1. Lisa,
could you tell us how you first became interested in quizzing?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t! I’ve always loved finding
things out and then spouting them back – I was the child with a lot of those
Usborne books that told you about different aspects of the world.
The first formal quizzes I took part in were at school, when I was a
ten-year-old sent off to quiz with the 12 and 13-year olds in inter-school
competitions. At secondary school I was taught Latin by a fella named John
Hart, who was Mastermind champion back in 1975 and naturally encouraged an
interest in quizzing and general knowledge alongside his other duties. He used
to act as quizmaster for inter-school quizzes. I suspect Jeremy Paxman –
another alumnus of my school – picked up a few tips from John Hart during his
time, because their question master styles are eerily similar.
2. Other
than Eggheads, which TV quiz shows, if any, do you enjoy now, and which shows
have you enjoyed in the past?
I grew up with Blockbusters, University Challenge and Bullseye - I
still remember getting my very first correct answer while watching Blockbusters
when I was about seven. These days I can watch any quiz and get something out
of it, but my favourites would be Pointless and Only Connect. I’m fully
expecting to love the revamped Fifteen to One and, without wishing to sound
sycophantic, I’ve been an Eggheads fan since it started.
My guilty pleasure these days is Challenge TV and the quizzes from
the 80s and early 90s, partly to bone up on pop culture from the period, but
mainly to admire the fashion and hairstyles of the day. It’s living history and
it’s fantastic. I loved hearing Jim Bowen ask ‘Where will the 1988 Olympic
Games be held?’ the other day…
3. Lisa,
I believe that you have been a contestant on The Weakest Link a few years ago.
If so, how did you find Anne Robinson, and what are your memories of the
experience?
Anne was perfectly gracious in a professional way – it was ‘turn up,
shake everyone’s hand, congratulate them afterwards and the on to the next show.’
She wasn’t a chatty-type host in your Jeremy Vine or Bradley Walsh mould, but
if I was on a five-show-a-day treadmill I doubt I would have been either.
We had a small set-to during the show when she asked me what I
wanted to do career-wise, as I’d just left university when we filmed. I told
her I wanted to work in television, to which she replied (you’ll have to
imagine the sneer and the cut-glass disdain in the voice) ‘What makes you think
you’re talented enough to work in television?’ I replied ‘Do you need to be
talented, Anne?’ The resulting loud guffaw from the production gallery didn’t
make the edit, but in fairness she did come up afterwards and say ‘the producer
says come and see her afterwards, because she says you deserve a job in television’.
Thirteen years later, here I am…
The rest of the show was slightly atypical in that we were one of
the ‘nicer’ teams ever to film – there were no tactics to get rid of the
stronger players and very little sniping between contestants. I made a hideous mess
of the final – there were questions in there that I’d known the answers to
since I was about five, but because I panicked under pressure I failed to get a
single one correct. It was a salutary lesson in tactics, though.
4. If
my information about The Weakest Link is correct, then you have faced both Anne
Robinson and CJ. Who do you think would win out of the two of them in a cage
fight – no, only joking! But seriously, which was the more daunting experience
– facing Anne Robinson in The Weakest Link, or facing CJ in Revenge of the
Egghead?
In the cage my money’d be on Anne because she’d fight that bit
dirtier, but it’d be a close-run thing…Quizwise, I’d actually go for CJ, simply
because it’s quite difficult to play a quiz format with which you’re not familiar.
On The Weakest Link, I knew roughly what to expect of the format, the level of
questions, expected banter etc., but I couldn’t be sure at what level Revenge
of the Egghead would be pitched or how it might have developed since the
auditions. The questions were harder on Revenge too. I was lucky with a few of
my answers.
5. Prior
to joining the Eggheads, what would you say is the quiz experience or
achievement that you are most proud of?
Edging my solo round of The Chase against Paul Sinha. How I survived
that I have absolutely no idea, given the questions. Not my finest hour
knowledge-wise but probably the finest in terms of sheer nerve and persistence.
6. Since
you have joined the Eggheads, has your approach towards preparing for quizzes
changed, and if so, how?
I’ve tried to make sure that the kind of absolute ‘core list’ with
which all quizzers should be familiar is fully up to scratch, so that really
basic quiz fodder like world capitals, or Olympic host cities, or American
presidential office holders, doesn’t catch me out. Every day on Eggheads throws
up a new area for me to look into, though, so I suppose it’s more a broadening
of research areas than a change of approach per se. I think the most conscious
change is that when I read the news, I find myself muttering facts and lists
over to make sure they sink in.
