'Going on quiz shows for 25 years almost cost me my job'
Going on one TV quiz show is impressive, let alone managing to secure a spot on 12.
However, a man who boasts an impressive streak on some of the biggest quiz programmes on television has revealed to Metro that his impressive hobby almost cost him his job.
Jon Stitcher has appeared on the likes of Mastermind, Countdown, Only Connect and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? just to name a few.
His first TV quiz stint took place in 2000 when he went on The Weakest Link, before going to the next level by starring on one quiz show a year between 2014 and 2021.
The former lawyer and ex-professional poker player, who now runs the Online Quiz League, admitted that he was 'horrendously nervous' when he faced Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. But luckily, he seemed to find a way to get past his nerves in the years that followed.
It all started when he was a child who enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit with his family, with keen quizzer eventually going on to join the Wirral Quiz League.
After going on The Weakest Link 25 years ago, Jon attempted to bag spots on Countdown and Brain Teaser… before he looked into applying for The Krypton Factor, which resulted in him 'almost losing his job'.
'I was working for Barclays and they wouldn't give me the afternoon off to go for the audition,' he recalled.
'And I genuinely said, 'Well, what happens if I just go anyway?' and they said, 'You'll get sacked'. So I was like, fine, okay, so I didn't go.'
Hwoever, a couple of days later, he saw that The Krypton Factor were holding another audition in Cardigg, so he rang in sick so that he could give it a try.
'Instead of losing me for an hour or two, they lost me for a whole day whilst I went down to Cardiff.'
While speaking to Metro, serial quiz show star Jon Stitcher revealed his top tip for how to get onto a TV quiz show.
'To people who've asked me 'How do you get on so many shows?' I just say, when you audition, be yourself but turned up to 11,' he said.
'They don't want you to be someone you're not, but they need to see the most extravagant version of yourself.
'I think I'm naturally quite outgoing and confident, and that's a key thing for TV shows, they don't want someone who's going to sit there all nervous, and they need someone who they know is going to be comfortable on the camera.'
He added that it helps to have 'something on your application form that stands out to make you a bit different'.
Jon continued: 'When I was getting on every show I applied for, my job title was professional poker player, and that just jumps out.
'They must get hundreds and hundreds of accountants, and that's not a boring job but there's not a lot really to talk about with that.
He noted that perhaps now that he's a company director, that might be why he's not hearing back from quiz show applications.
'It could be my age as well. I was in my 30s, now I'm middle-aged, white male, they've got plenty of people like me,' he added.
'I just kept applying for more and more shows… I did one a year from 2014 to 2021,' Jon said, who made it to the final of Fifteen to One.
His main motivation for going on pretty much every quiz show you can think of was down to something very simple – he just 'loves playing the games'.
But of course, having the chance to go home with a cash prize on some occasions was a brilliant added bonus.
Given his experience showing off his quizzing prowess on TV, Jon had the chance to brush shoulders with some of the most prominent presenters in the UK, including the 'absolutely lovely' Bradley Walsh.
Jeremy Clarkson also took the time to meet contestants on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? by coming to the green room and chatting to everyone before the show, Jon revealed, while Sandi Toksvig was able to spend time with the three finalists who made it to the end of Fifteen To One.
'It's lovely to get to see them out of their presenter role, just seeing them as the normal people they are,' Jon stated.
While Jon would love to add more quiz show notches to his belt, he's hit an obstacle in his path – as he believes his past appearances on TV might be preventing him from being accepted onto more quiz shows.
'I'm at the stage now where I'm not hearing back from applications. It used to be that if you've been on shows it was a plus because the researchers knew you could do it, you'd be ok on camera and you wouldn't crumble,' he explained.
'Now I think they're looking for new faces. Because of social media, there will be comments saying, 'Oh not this guy again'.'
'With the 1% Club, I was cast on that and had a recording date. About two or three days beforehand, they rung me up and said, 'We're really sorry, we can't use you now and producers think you've been on too many shows.' So yeah it can go against you.'
