A FORMER Budehaven pupil is set to appear on a popular TV game show.

Graham Pearce, who was student at Budehaven School from 1989 to 1996, will be a contestant on ITV1’s Tipping Point on Wednesday, May 10.

Graham said: “The show was a lot of fun to record. Ben Shephard is a really nice guy and the other contestants were hilarious. I lost count of how many times we had to re-record a segment because we were laughing so much.

“There is a big element of chance in Tipping Point, because the counters can go all over the place but I thought my skills from playing the 2p coin-pusher machines in Crooklets’ Arcade in the 1980s would have been an advantage. Well, it would have been but I was allowed to bang the glass to get more counters to fall over the edge.”

Graham, 39, currently lives in Lancashire with his wife Maxine and three-year-old twins Joe and Edie, but still has family and friends in Bude and visits the area several times a year.

Over the last ten years Graham has appeared on several game shows as he explains, saying: “I was on The Chase a few years ago and won an episode of The Weakest Link in 2007. Being a TV show contestant is a surreal experience but I recommend it to anyone.”

When asked if anything embarrassing happened on the show, Graham replied: “There is one moment and it relates to a question about Star Wars! I can’t say any more but I am expecting it to haunt me for the rest of my life.”

Tipping Point is on ITV1 every day at 4pm and is available for 30 days on the ITV Hub.