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The Most Surreal Day!

Tuesday 18th November 2014: What started a little bizarre by having a story about me and my tshirt appearance on Buzzfeed, things got a little crazy!

Richard James from Buzzfeed contacted me to get more information about the reasons behind the TV appearance and the tshirt and then tweeted the page for all to see.  With responses from Graham Linehan and thousands of Twitterers from around the world erupting with happiness.

I was then contacted by The Bolton News who wanted to find out more about the story and want to publish this in the paper.

When my shiny bald head appeared on The Independent and Digital Spy, this is when it started to get a little surreal.


At one point in the early evening, #Tnetennba was actually trending on Twitter




The story in The Independent had over 700 shares, 230 comments and just under 4000 likes on FaceBook (whereas the Ed Miliband story only had 160 likes the same day)

On the actual Independent page were the story was shown it reached over 9000 shares via Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Google+ etc



The Lad Bible also published a version of the story saying "A Guy wore an "IT Crowd" T-shirt on "Countdown" and Social Media erupted"


I had people contacting me on Facebook, friends from a few years ago, saying "I've not seen you for years and then all of a sudden my Facebook thread has your face all over it!"

My little blog had over 1000 hits from various news sites across the world, which is not bad going.







Also, if you searched in Google for "Countdown Guy Tshirt" the amount of sites running the story was a little daunting

On the morning of the 19th November things had started to die down and the next trend had taken over, I was grateful, my phone was grateful, and then my wife found my story on IMDB - the site I use on a daily basis being a little film geek, the site I am trusting on recommending the top 250 films to watch, I am now a member of this!





 I was a little overwhelmed by the response of the meta reference, but it was fun whilst it lasted.

My Boss, Lee, who I have to credit for the "Inverted T" advice on the show, also pointed out that the Countdown Forum discusses the results from the show..  There are some great comments on there and generally (apart form a few mistakes I made), I seemed quite popular with the Countdown Forum

My experience on Countdown and the aftermath are something to remember, and thankfully, I am something that the show will remember as well

Thank you internet for being so nice, but I must return to my day job now









Not letting the Tnettenba die down, I was also published on "The Register" on the 20th November

And finally in The Bolton News, Vickie wrote a lovely piece on the Tnetennba Madness, my blog and the 40 before 40, Thank you Vickie


Good Morning, that's a nice Tnettenba!

Monday 17th November 2014: My Countdown episode aired Although I didn't win (against Lawrence the Genius), I gave it a good go.  What I was not expecting was the response to the t-shirt I wore. (Buzzfeed Story)

Getting my 8 letter word "Roulades", was my biggest achievement, and I was gutted that "Mithril" didn't have an "A" in it!

You could tell the program has been successful for so long as the atmosphere was so relaxed and the show just flowed.

There were a couple of hiccups, like the clock not working and every time it changed from the letters to the numbers the show would stop whilst the set changed.  I absolutely loved the day and would recommend it to anyone.

Whilst waiting in the Green Room for my show, I kept asking when I would go and get changed into my lovely ironed shirt and the production manager asked if I would be ok to stay in my Tnetennba t-shirt as it may give the show a little "Geek Chic".  As you can see, I obliged.

Absolutely superb day and Nick, Rachel, Suzie and Kate were so friendly

Also the goody-bag with the dictionary, pen, clock, Suzie's book, and countdown mug are taking pride of place on my mantelpiece, along with my name bade signed by all the hosts.

Also, to get a mention from the creator of the IT Crowd, Mr Graham Linehan was an absolute privilege

After the post from Buzzfeed and the tweet from Mr Linehan, my twitter feed went slightly mad.
I then started to notice links appearing from the Independent and Digital Spy.  The tnettenba tshirt was a little bit of a success.

The Independant

Digital Spy

The Green Room Experience

Sunday 12th October: We had arrived at Media City a little early, so Clare and I had a little mooch around the Lowry Centre. I was very calm seeing as though in a few hours I would make my Countdown appearance, but Clare on the other hand was a nervous wreck.

As we sat in the studio reception, waiting to be collected, another contestant (the one following me) joined us.  A lovely fellow called Rob who had promised his Gran that he would be on Countdown 25 years ago and was finally going to fulfill that promise.

This was the thing I had noticed about Countdown whilst watching the shows as revision.  It was the first TV program on Channel 4 back in 1982, with over 6000 episodes filmed they know what they are doing now.  When I filmed Take on the Twisters, it was a new concept, not tried and tested and the atmosphere was haunting.  With Countdown, the contestants look chilled and relaxed and seem as though they are having fun.  Also with it being around so long, everyone knows what to expect and there is something in the contestants history that makes Countdown a little special to them.