One time, Jon sparked attention on social media for another reason, as Mastermind viewers angrily expressed their belief that his specialist subject – The Inbetweeners – shouldn't be a allowed.
'I think what made it worse was at the time my job was a professional poker player and they put me on the show with three professionals – a lecturer, a journalist and a teacher – and their subjects were like, Leonardo da Vinci, JS Bach, and the Dreyfus Affair,' he said.
'So you've got three academics all doing very high-brow subjects, and then a professional poker player doing one of the lowest-brow sitcoms of all time.'
Jon stressed that he 'didn't cheat', despite some viewers' infuriated remarks, and emphsised that he 'put in as much effort as anyone else', scoring a perfect 15 out of 15 for his questions.
Then when he went on The Chase, he didn't let rude remarks that he was 'smug' bother him… considering he walked away with a hefty £12,000. More Trending
''When I went on The Chase and I won, that was amazing. A lot of the comments were saying I was 'smug' or 'such a know-it-all' so I just retweeted them all. I came away with £12,000 so a few comments weren't going to bother me,' he said.
Despite his lack of success with applying for quiz shows these days, Jon isn't planning on giving up.
In recent years, he's applied for Jeopardy! and The Tipping Point, and is keen to attempt Red Dwarf as his next specialist subject on Mastermind.
View More »
Considering he's made it this far already, we don't see why he can't achieve even more of his quiz show dreams.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: Anne Robinson reveals the moment she wanted to 'shut Rachel Riley up'
MORE: Free streaming service adds 16 channels, including 3 you 'won't find anywhere else'
MORE: From 'selling radiators' to ghost-writing: Inside The Chase stars' lives before fame
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
2 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Dion Dublin loses huge five-figure sum on Millionaire celebrity special – would you have got it right?
FOOTIE legend Dion Dublin was left red-faced on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after losing a huge five-figure sum. The former Homes Under the Hammer presenter, 56, had the pressure on him on during his stint on the ITV quiz show after revealing he was playing for two charities close to his heart. 3 Dion gambled on £16,000 trying to reach £32,000 Credit: ITV 3 Jeremy was gutted for Dion Credit: ITV While in the hot seat, Dion explained that he was hoping to raise serious cash for the Dianne Oxberry Trust — named after the beloved BBC weather presenter who died in 2019. Dianne passed away shortly after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Dion revealed he was also raising money for the Pet Blood Bank, a charity that he and his wife Cheryl are both devoted to. With emotions running high, Dion looked to set his safety net at a cool £32k. However, hoping for more money, he decided to gamble. The telly star had already used up two lifelines when host Jeremy Clarkson hit him with the question: 'Which of these events did not occur in the 1990s?' The possible answers were: A) John Major becomes PM, B) Dolly the sheep is born, C) Eden Project opens, or D) FA Premiere League is founded. Dion was quick off the mark with the initial thought it might be John Major becoming Prime Minister. He took a 50/50 to whittle the options down — and was left with John Major and The Eden Project opening. Needing backup, he phoned a friend. But not just any pal — his accountant Marco. Marco confidently declared it was John Major. 'I'll go with Marco because he knows his stuff,' Dion said, trustingly. But Marco definitely didn't know his stuff. Clarkson delivered the blow with his typical charm: 'That's the wrong answer. He followed Thatcher, didn't he? "It was 1990 exactly. The Eden Project opened in 2001.' Dion's face dropped as Jezza delivered his final quip: 'You need a new accountant.' Instead of a bumper prize pot, Dion walked away with just £1,000 — split between the two charities. Did you know the correct answer? Let us know in the comments below.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Dion Dublin loses huge five-figure sum on Millionaire celebrity special – would you have got it right?
