My Winter Wipeout Experience - Part 6

Note: This is the final part. I posted one part a day. The total word count exceeds 31,000 words so it's a long read. If you missed part 1 you can read it by clicking here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here and part 5 here!

Not long after Amy was ready to come out. If our view for Winter Blunderland was bad our view for the Winter Wipeout Zone was even worse. Our best view was of the Icy Stairs. We saw virtually nothing of the Impossible Snowflakes, we saw the back of the machine running but apart from once in a while someone’s head poking above the top we couldn’t see how bad or well they were doing.

The Winter Wipeout Zone. So much cooler in person than on camera.

Amy got shot out of something. I didn’t know what it was while we were in Argentina, but when I started to watch the series of Winter Wipeout I was so annoyed. Why? Because it was “The Human Fling”! The exact same machine that they used on 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow! The awesome exit that inspired me to apply in the first place! To think that if I actually had a chance to get to the finale of Winter Wipeout and go in THAT, I would have been over the moon! So Amy got ‘flinged’ to the water, and she did her stuff. She gave a great effort on the course but fell off the Icy Stairs, Fright-cicles and then the Impossible Snowflakes. But she finished in an excellent 4:34, only five seconds slower than the winner the week before. Amy had conceded defeat though, she felt like she had no chance of winning. I didn’t want to say anything as anything can happen in Total Wipeout, but I couldn’t imagine John and Aarron slipping up enough to get slower times. But I still hoped on her behalf, that she could win.

Amy getting shot out of "The Human Fling"! The same thing that inspired me to apply on Wipeout in the first place!

Next up was Aarron who did a great job. Aarron was pretty much flawless apart from his fall off the Icy Stairs. Those Icy Stairs look absolutely terrifying; I hated the log jam on the qualifier which is a similar machine but those stairs look so much worse. The worst thing about those stairs is the going down, there’s a decent amount of space between the stairs going down and with them jolting it looked so hard, which is ironic, as stairs are usually easier to go down than up on in general. But the Icy Stairs aside Aarron passed the course in an excellent 2:27, over two minutes faster than Amy. He set an amazing time, a time that would have won three of the previous five episodes. Amy unfortunately knew that her luck had run out. Not that I saw it as luck but as a mixture of hard work and willpower. I was so proud of her; she was so awesome on our show and one of my favourite stories to tell in this experience. I loved Amy to bits and the best thing was, she got to do it again in the Champion of Champions edition!

Aarron's brilliant time made it as hard as possible for John to win.

Lastly was John the Policeman, or Woody as I call him. He was definitely the favourite, no disrespect to Aarron, but John was top of the qualifier and top of the Ski Lift. Yes he struggled with Winter Blunderland, which was Aarron’s round, but overall John just seemed like the better performer. Once again I’d like to emphasise we didn’t see what the finalists were being shot out of, but we did see John’s amazing dive. It was absolutely brilliant, although not the best of the series thus far, that honour in my opinion goes to Helen in the first episode (who I’ve got to know a little and seems very nice). But it was still a better dive than I could ever do, and it was fantastic. John, like his Qualifier and Ski Lift, was flawless in the start. He beat the Icy Stairs, something that Aarron struggled with. But John unfortunately got hit by one of the Ice Picks. We couldn’t believe it! With Aarron falling off the Icy Stairs and John falling off the Ice Picks, it was neck and neck. John had to complete the rest of the course flawlessly to win, and he passed the Fright-cicles and then the Impossible Snowflakes with little struggle and pressed the button!

We had no idea who won the show when John finished. It was an amazing final and it was brilliant to see it live.

It was so close. The 17 of us looked at each other in disbelief. We actually, genuinely, didn’t know who won. It was so exciting and so close. It was the closest final of the series so far. We all discussed who we thought won and I think we all were split between Aarron and John. I thought John won but who knew? Eventually they gave the Winter Wipeout trophy to Amanda and she had John and Aarron next to each other. We weren’t informed of the winner beforehand. When the trophy was given to John, we all jumped up and ran towards him in celebration. We were all so happy for him, and we gave Aarron his commiserations as well. As I said Aarron would have won three out of the five previous episodes. And Aarron wanted to get a ring to propose to his girlfriend with the money. I don’t know if he has or not since, but for him to get so close yet so far, was a shame. It’s a shame we all don’t win £10, 000 eh?

Waiting anxiously for the winner to be announced...

I want to divert your attention to something. Something that I really don’t agree with. Probably the only thing Endemol don’t do that I think is truly unfair. I’m exposing them right here and now! The Winter Wipeout trophy? It’s the same one each show! The winner’s don’t get to keep the trophy, and take it home, they have to hand it back! It’s phony! They just pose with it and hand it back and I really don’t think that’s right. Surely it doesn’t cost much to make one for each show? It doesn’t have to be pure silver or gold, it can be steel or another cheap metal can’t it? Awful.

But John Woodfield, John the Policeman, Woody, Robocop or Copper John, whatever we called him, he was a true winner. He was just better than us, on the course. He won three out of four rounds, that’s all the proof you need. And he’s such a nice guy, he wasn’t bragging and it didn’t go to his head. He was the same after he won the show as he was before we started. I was proud I was put on this show to meet him and I’m proud to call him a friend. But I can say that about all the contestants. There was no jealousy, virtually no animosity, but there was sportsmanship in abundance. We all went out to Argentina together as 20 random strangers but we all came home together as friends. We’re planning a reunion as we speak; I hope it’s the first of many. That’s not the end of my tale though!

John won! It's a shame he doesn't get to keep the trophy though, in each episode it's the same one! Blasphemous!

We went back to the tent and the 17 ‘losers’ got there first. About five minutes later the three finalists came in, back in their clothes and out of their wetsuits. We all gave the three of them a round of applause. They were excellent and put on a stellar performance for us and for everyone across the UK. It’s a shame the two runner ups don’t get a cash prize for themselves. I think a £1000 and a £2500 cash prize for runner ups would be good. But then again just to get to go to Argentina with all expenses paid, hotel paid and with spending money, it’s understandable why the top 3 don’t all get prizes. So anyway, we then all took photos of the three finalists posing together. They were so awesome yet humble about the experience. They didn’t really know how to react, being treated like stars. But they were. They were the stars of the show.

The three finalists. They were absolutely incredible. John, Aarron and Amy.

