Crystal Maze. Strangely, he began a full-blown TV career by winning a BBC contract on Whatever You Want.

Amanda Holden (actress and former wife of Les Dennis) appeared on Blind Date.

Nicholas Crane, presenter of BBC2's "Map Man" and "Coast", was on the Oxford University team in the 1982 series of Now Get Out of That.

Miriam Margolyes (actress) appeared on an early series of University Challenge and claims to have been the first person to say the f-word on British telly, after getting a starter question wrong.

Model and later It's a Knockout scorer Nell McAndrew was a hostess on the original Man O Man.

Kieron Elliott (actor and one-time Challenge link man) was a contestant on Prickly Heat.

Not forgetting Janice Long who first appeared on 3-2-1 with her husband in 1978, later becoming a DJ for Radio 1.

Comedians

Michael "Johnny Vegas" Pennington was a MOTP on Win, Lose or Draw.

Arguably Steve Coogan came to fame partly due to his Krypton Factor observation round comedy skits.

Perrier-nominated comedian Daniel Kitson was a contestant on Blockbusters.

Comedian Junior Simpson (In the Dark) appeared with his clan on Family Fortunes back in 1991.

Stephen Merchant (Extras) was also on Blockbusters. He didn't win.

Simon Amstell from Never Mind the Buzzcocks and the Popworld Golden Age was a contestant on Family Catchphrase. Andrew O' Connor could see him making it big!

Sports stars

Chris Rawlinson, top sprint-hurdler, made it to the last eight in the 1995 series of Gladiators. Kelly Holmes, double-gold Olympian and last line of Britain's war defences, was scheduled to be a con-ten-derrrr a year before. However, due to a sporting commitment, she had to pull out.

Musicians

Jon Marsh, mainman of 90s pop-dance combo The Beloved ("The Sun Rising", "Sweet Harmony") was a Countdown octochamp in 1987 and made it to the semifinals where he lost to the eventual series champion.

Politics/News/Writers

Moira Stuart, the BBC newsreader who was originally an actor, was an Argond on The Adventure Game.

Other University Challenge alumni include David Mellor, Clive James, John Simpson, Malcolm Rifkind and Sebastian Faulks.

Andrew Collins (pundit and 6 Music DJ) appeared with his family on Telly Addicts.

The late newspaper columnist and presenter John Diamond was a contestant on Countdown in 1986, winning two games.

Members of the public

Monica Rose became a household name thanks to her appearances on Double Your Money and The Sky's the Limit.

Teenager Janice Nichols became something of a phenomenon thanks to her catchphrase "Oi'll give it five", delivered in a broad Brummie accent, on Thank Your Lucky Stars.

Before appearing as a Housemate on Big Brother 4 and becoming one of Sky's Brainiac team, Jon Tickle appeared on Blockbusters.

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