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News > General News > OP's jackpot joy in TV quiz show

OP's jackpot joy in TV quiz show

Andrew D'Arcy (Honorary OP, 83-21), former Pocklington School Catering Manager, recently appeared on our television screens in the ITV quiz show, Tipping Point, and won the jackpot!
17 May 2022
Written by Leanne Maycock
General News

Tipping Point, hosted by Ben Shephard, is a quiz show in which three players take on an extraordinary machine in the hope of winning a cash jackpot. After an online application and Zoom interviews, Andrew was invited to film the episode in April 2021 and kept the outcome under wraps until it aired on television on Thursday 14 April 2022.  

Andrew was up against it in the first round, with tough competition and some tricky questions but some skilful game play secured him a place in the next round, along with a must-have mystery prize for any chef – a slushy maker! With only £100 prize money accumulated in the first round, he was a massive £1,300 behind his opponent, but luck was on his side as he grabbed a ‘double money’ opportunity that gave him a fighting chance going into the head-to-head. He had a huge mountain to climb but he fought back in style ‘like a phoenix from the flames’ and pipped his opponent to the post by only a £50 margin.  

In the final round, he worked the jackpot counter so it was teetering over the Tipping Point, which was close, but not good enough to win the jackpot.  Andrew exclaimed: “Oh you’re going to ask me that awful question now!”  In an all-or-nothing decision, he bravely traded in his accumulated prize money of £2,600 for a final chance to win the jackpot from three trade counters … a decision he thought his wife Joy, or as Ben Shephard called her, ‘Jackpot Joy’, would disagree with! Luckily, it was his second attempt that shimmied the red jackpot counter into the drop zone, to win an incredible £10,000 jackpot. 

After winning, a very jubilant Andrew said: “No one was more surprised than me to get to the final round and to gamble £2600 was nerve-wracking, but Lady Luck was certainly on my side. It was a truly memorable day, topped by meeting Ben Shephard and the team, and a fantastic way to start my retirement!” 

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