After that all the researchers and producers came in. They rallied us all together and Andy basically thanked us all for coming to Argentina and take part on the course. He said that we were all the stars of the show and that we were one of the best groups they have ever had. I don’t know how sincere he was, I mean, they have had so many groups, but it was still really nice for him to say that. Emma, the series producer, then handed out requests to the three winners, inviting them to go and take part in the Champion of Champions edition which was filmed 11 days later, and handed the three of them a bottle of bubbly each. They thanked us again but we told them we wanted a picture of them all together. They all stood there and posed, and seemed happy that we were giving them credit they more than deserved. Because in honesty, we’re not the stars of the show, they are. They take 20 random Brits over and over again to Argentina, expenses paid, and make us look like wacky stars, and edit our performances on the course to horrendously brilliant music and silly sound effects. I really wanted to thank them in my interviews but I knew my efforts would be in vain if I did. They’d just edit those parts of the interview out because they’re too modest. They treat us, as well as Amanda and Richard like stars but it’s not true. They are the true stars and work harder than anyone else to put on a good show. We just run the course, they spend hours editing it and planning ideas to make it as silly and funny as possible.

Frankie, Millie, Andy, Maisie and Emma, the researchers and producers. Amazing people.

That was the last time I saw most of the researchers. We had to go back on the bus to the hotel. I said my goodbyes to Nick, Millie, Andy, Emma and Maisie. They were really awesome people. I gave Maisie a bit of stick about being a Bluenose Everton supporter again but then we spoke about Liverpool and missing the city. I haven’t lived in Liverpool before but I am a Scouser, I lived and grew up on Merseyside and Chester before moving to Wales at the age of five, developing a Welsh accent. I’ve always wanted to move to Liverpool though and Maisie was telling me she can’t wait to see her family there again after finishing Wipeout. We said our genuine goodbyes and that was it, we were off back to the hotel. The only researcher we would see then on was Frankie, whose job was to get us back to London safely.

Frankie looked after us form the beginning. She was awesome.

We got back to the hotel and most of us had a small and quiet celebration. All three finalists popped their champagne bottles I believe and we toasted them. I had a couple of beers that night but nothing too bad. Most of us were sensible. I say most of us because, as I said earlier in this article, Sharney and Stephanie had other ideas! Not that I’m getting into them! But most of us just relaxed in the restaurant area. Eventually most of us started to leave and get sleep.

I didn’t want to leave. I was knackered, we started the day early at around 6am, and it was around 11pm by then. But I really didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want it to end. I had so much fun and met 19 amazing new people. I stayed awake for as long as I possibly could. It was pure stubbornness that kept me from going earlier. But eventually, I had to say my goodbyes and go to sleep. At least I was going to see them in the morning and on the way home.

The next morning we had to leave. I can’t remember what the timing was on that my guess is 10am, but it was much later than the early starts for the two previous days that’s for sure. This was day five of six. Days five and six were spent travelling back home. I actually got on Facebook quickly that day. The keyboards in Argentina are different and as my password has special keys in it, I couldn’t find those keys on the pad. I eventually found a way round it, by resetting my password and then activating it through my Yahoo! email account. I sent a quick message to my wife telling her that my phone doesn’t work in Argentina, that I was okay and that I’ll see her the next day. I hadn’t communicated with my wife all my time there as my phone just wouldn’t work. We all eventually perched into the bus to take us to the airport. Frankie counted us up (something she always did) and two people were missing. Who were they? Sharn and Steph of course! I told you they went on a pretty eventful night out the night before and were totally out for the count. They eventually both arrived and we gave them a massive sarcastic round of applause. They told us about their epic night out that lasted until around 7am. As I said, I’m not getting into any details. After that we were off!

Whiskey in the John, John II and John the Policeman - the three John's!

Lawrence had his travel upgraded because of his broken leg. He now had a wheelchair bless him, as well as a scan showing his actual double break. Everyone else including Frankie, were in the normal class. At the airport we all just relaxed, ordered food and took some final pictures. It was horrible really, it seemed like no one wanted it to end, but it had to. The flight back to Madrid was pretty uneventful. I was sitting on my own between two Argentinian ladies so I didn’t really have much to do, or anyone to speak to. It was a very long flight, and the fact that I was in a middle seat on my own made it for a very boring experience. I couldn’t sleep very well and because we left in the afternoon my body clock wasn’t ready for sleep yet it was the right course of action, as we were to land in Madrid at around 6am. It was the most unpleasant flight of the lot in honesty because I just couldn’t settle.

Mark with his sprained hand. Such a top bloke.

We eventually landed in Madrid the next morning, day six of six, and we all looked so tired. We were though; it was the bad timing on the plane and the fact that it was such a long flight in the first place. We got to Madrid and in turned out that our flight to Heathrow was cancelled. We all couldn’t believe it, as it looked like there wasn’t another flight for another few hours. But under some miracle (or not) they had another flight going to Heathrow at exactly the same time. It didn’t make any sense but it seemed inevitable that they screwed up somewhere and this was their making up of that fact. So in the end we were sorted. We still had a few hours to kill before our final flight arrived. Because it was so early there wasn’t any food places open, although there were a few vending machines if you had Euros. We all just relaxed, took some final pictures before boarding on the final plane. On the final plane I sat on my own again but it was on the end of a row and was next to Amy and Ben, and Sarah and Chris. That flight for some reason, I got a little more sleep on it than on the previous plane, despite it being around 2 or 3 hours in comparison to the 13 of the other flight. I think it was pure fatigue kicking in by that point.

20 random strangers met up and became great friends in 6 days. I love these people!

We arrived in Heathrow and after going through customs that was pretty much it. We all had to go our separate ways and it was the last time I saw the amazing 19 people I spent 6 incredible days with. We all hugged and wished each other the best. It was really emotional. I didn’t cry or anything and I don’t think anyone else did either but it was horrible. We also had to say goodbye to Frankie, who was awesome from start to finish as well. As a bunch of random 20 strangers I couldn’t have asked for a better group of people. I couldn’t have had such a blast with anyone else, or at least it felt that way. Kudos have to go to Endemol and more accurately, the researchers who chose the 20 of us to get together and attempt the course and have this amazing journey together. I really didn’t want to say goodbye, but I’m hopeful that it’s not goodbye forever. We’re hopefully reuniting at the end of February and I look forward to that. I miss my Wipeout buddies terribly!