We entered the Green Room to find another lovely lady, sitting on a couch looking very sad.  She had lost her game and was not at all pleased with her performance.  This started to make me worry a little more, but I knew we were in safe hands.  This Green Room has seen many a tear over the last few years as it is also the filming location for the "Chav Crying Room" on Jeremy Kyle.

Next up was Josephine to face the formidable 4 time winning Lawrence.  He was on a roll and ready to take more prisoners.  We were able to join the audience for this show to see how things run and get a feel for the show.  We got to play along as the audience and this only boosted my confidence, although the numbers round was still scary as Lawrence is studying Actuary (wiki: Actuaries mathematically evaluate the probability of events and quantify the contingent outcomes in order to minimize the impacts of financial losses associated with uncertain undesirable events)


After this filming I met up with Rachel Riley and asked her to throw away all the 75's for the next show....my show.

I had done all I could do, next up was my Countdown Challenge.....against a 5 time winning, 21 year old, mathematical genius with a taste for countdown conundrum blood

My show date is the 17th November 2014, so if you are interested to how I got on, tune and play along.



Once the show has aired, I will update this post for those that either missed it or want to hear more of the challenge.

Consonant please

After 12 months my filming date has finally arrived for Countdown.  I received my pack in the post with show tips, frequently asked questions and showtimes all listed.  Time to start revising by watching as many episodes as possible.

My filming date is 12th October at Media city in Manchester.

Clare has decided that she really wants the countdown teapot that I get for winning, but will happily settle for the watch.




TV Debut

My TV Debut took place on the 14th August 2013 on prime time early afternoon television.  Julia Bradbury as the host and my fellow contestants at the ready, the show began!
Not using this as an excuse at all, but when people say "when you are on TV you forget everything" it really is true!



Things that you know and can easily work out in the safe haven of your home just disappear from your brain

The Studio was deadly silent with no audience, sounds or music.  all you can hear is Julia asking you questions and the air conditioning unit above......my god I was nervous!


But alas, the show must go on

Multiple choice questions, the person who lights up the 6th twister gets a chance to take on "The Twisters" to win some money.  My first question, if you asked me this in any other environment I would know instantly, was "Who sang Uptown Girl?"

Obviously I knew the answer was Billy Ocean, not Billy Joel??????!!!!!!

My first opportunity to shine was ruined in an instant and believe me, the amount of text messages that came through in relation to this question, almost broke my phone!


I think this song will have to be played at my funeral as I will never live it down


Luckily, the other contestants must have been feeling the same pressures as me and play passed round to me again.  This time I had time to compose myself and the question fell exactly in my line of expertise...politics! I know very, very little about politics and they had to edit out what I actually said.  The multiple choice options fell my way though
"In Parliament, what name is given to MP's who do not hold minister or shadow ministerial office?  Backbencher's was the only selection that made any sense to me and I was up to "Take on the Twisters"

This is where the pressure really hit.  I got the first couple of questions right, but when one of the "twisters" went this threw me and I didn't actually hear the question, which threw me again...down a slippery slope i went until it was game over.

Annoyed by this I was determined not to give in to nerves again, so once play had passed around the contestants again and I had claimed it back I was not going to give it up.  5 questions in a row, proudly and confidently answered, there was no stopping me! unless that is, you give me a musicals question.  Again, an obvious strong point of mine! Can you believe that the next question, which was now safely in the hands of my fellow contestant was "Which films feature the Ewoks?", I couldn't believe it.  Sadly this was a great chance at redemption stolen from me at the last hurdle.



With two of my fellow contestants with money in the bank I really needed to get back in the hot seat and luckily again, play passed to me with one question to go.

Now people may question my logic here, but as I have never rang Italy, France or Spain i do not know the dialing codes.  Being part Italian, if I didn't say Italy and it was, I would never live it down.  If I did say Italy and I was, then I would be a hero, so I went for Italy.  Sadly it was the third option, France! why would I ever ring France!?

Thus came an end to my Television Debut, recorded in full HD

It did make me giggle whilst watching the show when I had a look on Twitter and was greeted by this Tweet.  @JoeBillGibbo - you are a legend! 



And to all you Armchair quizzers out there that took the mick out of me for getting some "easy" questions wrong, believe me......when you are in the studio it is a different game!

Take on the Twisters - Filming in London

Filming of my episode of Take on the Twisters was a fantastic and thoroughly enjoyable day.