FOOTIE legend Dion Dublin was left red-faced on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? after losing a huge five-figure sum. The former Homes Under the Hammer presenter, 56, had the pressure on him on during his stint on the ITV quiz show after revealing he was playing for two charities close to his heart. 3 3 While in the hot seat, Dion explained that he was hoping to raise serious cash for the Dianne Oxberry Trust — named after the beloved BBC weather presenter who died in 2019. Dianne passed away shortly after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Dion revealed he was also raising money for the Pet Blood Bank, a charity that he and his wife Cheryl are both devoted to. With emotions running high, Dion looked to set his safety net at a cool £32k. However, hoping for more money, he decided to gamble. The telly star had already used up two lifelines when host Jeremy Clarkson hit him with the question: 'Which of these events did not occur in the 1990s?' The possible answers were: A) John Major becomes PM, B) Dolly the sheep is born, C) Eden Project opens, or D) FA Premiere League is founded. Dion was quick off the mark with the initial thought it might be John Major becoming Prime Minister. He took a 50/50 to whittle the options down — and was left with John Major and The Eden Project opening. Needing backup, he phoned a friend. But not just any pal — his accountant Marco. Marco confidently declared it was John Major. 'I'll go with Marco because he knows his stuff,' Dion said, trustingly. But Marco definitely didn't know his stuff. Clarkson delivered the blow with his typical charm: 'That's the wrong answer. He followed Thatcher, didn't he? "It was 1990 exactly. The Eden Project opened in 2001.' Dion's face dropped as Jezza delivered his final quip: 'You need a new accountant.' Instead of a bumper prize pot, Dion walked away with just £1,000 — split between the two charities. Did you know the correct answer? Let us know in the comments below. 3
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Jeremy Clarkson gobsmacked by Steph McGovern's Millionaire revelation
Presenter, Steph McGovern, was in the hot seat for ITV's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on Saturday and left host, Jeremy Clarkson, seriously impressed with her credentials Jeremy Clarkson was left gobsmacked by Steph McGovern when she played Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? on Saturday. The Geordie presenter, 43, was in the hot seat, raising money for charity, when she told the petrolhead she'd helped devise an important bit of kit for a heap of British gardeners. Revealing she'd helped to develop the humble leaf blower, Steph smiled excitedly as Jeremy couldn't resist digging into her CV. He said: "I was looking at your notes, obviously, business and economics you're known for, but you're also a champion Irish dancer and a novelist, and a journalist, and most important of all, an engineer by trade. And you developed the leaf blower! Couldn't you have made it electric?" Steph explained that while she was working at Black+Decker more than 20 years ago, an electric version of the leaf blower wasn't possible. However, she said while at the company's Leaf Hog as part of a Six Sigma team, she helped save the firm £150,000 by improving manufacturing techniques. Jeremy joked: "There's nothing more annoying, am I right, than somebody else's leaf blower?" Before her TV career with BBC and Channel 4 took off, Steph was an intrepid engineer and won the prestigious Arkwright Engineering Scholarship in 1998 and was crowned Young Engineer for Britain a year later. Her Millionaire appearance, which was a repeat from earlier this year, was just another string to her bow as she raised an impressive £125,000 for charity. Steph walked away with the cash for Rubies, a Middlesbrough-based organisation supporting young girls. "I am happily gonna take the money and am not gonna carry on, if that's okay", she told Jeremy, choosing to not risk her winnings on the £250,000 questions. Rubies, which Steph has supported for over five years, helps create 'unforgettable' experiences for girls, including trips to TV studios with the plucky presenter. On 14 July 2019, Steph revealed that she was pregnant and her girlfriend were expecting their first child. On 4 November later that year, she gave birth to a girl. This year, the mum-of-one was a finalist in Netflix's Celebrity Bear Hunt hosted by Bear Grylls and Holly Willoughby. Speaking to Prima about why she decided to do the gruelling show, which sees a host of unlikely British celebrities dropped into the Central American jungle as prey for survivalist Bear, she said: "I've previously said no to featuring in reality TV, but when BearHunt came along, I thought, 'This is the one.' Since hitting my 40s, I've been trying to take more risks and it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I learned a lot about myself. "I had a kid in my 40s, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to physically push myself. But after each challenge, I felt such a sense of accomplishment. I'm the type of person who wipes seats before I sit on them, but in the jungle, I really threw myself into it. I released an inner animal!" * Soccer Aid is on ITV at 6pm on Sunday 15 June