After that we all went our separate way homes. I went to London Euston and got myself a nice Super Bacon and Double Cheeseburger Meal at Burger King. It was glorious. I was really full at that point naturally, and my wife called me. I had spoken to her briefly in Madrid but it was really early there, around 7am if I remember in UK time, a time that my wife is not good at in terms of being awake. It was about 12pm I believe at that point and she couldn’t wait for me to get home. The journey home was nice and quick. I then got home from the station to open arms from my wife and daughter. That was the end of my official Winter Wipeout Experience, although there are other things I can say.

We made a private Facebook group for all the contestants to mingle in. All 20 contestants joined the group, and some people actually were inactive on Facebook, but then reactivated just so we can all keep in contact. Since then we’ve shared pictures and videos, and some of the contestants have since met back up and hung out. Being skint and in Portsmouth means that it’s hard for me to make a trip to London, but as I said, I hope to do so at the end of February for the big reunion.

I remember the excitement about the first episode of Winter Wipeout being on. We, having been through what was to appear on TV was a big deal. It made the experience feel more real, rather than the hazy dreamlike scenarios that are impossible to even contemplating being genuine. They were genuine, and seeing the first episode proved that naturally! I also remember the second episode when we briefly saw clips of our group on TV falling off things in their compilation clips. I was on one of them, as was Simon, Sylvia and Scottish John. Even though you couldn’t see my face, I, and a lot of the contestants knew, that it was definitely me and I couldn’t help but mark out for that. I also remember Episode 5, an episode I was really looking forward to watching as I had recently added Gemma Murdock on Facebook, who did an amazing job at getting 4^th place on the episode and also did an excellent job in editing my clip from our show, which you can see on the top right of this page. I hadn’t asked Gemma how well she did and she was brilliant, she performed fantastically well to get as far as she did, and has since then started to blend in with the Episode 6 crew. Gemma is a true fan of the show and we’ve had many discussions reminiscing about our times on our separate shows, as they were similar experiences.

The last 10 days or so before my episode came on I was absolutely frightened. I knew I did badly, getting 19^th place and I never told anyone this. The only person that knew how I did was my wife. I told her not to tell anyone about my performance. That decision wasn’t based on embarrassment but surprise; even if I did well and got to Round 3 I wouldn’t have said anything different. I wanted my family not to know how I did, so their reactions were genuine and natural. The same applied to everyone else. At the end of Episode 5 they previewed our episode. At the end of episodes they tend to sometimes show contestants falling off things in the episode to come, and they did that as a preview for our show. When I watched the show my heart skipped a beat when they showed me falling off the log jam in the preview! I couldn’t believe it! The worst thing about it is that it showed me falling onto my back and into the water; I didn’t remember hitting my back at all! But you could definitely tell it was me, and my family saw me on TV, albeit it was for half a second! It was really going to happen!

Me on the preview for our episode, at the end of Episode 5! It really dawned how real it all was when I saw this.

Because I had appeared on TV already I decided that it was time I started officially confirming about my appearance on the show. A lot of people knew already, but we were told not to mention it on Facebook or Twitter, or anything else. So because that was the case, and everyone kept on asking if I got on, how it was and stuff, it became relatively common knowledge. So to avoid mentioning it, I would discretely reference it in obvious ways, so that people would know what I was on about. In person I talked about my experience casually. But a week before, I told everyone officially, that in one week, I’d appear on TV. I told my Facebook friends, my family, a lot of the people on my local street knew, a lot of my work colleagues knew and also all the professionals associated with our service at work knew. Everyone knew I was to appear on TV and I was cracking up! I was so nervous, partly for appearing on TV, and partly because I did so bad and I was to be a national embarrassment on TV!

My caricature drawing as done by the awesome Simon Cassini!

So, it was Saturday, 21^st January, 5:35pm BBC1. I watched the show. It was amazing. It was really odd, watching all my new friends appearing on TV. All the other episodes I’d enjoyed as I’m a fan of the show. But this was just weird. It’s hard to explain to people who haven’t appeared on Winter Wipeout, but because I knew all 19 of the other people it felt personal. It was my show, our show. I’d never watched a TV show in the same way before. I knew exactly how bad or well everyone had did, and even seen some of the things on TV being done live and in person. But seeing it all done professionally, edited and with music dubbed in, with Richard Hammond’s commentary, it was still weird. I saw everyone do their course, something I never saw in person obviously. But I knew about Woody and Lawrence beating the red balls. I saw that on the TV and it was amazing. I also heard stories like Jody’s concussion being shown on TV, and some of the awesome interviews the other contestants did. I loved what they did with Chris, making him out to be a “smooth operating” doctor, my wife and I laughed so hard! I also loved what they did with Woody, with his beep-off with Amanda, and Mark’s overexcited “Woo! Woah! Woohoo!” noises all around the course. Mark only did it a few times but they edited it in throughout the show and it was absolutely hilarious!

But as for me, John II, I was actually very happy with it. You need to remember, we have no idea what they were going to edit our shows to look like, what things we did or said that would be the outline of our segments on the show. I really thought they’d emphasise on my large size and my amazing lady like giggles, as well as the beard. When I heard the classic “Big Bad John” being played, sung by Jimmy Dean, I knew exactly who was about to appear on screen, and that was me! I liked that they concentrated on my large mass, I was by far the biggest person there and I knew I did a decent job of looking a little badass as an angry giant, and it showed. I loved the posing on the podium, the comparison to Scottish John (now called Whiskey and the John on the show, which was awesome) because we had the same names. I didn’t know they were going to concentrate so much on the Henry VIII comment, and I never thought of it as that odd a reply. But they made it out that it was odd, with Richard Hammond questioning why he was my ‘beardy hero’, as he had six wives and was responsible for many of their deaths. It makes sense why it was an odd response, but I meant that I looked like Henry VIII, not that I was inspired about his actions, but it was still funny!

But it did get them to mention the fact that I was recently wed to my wife, which made my wife giggle with glee. “Richard Hammond knows I married!” she said that a few times I can promise you! I’m glad they said it was also the last time I shaved because that was the point; it was a five month old beard and that was what got me on the show in the first place, and it was important for me that it was said when I last shaved. I do love the fact that they put on “I'm Henry VIII, I Am” by Herman’s Hermits on, whenever I did the course. That was a stroke of genius! I hadn’t heard the song in many a year (where as  a few people have associated “Big Bad John” with me a few times) so it was awesome to hear it again, and played whenever I did the course. Whenever I went into the water they played Tudor music which had my wife in stitches. It was funny, and I have to admit I loved it. The mixture of “here’s John he’s going for it on the course” and the happy “Henry VIII I Am” music contrasted with the “oh dear, John’s in the water” and sad Tudor music. It was really funny, really well done and it got a huge thumbs up from me.

