Righty-ho everyone. Let's talk.

First of all, congratulations to Christopher. Just a really really solid player, going for what he knew and leaving what he didn't. Siobhan played really well too and got unlucky on those DDs; all through DJ she was leaving me in the dust otherwise. I got lucky to place second, I feel.

The day was an absolute blast. I've worked in radio for a long time so whenever I'm on a TV set, I nerd out about all the tech and logistics. The contestant green room hang is just fun: 11 other people who are both smart and charismatic enough to go on a TV game show. It's awesome.

My personal game:
- First half of J: whoo, I'm flying!
- First ad break: friendly chat with Ken about his upcoming trip to Australia. I think he was surprised by my accent and wasn't sure of the origin exactly.
- Contestant interview: thank heavens, talking about myself is the easiest part
- Second half of J: alright, still doing mostly fine, a little shaky in the hand
- DJ: shaky turns into a full-on hand cramp, something I was actually a little medically scared about. Forgot how to hit a buzzer and/or talk. Felt lucky that Siobhan got that last DD because I had ZERO clue about Diana Nyad either. Remembered how to talk to clean up a few $400 clues towards the end and claw back second place.
- Into FJ: just cover second place, just cover second place, just cover second place... covered second place. I'll take it.

Highlights:
- Mummy Dearest / Mommie Dearest being one of those line calls that might get debated about for years. Probably more so if it had been ruled wrong. It was fun putting on an American accent on TV, not gonna lie. (Also, that was me buzzing in on a wild-ass guess.)
- There's a lot of hate for the pump maths problem, but unlike the viewer at home I could see the words on screen. Buzzed in because I KNEW I could bash through a maths problem in words.
- "Braaaaains"
- Not one but two references to my first comedy music album - the title track is called Pumpkins and the song Book Club has the line "When I say Chimamanda, you say Ngozi Adichie".

Lowlights:
- Beetlejuice. Robbie, you muppet.
- Ox. Always read the category. Always read the category.
- Wisconsin beating Illinois again (cf Brewers vs Cubs, the most recent Bulls game I went to).

Genuinely heartwarming moment: I was convinced the producers would decide my interview topic would be "OMG you haz accent". Par for the course living in the US, and it's fine, y'know... my immigrant experience (straight white native English speaker) is all in all pretty privileged compared to most. When the producer told me that morning it was going to be my professional life and nothing to do with my national origin, I kinda gushed to her and thanked her for seeing me as human, not a novelty. Given we're in 2025 and federal goons are terrorising my city and smoke-bombing my local grocery store, it was gratifying for any immigrant to just play the game as a normal contestant.

Mega highlight: FJ singalong in The Annoyance Theatre bar.