I arrived in London the night before and was put up in the glorious Travellodge near Waterloo with evening meal included.

An early rise and off to ITV Studios, we were collected by one of the young studio runners (who we later found out was Nick Knowles' son), in to the green room and make up applied!

I cannot reveal much of the concept at the moment as I have been sworn to secrecy.

What I can say though is (although some people may think it an excuse), the silence of the studio, the pressure of actually being there and the game show setting makes you forget every bit of knowledge that is lurking up there in your brain!

Take on the Twisters airs 22/07/2013 and is a 6 week show, and my show date has been confirmed as Wednesday 14th August 2013 at 5pm

Please watch, support and feel free to mock!

Pictures and Videos will follow.

12 Yard - "Twisted"

Whilst enjoying our time in Italy (See - Visit the Colosseum) I was contacted by 12 yard and they confirmed that my audition was successful and I will be appearing on the new gameshow

5th May is my filming day - can't wait!

Countdown

Wednesday 3rd April 2013.....Mum's Birthday and   also the day I passed the audition to appear on Countdown.

After a few word games, numbers and a couple of conundrums I have been accepted to appear on the show in Media City, Manchester.

I am yet to get my show date, but this means another will be ticked off the list.

I will let you know when the show day is so you can all wish me luck and hope I don't get annihilated by a 9 year old brain!

Auditions

12 Yard - New ITV Gameshow

Manchester May 11th 2013 -I have just attended a live audition for a game-show called "Twisted" in Manchester. Seems a great concept for a quiz show and I did pretty well I think.  Got quite a few questions right and under pressure as well.  Had a really good giggle with the other auditionees and the audition team from 12 Yard.  If I don't hear back before the end of May I will be gutted.

I have had a telephone audition for a new gameshow on ITV, 20 questions over the phone to which I got 12 correct - not bad for being under pressure

Tipping Point
Not heard back from Tipping point - so i think the audition stops here
Telephone Auditions seem to be coming in a the moment, and it looks like Ben Shepherd would like my company on Tipping Point
Had a good crack at the 10 general knowledge questions over the phone and think my guess work pulled me through a few of them....will have to wait to see if I am successful with this one.

Secret Channel 4 Gameshow
Not heard back from this one now - so i think the audition stops here

Secret Channel 4 Gameshow
After an evening of playing pictionary, which involved a comedy elephant, I am now waiting to mid-May to find out if I have been selected for the "Mystery Channel 4 Gameshow".  Got to meet some great people and if I am not on the show, I wish them the best of luck......will keep you informed

Secret Channel 4 Gameshow

I have been invited to a live audition for the new Channel 4 Gameshow (the drawing one) in Manchester next Wednesday (17th April 2013). The audition will involve an ice-breaker game and potentially a chat in front of the video camera. 

Secret Channel 4 GameShow
Had a lovely conversation with a lady from a secret channel 4 quiz show (the one about the doodling - see below) and passed the telephone audition.

I am waiting to hear back from this one of the next stages

Applications

Countdown

Vowel, Vowel, Consonant.....OOH!
Sent the application for Countdown off, I know Twice-Nightly-Whiteley is no longer the host, but I always consider myself quite quick with the numbers and letters and generally get the conundrum. So lets wait and see.

Come Dine with Me

Clare started me watching this show and I became hooked, Dave Lamb is a legend
So when I found out they are going to be filming around the Manchester area, I thought I would have to apply.

Application sent - lets hope this is the one!

Send some more

I have just sent an application for a new gameshow on Channel 4.  The application form asked me about my drawing skills and how I rated myself as a artist.  As I am a keen doodler and champion at Pictionary I thought I would give this one a go.

Tipping Point has also had a little application go in as well, good bit of general knowledge and the risk factor of the coin dozer.  I love those things! I have spent many an afternoon in Talacre with Clare, and many hours on Brighton Pier with my cousin pushing 2 pence pieces in to win a bit of tat or more 2p's to put back in. Hopefully these hours of practice have made me the perfect contender for the biggest coin dozer with more to win than 20p!

12 yard is the company behind Eggheads, Coach Trip and other quality shows.  So a general application has gone of the them as well.

I just hope one of these companies comes and visits this little blog and sees how determined I am to appear on one of their shows, not for the fame and fortune, but just for a tick on my bucket list.

The Start.

Ok, I know how difficult this one is going to be, but the first application has been sent off

I have applied to go on "Pointless" and thought the best team partner for this would be my Bro!
Keep you informed

Pondo Post Comment: Ok I think this one is a no go, will have to start applying for more