I wasn’t happy they gave me the dreaded “oh let’s get back to him later on” segment! They give those to the really slow contestants and I had a strong feeling they would do it to me. Of course, doing that and then sandwiching Woody between my segments was fine. Woody, or John the Policeman as he was on the show, had the fastest time of the first round so I’m okay with him being between my clips. He was super speedy and did it in less than half my time. I knew they’d show me going the wrong way on the show, which was embarrassing, but it was okay. I am kind of disappointed they didn’t show my Granny’s House as I beat the first door, although I did get hit by “Tevez”, which was what Richard called the dog there. But my embarrassing attempt at the Big Red Balls was a highlight primarily because I stool still on the escalator, but I stood there because I was so tired at that point I wanted a little rest! What I didn’t know about my ‘attempt’ at the Big Red Balls, if you want to call it an attempt is how close my head bounced backwards towards the tip of the escalator, it was really close! I could have gotten really hurt if that happened so thankfully it didn’t. But instead, I had the embarrassment of bouncing backwards in front of the first ball, and having to swim past all four. Thankfully, because that took so long, they skipped to John the Policeman then. When they returned they showed my log jam. I was really happy that I beat the first log, and I had no chance with the second. My little bit of jiggling on the second log was quite funny to watch as well, as you could see, with Amanda laughing at me! Believe it or not I did pose at the end when I clocked in at 6:25, but they didn’t want to show that because they wanted to emphasise on how knackered I was.

As I said, I don’t remember much of my interview with Amanda afterwards but I loved the fact that the only thing they showed was me saying “I wasn’t prepared for that at all”, which made my wife’s day. She loved the fact that I’d say something so obvious and so silly at the end of such a struggled performance. It was funny, I really thought it added to my section of the show but when I said those words in person with Amanda, and the rest of the interview, I was really negative and upset. So there’s two ways of looking at it. But overall, I was really happy with how they portrayed me on TV, I loved the Henry VIII nonsense, and I loved the music even more. Considering how they could have made me looked, I got made to look like someone who really struggled on the course, but was great fun at the same time. Some have said that my part in the show was the best, and I was the most entertaining person on our show. I can’t say that was true, after all, the 19 other people were all brilliant as well and besides, a lot of my friends and family will inevitably say that as they watched the show to see me, so naturally liked my involvement most. But it was nice to see people really enjoyed it.

To wrap up this amazingly long article (Overall it’s over 31,000 words, by far the longest article I have ever produced), My Winter Wipeout Experience will stay with me to the grave. I’m a very lucky guy. People would pay thousands of pounds to do what I did and that is take on the Wipeout course. Only just over 1000 people from Britain have. That’s one in 62,262 people, or 0.0016% of the population. These are ridiculous figures, and I did it! I am very lucky and I’m more than aware of that, but I’m so grateful for the opportunity. I’m so grateful to Endemol, to the BBC, to the researchers who gave me the opportunity. I’m so appreciative to have been given a chance to travel to the other side of the world for free, with spending cash and hotel paid. I’m so lucky and indebted to be given a chance to do the Wipeout course, and appear on national TV, and appear in front of 4 million people on the telly. I’m really lucky and really amazed that I did it. I also want to thank the 19 contestants on my show for helping me have one of the best times of my life, and for being there for me when I was down and embarrassed after performing miserably on the course, and for helping me have such a laugh on the other side of the world. I want to thank individually Andy Rowe and Emma Taylor, who were awesome producers and did an amazing job with the way they portrayed me on TV, and for being really cool in person in Argentina. I want to thank Maisie, Millie, Nick, Siobhan for being amazing researchers and for helping us all over Buenos Aires and beyond. I want to especially thank Frankie for taking us to and from Argentina, for being our mummy, for counting the 20 of us over and over again and making sure that we will always find our buddies when needed. There are other researchers and people at Endemol Argentina that I haven’t named but played a part in my amazing experience, so thank you all too. I want to thank Amanda for being so lovely in Argentina, for being so humble and supportive, yet laughing at me when I fell ridiculously on course. I want to thank Richard Hammond for not ripping into me as often as he does other contestants! He was surprisingly nice and he is right, walking or running on an escalator is overrated! I want to thank Sophie for giving me some of the great HQ shots took in Argentina, which look absolutely fabulous. Finally, I want to thank anyone else I may have forgotten that played a part, everyone has been awesome and I can’t thank you all enough!

My Winter Wipeout Experience was a once in a lifetime opportunity and will live with me forever. Thanks for reading all about it and I hope you enjoyed both my performance and this incredibly long article! Take care!

Official Winter Wipeout Episode 6 Shot. Thanks for reading!

 If you haven't seen it yet you can see my performance, which was edited by Episode 5 contestant Gemma Murdock below! 

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My Winter Wipeout Experience - Part 4

Note: This is part 4 of 6. I'm posting one part a day. The total word count exceeds 31,000 words so it's going to be a long read. If you missed part 1 you can read it by clicking here, part 2 here and part 3 here!

So I had posed on the rotator table and posed next to the house. Lastly, was the interview with Amanda Byram! Now, it’s amazing how many people who knew I was appearing on Winter Wipeout have asked about meeting Amanda. Amanda was just lovely; she was as genuine off camera as she was on camera. She thoroughly enjoys her job of meeting wacky Brits and being wacky with them, before laughing at them fail on a difficult obstacle course, falling into water and mud. But she’s also really supportive when we do things right and feels sorry for you if you fail badly, as I’d find out. In terms of Amanda Byram’s looks, well, I didn’t think as much of her as a lot of people do, sure she’s a good looking lady but a lot of people fancy the pants off her, while I never did. That being said, she’s a lot prettier in person than she is on the TV. She’s very good looking actually in person. But in honesty, that’s not the thing that stands out the most to me about Amanda. What’s awesome about Amanda is that she doesn’t see herself as a celebrity, nor does she separate herself from the rest of the crew. She hangs out with them, she is one of them. Sure she’s on the TV while the rest of the crew aren’t, but she sees no reason to have special attention when she’s off camera. When we ate our dinner later on, she was sitting with the rest of the crew, her hair tied up, wearing a Total Wipeout hoodie (all the crew have them on). That speaks levels I say, in a world where celebrities see themselves as a superior race to those who film them. Amanda isn’t a celebrity in her eyes, she’s a presenter doing a job that she loves, and is nice to everyone and anyone she sees.