7. Could
you give us an idea what the reaction of friends and/or family has been when
you revealed to them for the first time that you were becoming an Egghead?
My immediate family were all in New Zealand when I told them over
Skype, and I don’t think they’ve scraped their jaws off the floor yet. Most
other people have actually been quite laid back about it, particularly my work
colleagues.
The best reaction was my father-in-law’s – he’s a dedicated Eggheads
fan and we’ve often joked about getting a team together. My husband rang up and
said ‘Lisa’s going on Eggheads’. My father-in-law responded, in a slightly hurt
tone, ‘Oh…who’s on her team?’ to which my husband replied ‘You know, Kevin,
Barry, Pat, Judith…’!
8. What
are/were your thoughts on taking over from such a popular, respected and
talented Egghead as Daphne Fowler?
Let’s get this absolutely straight – I am not, repeat not,
‘replacing’ Daphne in any way. You cannot, by definition, replace a one-off.
Daphne made her first appearances on TV quiz shows before I was even born, and
her level of performance is a benchmark to which all quizzers, particularly
female quizzers, can and should aspire.
I understand that the idea of a like-for-like replacement will be
people’s natural assumption, because Daphne and I both happen to be women. But
I don’t think anyone expected Dave to be exactly the same type of quizzer, or
have the same type of personality, as CJ when he arrived to fill that particular
vacancy. So from that point of view it’s basically sexist for people to think
that I’m a straight swap for Daphne.
From what I’ve been told by various people connected with Eggheads,
the idea of finding a new female Egghead had been around for some time, and
while a lot of people (including a large number known, I suspect, to this
blog’s author) (Really? Could be - Ed) were considered, the producers obviously had quite a specific blueprint
in mind. I think it’ll be immediately obvious when I appear on screen that the
last thing they were thinking about was finding another Daphne, even if such a
thing were possible.
9. Regular
viewers of Eggheads have noticed that particular Eggheads are often targeted
for specific subjects, where, rightly or wrongly, they are perceived to have an
Achilles heel. Do you feel that you have been targeted for any specific subject
more than any other, and if so, which?
In my first week of filming, I’ve competed in head to heads for
eight out of the nine question categories, which I think is a clear indicator
that nobody quite knows what to make of me just yet. I actually expected a
little more targeting for some subjects based on assumptions about my age and
gender, but it hasn’t really been evident except in a couple of cases – and
happily I was able to prove contestants wrong on those occasions. As a result
my win-loss record for this week is a little better than most of the other
Eggheads, who suffer to greater or lesser degrees from this type of targeting.
And I’m not going to tell you which subjects…I’m trying to preserve the
mystique for as long as possible!
You’re
now an Egghead, but if you weren’t, and you could appear as a contestant or
contender on any other quiz show (past or present), which show would be at the
top of your list?
Now that is a great question.(thanks - Ed!) I’d love to have made it onto
old-school Blockbusters with Bob Holness, because he was a legendary example of
hosting and Blockbusters still wins in the ‘best quiz theme tune’ stakes
(sorry, ‘Approaching’ what now?). These days I’m dying to have a crack at Only
Connect. Are you listening, producers…?
Lisa - once again thanks for being a sport, and answering so fully and frankly. I'm sure all LAM readers would like to join me in wishing you every success. (We'll argue again about the best quiz theme - in fact I think I feel a podcast coming on . . . )
4 comments:
I'm so excited for when Lisa joins the team! I really liked her on both Weakest Link and Are You An Egghead? Do you know when it will be at all? I'm presuming it will be at the time when Jeremy takes over from Dermot as presenter, as that has been a time when things have changed somewhat - Dave took over from CJ on that occasion, I think.
I reckon she'll freshen up the Eggheads team, firstly that it will be good to have another woman now Daphne's gone and also because she's quite a bit younger than most of them. I think it's good to have a mix of ages. On a more personal level, whenever I have tweeted Lisa she always responds very promptly, usually within the hour, which I appreciate a lot.
Hi George - I don't have a date yet, but it's definitely going to be soon, because the Producers have allowed her to reply to the questions now, since they are starting to build up to her first appearance.
Not sure the OC producers will allow an Egghead in - having QI Elves on is about as far as they can go I think. Should have come in last series!
They had Chris, Barry and Pat in a special against three of the strongest OC players of all time, who all happened to be called David... I didn't think the Eggheads were very good actually, it takes a special type of mind to do Only Connect.
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