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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Rebecca Cook

Tipping Point fans distracted by celebs' 'dull' style as Josh Widdicombe clinches win

Tipping Point viewers were left slightly frustrated as the ITV programme aired its Lucky Stars celebrity version of the hit game show on Sunday evening,

Tipping Point: Lucky Stars saw host Ben Shephard face comedian Josh Widdicombe, former BBC presenter Louise Minchin and Watchdog presenter Michelle Ackerley.

The trio answered questions to win turns on the arcade-style machine, in the hopes of collecting the £20,000 prize for their selected charity.

Michelle was the first contestant out, followed by Louise, leaving Josh Widdicombe to clinch the win and take home £20,000 for his charity The Lily Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to fighting mitochondrial disease

But as the three familiar faces made their introductions at the start of the show, ITV viewers were left begging the trio to make their introductions in a less drawn out fashion.

The hit ITV show is celebrating a decade on the air with a new series starting next week. (ITV)

Taking to Twitter, one wrote: “Intros are far too long…” as another posted: “Why can't these celebs on Tipping Point Lucky Stars just say hello I’m..... and the charity I’m playing for is..... instead of all these uncomfortable unfunny scripted introduction speeches.”

The hit ITV show is celebrating a decade on the air with a new series starting next week.

Tipping Point viewers were left slightly frustrated as the ITV programme aired its Lucky Stars celebrity version of the hit game show (ITV)

Ben Shephard has said that the silliest answers on his quiz come from being under pressure and he insists he “makes a fool of himself regularly” in moments which end up on the cutting room floor.

The show is possibly best known for when host Ben asked a primary teacher called Dom: “In his epic poems, Homer often refers to the nectar as the drink of the gods and which other substance as their food?”

The trio answered questions to win turns on the arcade-style machine (ITV)

Dom replied: “I know he likes doughnuts,” with Ben looking flabbergasted by the answer. “I think I’ll go with doughnuts please, Ben.”

The moment last October went viral with millions of people watching it around the world, but Ben insists answering questions on the quiz to try to win £10,000 is not as easy as it looks.

Ben said: “These people are under pressure in an environment and their minds go blank and they can’t think of anything and the words don’t make sense. And I just have so much admiration for all of them.

Josh Widdicombe took the win and secured £20,000 for his charity (ITV)

“There have been some amazing answers but to be fair to all those people that come in, they are incredibly brave to take on the machine. And I would hate to think anybody would be nervous about coming in because they’re worried about making a fool of themselves, because I have done it on a number of occasions, and continue to make a fool of myself regularly.

"And I think that anybody can, when you’re under pressure like that. And hopefully they feel like we’re laughing with them and not laughing at them, because I would hate that to be the case."

Looking back on when it first started, Ben says he hoped the show would do well but had no idea it would be a hit and notch up over 1,000 episodes, when he was pitched a show based around a large coin pusher arcade-style machine.

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