Anyway, onto the interview. Naturally, out of the five in our group, I was once again last. Nick came up to us and told us an outline of what would happen in the interview. She was to ask me these questions, and told me to think about answers to them. The questions she asked me basically are my chances of winning, how long I grew the beard for, if I have any inspirational beardy people, and about my nutrition. I rolled my eyes at the last one; I had no idea that they were going to bring that up! Damn my lack of interest in veggies and fruit! Everyone had their interviews with Amanda, and in honesty, I couldn’t hear what everyone else’s interviews consisted of. They were a little too far away from the sitting area that we were at. At the sitting area were some fruit, so I had a banana. See I do like fruit… some anyway! When it was my turn to have my interview I have to be honest and say, I wasn’t nervous. Have I met celebrities before? Not really, I’ve been to some gigs and met the lead singer from one of my favourite obscure bands (Guy McKnight of The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster), but other than that, I haven’t been in contact with any TV stars or anything. But the whole experience was so surreal that it didn’t really bother me that I was about to meet Amanda Byram. I was quite cool about it. So I walked up to her and she says quite enthusiastically, “Hello John!”, and we hugged and kissed each other on the cheek. Yes, I kissed Amanda Byram on the cheek. Jealous? It’s not that big a deal! Anyway, they had to prepare the cameras so while they did, Amanda and I had a little chat. It was the only chat I personally had with her, but that doesn’t matter, it was pretty cool. We were whispering and she asked me how I felt, I just told her how surreal the whole thing is. She told me not to worry and to enjoy myself. That was basically all we said, but it was nice to see her reassuring me. Not much time went before everyone was ready and we started filming.

Amanda was lovely in person. She saw herself as a crew member of Endemol, not above anyone because of her celebrity status.

I answered Amanda’s questions; I said who knows if I can win, I’ll be considered an underdog that’s for sure, that I grew my beard for five months at that point. She was surprised at that, she thought I had grown it for a much longer period. In response to beardy inspirations naturally I went for the Henry VIII comparison, one that many people have mentioned. I look like the old king of England and in honesty I’m not ashamed of that. I didn’t have a clue that this reply would have been the outline of my segment of the show! Lastly we talked about my nutrition, I basically explained that I didn’t used to eat veg or much fruit, but for over a year I’ve had to readjust my diet. That was basically it. The interview was quite plain in comparison to what you see on the usual episode of Wipeout, but I answered my questions with confidence. The one thing I liked was that Amanda called me an aspiring journalist rather than an administration assistant in the NHS. Without trying to disrespect my job, the NHS or my service, I’d rather be remembered as the freelance journalist. It’s what I want to do in the future and it’s why you’re on this site at the moment. It’s my aspiration, so it was nice. I gave them the option in honesty; they never really asked me what I would prefer to be called. I put both titles on my application forms and to the end; it was their decision to call me an aspiring journalist. I’m very happy they did.

The group of five returned back to the tent and we all relaxed for a little bit. A few people were there, but we were basically waiting for everyone to finish wrapping up the pre-course aspect of the show. Eventually everyone did, and then we were told to go to the section where they do the intro of the episode. The intro, if you can’t remember or haven’t seen Wipeout, is on a large circular platform, and has all twenty contestants jumping up and down on the spot while the camera hovers above them. It shows some individual face shots of some contestants. They merge this section with clips of the show of people falling off things, while Richard Hammond introduces us to the new episode. So we all got ready on this platform to jump up and down. This was the first time we really got instructed by Andy, the producer, rather than Maisie. We were encouraged to jump up and down and scream and shout as loud as possible. That’s all fine and dandy, but we had to do this for around 3 minutes solid. Then we weren’t loud enough so we had to do it again! So here we all were, shouting “WOO! YEAH!” and other variations for what felt like forever, while my feet were starting to hurt from jumping up and down on the same spot for so long. Eventually, the camera man started zooming in on our faces individually and we all did random poses in front of it. What did I do? I stroked the beard of course! Not only that but the cameraman seemed to like me a lot and zoomed RIGHT IN to my beard. I didn’t know what to do so I just shook my chin at him. I have no idea why, but I did!

The intro to Winter Wipeout. 20 loonies jumping up and down on the spot and shouting for what feels like eternity.

After that was finished, it was time for Andy to talk us through the qualifier. He took us from the start to the finish and talked about techniques and advice. First was the snowmen. The snowmen are basically platforms for you to jump on. Some are held together while others are unstable and if you put your feet in the wrong places you go straight into the water. The second part was Granny’s House. If you didn’t know by now, Granny’s House is a narrow walkway that has two big blue doors that smack you in the face. The first blue door has a little rotating arm that knocks you over if you hesitate. Between the two blue doors is a dog that knocks you over if you don’t jump over it. This time however you don’t fall into water, you fall into a big pit of mud. The third part of the course was the infamous big red balls. The big red balls are the most iconic part of the show. Basically you had to travel down an escalator and jump from one big red ball to the next. The big red balls are high above water, and it’s a long fall if you don’t clear them. Not many people actually beat the big red balls so it’s usually considered a huge achievement if you clear them. Lastly is the log jam. Log jam is two large platforms that move from side to side and try to get you into the water. The first log has a red bar that you have to jump over before you jump onto the second log. After the second log is the finish platform, a decent length away, and you’d have to get a nice clean jump to get on the finishing platform in one go. The course for Winter Wipeout, and I promise I’m not just saying this because I did so badly on it, is much harder than the Total Wipeout courses. Everything feels like its entire purpose to knock you into the water, where as some sections of the older courses had nice parts. Proof in this is also that the times were often a lot slower for the Winter edition than the normal edition.

We were then told the order in which we were to do the course! Andy announced there and then the order. I kept waiting for my name to come up. What was the common theme in my Winter Wipeout experience? You heard me, I was last! Again! I kept waiting and waiting for my name to come out, but it never did until they announced who would be doing the course last. Now, a lot of people thought I’d be disappointed with this, and in a small way I was. After doing the intro section, jumping up and down over and over again for ages, and looking at the actual course close up, my blood was pumping. But I’d rather be last than, say, sixth, because then I’d have to calm myself down before building myself up again in a short amount of time. Being last meant I could wind down for a bit, get focused, and then just go for it. Andy announced that the first ten had to get ready, while the second ten had to go and get some lunch. So me and the other nine people who were going between 11^th and 19^th, all went to lunch in a much larger tent.

Lunch was quite nice actually. It was a basic pasta dish with meatballs. We all just relaxed, while the first ten contestants were getting their arses handed to them by the Winter Wipeout course. After we finished lunch we went back to the tent and just waited. Some of the contestants were there waiting already. The idea was that there were two tents, one that had the contestants that already did the course, and one yet to do it. That way it was fair; no one was allowed to see each other do the course and then the people who have done the course have to separate themselves from the people who didn’t. It was quite well done to be fair. So after lunch we had to wait, and wait and wait. Slowly the numbers started to go, people went in threes or fours to do the course and because I was last, I had to wait a long time. I’d estimate times between people doing the course took around 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how bad or well they did, and how much of the course they needed reset. It was getting quite late when I did it, probably around 5pm.

In the end there were four of us left. The last four? It was me, Natalie, Sam and Ben. When it was our turn to come up, my nerves started to go. I was about to do something that I’d always wanted to do. Something that would appear on television in front of around 4 million people. Something that I would take with me to the grave. Something so hard in task, I knew all a long I’d struggle. But there was no turning back now. I was in Argentina, doing the Wipeout course. Did I think about turning back? A little, but I knew I couldn’t. I knew I had no choice. But most of me didn’t want to turn back, most of me wanted to embrace this opportunity, something that only just over 1000 other Brits have done.

The final four to take the course! They change the lineup round on the actual show. I was last! Ben, Natalie, myself and Sam. Thanks to Ben for this picture!

We had to take the back entrance to the Wipeout course, to avoid spotting anyone doing the course there and then. We were lead by Millie I think, to a hill. This hill looked familiar. It was the hill at the start of the Total Wipeout course. In the first few series of Total Wipeout they used to show characters at the top of the hill. It used to be there that Amanda did the interviews. So I recognised it instantly. It gave me another set of butterflies, knowing I too, would walk up that hill soon. We were taken behind the hill, to a section where there were some Endemol Argentina crew members. They were to put the blue protection gear on us, the ones you see all the contestants wear. This gear was to help you protect against large body shots, but more importantly, to keep you afloat in the water. You simply couldn’t drown on the Winter Wipeout course, unless you kept your head under water in a stupid way anyway!

So the last four, Ben, Sam, Natalie and myself, were behind this hill where we were sized up for our protection gear. Naturally, I was last again. On a stump was a piece of paper with everyone’s names, and the size gear they had. Most people naturally, were wearing Medium or Large protection gear, with the exception of poor Jody, who was so small she had to have an Extra Small. Myself however, I was the only one who was too big to fit in Large. They tried but weren’t able to fit me in the outfit. It was a little embarrassing; despite losing up to two stone I still was too big. They put me in the Extra Small, so Jody and I were on polar opposites for protection gear!

So we all started to get the adrenaline running by jumping up and down on the spot, did a bit of stretching, just to get the blood flowing. One by one, our numbers went. As I said, we were behind the hill but if you looked up, you could see the starting platform, where people did their shoutouts. I think the order was Sam, then Ben, then Natalie then me. So Sam went, and then the nerves really started to kick in. Then Ben went, and I was trying my best to keep myself as calm as possible. Then it was just me and Natalie. We just looked at each other in an “oh my god” type of way. We just couldn’t believe what was about to happen. Then, Natalie went, and I was on my own. Can I just say, we could hear certain things from behind that hill, which was happening on the course. We couldn’t tell you what happened really, but we sometimes heard certain machinery or falls into water, that type of thing. It gave us a small indication on how bad or well people did, and what the machinery sounded like. So, there I was, the last to go, standing behind the hill waiting for my cue. As I said there were probably 20 or 30 minutes or so between each person, so I was waiting a while. At the top of the hill was Maisie, as I said it was in theory ‘her’ show so she was the person who gave us our last words before the qualifier. After Natalie did her thing, Maisie eventually called me up. I took a deep breath and walked down the side of the hill, and then took the long walk up the hill.

I could see the course from the side of the hill. Now that I was about to do it, the nerves and butterflies were at an all time high. I could see the top of the hill, where the starting platform was. I walked towards Maisie who told me not to worry as there’s been some amazing times today and that it’s been an amazing show from everyone. These words were supposed to reassure me but they did the opposite. I don’t blame Maisie for that, by the way. She was trying to get me hyped up and confident, but it’s my own insecurities and lack of confidence that made the reassurance work the wrong way. In my eyes, everyone doing really well was bad for me, in a competitive way. If everyone was good, the chances of me getting through to the second round were slim. She told me that I had to stand in the middle of the platform, and either do some posing or warm up. Then on cue with the main camera, I was to do my shoutout as loud as I can. Then, after a certain amount of time, the horn would go and I would do the qualifier.

So, here I was. At the start of the Winter Wipeout qualifier. My mind kept racing about what I was about to do. I looked in front of me and saw the beginning of the course – the snowmen. Round the side I could see the beginning of Granny’s House. I knew further along were the Big Red Balls and then the Log Jam.

I want to tell you here and now, this moment was the most terrifying of all in this entire experience. Seeing the course with my own two eyes, not on a camera looking down at the course, not from the side of the course, the course right there and in front of you, was horrible. I bricked it terribly. It really dawned on me what I was about to do and it wasn’t going to be nice.

So I jogged on the spot, did some stretches for a bit, eventually the cue came on for me to look at the camera and do my shoutout. I looked at the camera and said “This is for all the bearded men out there, I’m going to show you the way!”, but it wasn’t loud enough. I jogged on the spot a bit more and waited for my second take. This time I said it better. And that was it.

Everything I had done so far amounted to this moment right here and now. Watching “101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow” and seeing “The Human Fling”. Finding out there was no new series and instead opting to apply for Total Wipeout. Getting to the audition in August. Reaching the shortlist two days later. Getting my vaccinations. Going to Argentina, meeting the other contestants and Amanda. It all came down to this. I was so nervous, but I was as ready as I was going to be. I was just waiting for that horn to go off. It felt like a million years. But this was it! I was about to do the qualifier! Me vs the Winter Wipeout course! A place in the next round at stake and an opportunity to win £10,000! The horn went and it all began!

Nothing can prepare you for being on that podium, looking down at the course. No training, no preparation. Nothing.

So the horn went off and I ran towards the snow men. If you haven’t seen the show there are two sets of snowmen to choose, some on your left and on your right. I instinctively went to my right. I jumped for the first snowman no problems. I then jumped to the second snowman and it went forwards. I divided for the next platform and had hold of it with my hands. I tried my hardest to hold on, to try and pick myself up and pull upwards but I just didn’t have the strength, and fell into the water.

So close yet so far away. Who knows how well I would have done if I cleared the snowmen? Nah, it wouldn't have made much difference.

It was my first taste of the Wipeout water and it was then I really realised what mountain a task I was up against. The water was so deep, incredibly deep. And the protection gear was helping me to keep afloat. I recovered as quickly as I can and coughed a little, I had a mouth full of water. I knew I had to react quickly if I had any chance of beating the qualifier. The protection gear I was in however, made it incredibly difficult to swim, its purpose was to keep you afloat and it kept pushing me upwards when I kept attempting to do the front crawl but struggled for two reasons; the protective gear and the deep deep water. I’m not a bad swimmer, I’m not great either but I can swim in the deep end of a standard pool but this was much deeper than that. It felt like I was completely engulfed by the water and the protection gear really made things harder. It’s no excuse for my performance; I got 19^th because I wasn’t good enough, not because of the protection gear or the water. But I really struggled.

I started to swim towards Granny’s House before realising that I was going the wrong way – I had two more snowmen to cross. I started to backtrack towards the second ladder and it was here and then, that I confess, that I felt like forfeiting.

I really struggled in that water and by going the wrong way, my time felt like it was at least 3 minutes. Obviously I had no idea what my time was, but that’s what I had estimated in my head. Most people who go through the next round do it in less than 4 minutes, and I was not even at the halfway point, so what was the point in continuing? I really wanted to quit, but I then thought to myself – no! Don’t quit! You beat tens or hundreds of thousands of people just to get here! You beat thousands in the auditions for this opportunity! Only around 1000 people from Britain have done it before you! Don’t you even DARE quit! So I swam towards the ladder and started to climb.

I went the wrong way. So embarassing.

If you saw Episode 5 of this series of Winter Wipeout and saw the final, you saw someone struggle terribly on the ladder. I’m telling you, I knew his pain. These ladders are horrible. The legs of the ladders are tiny, it’s hard to get your feet in each step. Then the worst part is the tops of the ladders. Now, some of the ladders have a tiny bit of rope for you to use to pull yourself up, but most of them don’t. So all you have are two stumps at the sides of the top of the ladders, to try and pull against, to get you up. The guy on Episode 5 did the finale in around 10 minutes because of this. I felt his pain because I too struggled with these ladders, although thankfully not as much.

I eventually pulled myself up the ladder and saw the second set of snowmen. I was so tired at that point, and as I said, I wasn’t even through the first section. So jumped onto the first of the second set of snowmen and it was fine. The second snowman, I knew was going to fall. But, how could I do anything about it? I hadn’t the energy to jump far enough quick enough to make the next platform. It felt like suicide. I knew what was going to happen. So I jumped, and stuck my leg out to try and land on the next platform but the second snowman once again tipped forwards and my leg wasn’t far enough to get to the platform, and it was a second trip in the drink.

I knew I was going to fall again but what could I do? It felt like committing suicide, knowing what was coming.

I swam as fast as I could to Granny’s House. My front crawl, my strongest swim, wasn’t working. So I thought I’d try swimming on my back; I can kick quite well with my legs so I tried this method. It also sucked, possibly more so than the front crawl. I eventually made my way up the smaller ladder towards Granny’s House. They didn't show me doing Granny's House on TV which was a shame. So there I was, at the first door at Granny’s House, which was absolutely terrifying.

You see, when you watch Winter Wipeout or Total Wipeout all you hear is Richard Hammond’s commentary and some music, with panned in sounds of people getting hurt and dramatic screams that are also edited in. But when you’re doing that course, you hear nothing. Absolutely nothing, but machinery. You need to remember that these are large leavers that are operated, to try and knock you off or knock you down. That’s their sole intent is to get you in that water or in that mud. And they’re machines! They don’t have human feelings! I don’t know if they’re controlled by the crew, so I can’t comment if they are automatic or operated. So just remember that when you watch the show, and think about how easy this course may be.

So I got to the first door, which was opening and closing at me. It felt like it was teasing me. I hadn’t the energy or more importantly, the balls, to go for it. I actually bottled it I’m embarrassed to say. I could have dived downwards towards the platform but I didn’t want to get hurt. I tried to time myself so it wouldn’t hit me and somehow, I managed it! It was a first success for me! Then I ran towards the dog, Tevez as Richard Hammond hilariously calls it, and I didn’t raise my legs high enough and it knocked me into the mud.

The mud, unlike the water, was filthy. I felt stones, or at least hard bits of mud, all over the place. I got it everywhere, including my shoes. But the good news is that it was nowhere near as deep as that water, so I didn’t struggle too much with it. I climbed up the next ladder and looked towards the next section. I timed my run badly, and felt at this point I’d actually hit at least 6 minutes, very very slow basically.

What was next? It was the Big Red Balls of course! Now, everyone looks forward to the Big Red Balls. It’s the best part of the show. But me, at that point I really didn’t want that to be the next part. I wished it was earlier in the qualifier, that way I’d be more prepared. So I dreaded this section and walking up that walkway towards the escalator was horrible. And of course, once you’re on the escalator that’s it, there’s only one way to go and that’s forward. So I was reluctant to go on at first before I just gave up and stood on it. The escalator was horrible, it was quite bumpy and the bars underneath pokes at my feet. It felt like suicide again, I knew I wasn’t going to beat the Red Balls and was going to fall into the water, and there was nothing I could do about it. I saw the Big Red Balls more and more as I was going further and further on the escalator. I didn’t actually run on it at all, I just stood there, I was so tired at that point running for the Big Red Balls felt like it was going to be a mistake. So I saw the balls, before I realised, there was only three there! There was one more that was hidden from my view, growing in size below me! I was aiming for the second ball when I thought it was the first! There was virtually no time to react or adjust, and I ended up falling pretty much vertically, downwards as I barely jumped to hit the Red Ball. I front of the first Big Red Ball, and fell to the water.

I was so tired by the time I got to the escalator I just stood there. Embarrassing.

I’d like to say, well, the whole qualifier was embarrassing for me but nothing compared to this. This was the climatic part of the show, and I didn’t even hit a Big Red Ball properly. I’m really upset about this, because even though I had an amazing experience from start to finish, doing the Big Red Balls is a dream, and I barely got to experience it. I at least wanted to hit one Big Red Ball and was going to go for the cautious tactic, but it fell completely flat when I didn’t realise the first Red Ball was as close to the escalator as it was. So, that’s why I’m upset and disappointed in myself about that.

The worst thing about falling into the water before the first Red Ball was that I had to swim the length of the four balls. That felt like it took forever. As I said, I had given up on qualifying for the next round at the first part of the course, never mind the Big Red Balls. I estimated it was at least 10 minutes by this point. I felt that I had joined the 10 minute club, an embarrassing club of people who have done the course in more than 10 minutes. Swimming passed each Red Ball was horrible, because it just took so long, and I was struggling to swim in this water anyway, because as I said, it was so deep and the protective gear felt like a hindrance as it just felt like it was pushing my body upwards when I wanted to go on my side.

Falling backwards to the front of the first ball meant I had to swim the full length of the four balls. For the second time, I was so close to quitting.

That was the second time I was close to giving up. I knew for a fact that I hadn’t qualified. I was embarrassed. Everyone else had reportedly done really well and I just wanted to get off the course, go back to the hotel and go home. I felt awful. I was struggling to do the course really badly and was so tired. But then my mind once again started thinking about how DARE I quit! I’ve come so far it’s too late to turn back! So I fought on, I didn’t want to quit. I’m not really a quitter. I’m a struggler, but I’m not a quitter! So I continued to swim on, and eventually swam across the course of the four balls and back up to a ladder. This ladder I really struggled with, as there was no bit of rope to help you pull up, so I only had the two sides of the ladder.

Next up was the final part of the course, the log jam. I thought the log jam would be the easiest part of the course, and in a certain way, it is. It’s still horrible though. I jumped to the first log, and it started moving forwards and backwards, trying to knock me off. I managed to hold on, the red bar actually helped me in this case, I just clung on to it as much as I could to avoid falling, but also to help me get on my feet. I was absolutely knackered at that point and I held on with sheer will more than anything. I clung on and slowly, gingerly, got up on the log. It stopped moving so aggressively, and I saw the second log. I jumped to the second log, and I made it! Another success story in this terrible terrible display! Woo! Now there was one more jump to attempt before I got to the end of the course. I wanted to end this performance on a high note. I landed on the second log and once again, it kept moving forwards and backwards to try and knock me to the water. I held on, and once again, tentatively got to my feet. I saw the finishing podium. I was about to make my jump and then the log quickly gave way underneath me. I was so tired and out of it by that point that I didn’t even make an attempt to hold on. I fell onto my back, and slid into the water for the final time in the qualifier. What I didn’t remember doing was falling on my back. Looking back at the clips, I really hit my back hard on the log, but I don’t remember any of that at all, it happened so quickly. I made my last swim, this time to the finishing podium and crawled up the stairs, and onto the target. I stood up, put my hands in the air to resemble some kind of pose and then looked at everyone.

Success! I jump from one log to the other! One of the few success stories in my performance. I had no chance with the second though, the way it was moving.

I felt awful. I felt like I was the worst contestant they’d ever had. I had to have hit 15 minutes, surely, that’s what I felt. I didn’t know my actual time until a bit later on. I looked at Amanda, who was looking at me with her microphone, ready for the post qualifier interview. I said, “I’m sorry.” Amanda replied, “Don’t be! What are you sorry for?”, in which I replied, “I felt like I’ve let everyone down.” You know what made things worse? As I was on the last log, I saw from a distance, everyone coming out. All the contestants. I was last and because I took one of the longest they obviously brought everyone out early. I didn’t know that at the time and thought they’d all seen my horror show.

My time was 6:25, but it felt like 15 minutes when I was doing it. I felt like the worst contestant they ever had.

I had agreed beforehand that I’d do some form of Randy Savage elbow drop into the water when I finished the course, paying homage to my love of the wrestling business. I didn’t want to do it as I was so embarrassed and tired. I just asked, “Can I go down the stairs?” in which Amanda agreed, softly, as she knew that I was so upset. I still had to go through the water though, so I got to the bottom step and dived into the water, and swam to the exit. I got to the exit and one of the Endemol Argentina crew came up to me and said in broken English “my brudda!” and gave me hug. He wanted a picture with me; he too had a beard and obviously understood my message to support bearded people. He was awesome; it was a really nice moment actually, seeing this guy want a picture with me because of the bearded connection despite me sucking badly on the Winter Wipeout course. After that I had to have my interview with Amanda.

I don’t remember much of the interview to be honest. I know I was incredibly negative about my performance, and I don’t think they liked that much, which is understandable. But the simple truth was I was. I was so embarrassed, so upset, so angry with myself for performing so badly that I couldn’t help be negative. Amanda was saying stuff like the weight of the beard holding me down, and jokes like that but I just wasn’t really up for jokes, although Amanda was just doing her job. I remember Amanda saying “it wasn’t easy was it?”, with me replying that I didn’t expect it to be easy but I wanted to do it. The quote they used on TV was "I wasn't prepared for that at all", which was portrayed funnily on the show but in seriousness, it wasn't. That's how I genuinely felt, and it was said in a negative way not in a sarcastic way. I remember saying that it wasn’t a good performance to represent bearded people well but that it was a performance that was a good performance to represent not giving up, and that I twice thought of giving up on the course but powered on.  After the interview I had a towel to dry myself down with and a blue Powerade drink for energy. I wasn’t finished yet though as I had to have another interview off the course with a researcher. It was Millie and I had to answer her questions, but in a way that said the question in my answer, for instance, Millie asked me how it felt to do the course and I had to reply “I felt the course was really difficult”. I basically said that I found the course to be really difficult, and that I almost gave up twice but ploughed through it. It was a similar interview and it was also negative, but in honesty, I just wanted to get out of there and fast. I was so exhausted, so upset and angry and embarrassed and wanted to get off the course and far away.

My interview with Amanda was really negative. I'm sure it's the main reason why they didn't show much of it.

What happened after I finished the course? And what of are my thoughts of seeing the rest of the show in person? Come back here tomorrow to find out in Part 5 of 6 of My Winter Wipeout Experience!

If you haven't seen it yet you can see my performance, which was edited by Episode 5 contestant Gemma Murdock below!

You can read part 5 here and part 6 here!

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