Last updated at 16:58, Monday, 24 September 2012

A BARROW councillor got to the final four of a TV game show, but missed out on the £500,000 prize.

Councillor Lisa Hammond was a contestant on ITV1 show Red or Black?, which aired on Saturday night.

The independent councillor, who represents Parkside in Barrow, on Cumbria County Council, got to the semi-final but went out when she failed to predict the outcome of a golfing challenge.

Cllr Hammond told Red or Black? presenters Ant and Dec she hoped to buy a walk-in fridge if she won the top prize.

She told the famous duo in front of an estimated five million TV viewers about her nickname “The Picnic Queen” because she never leaves home without a sandwich.

Speaking to the Evening Mail yesterday she said she had been excited about the prospect of winning the money and enjoyed taking part in the programme. She said: “It was brilliant. It was a long time in coming because it was filmed some time ago and was just a waiting game. I felt like I’d been gagged for the last three months.

“I just had a random email about doing the show on a Friday morning and thought I’d apply. I did a telephone interview and auditioned going backwards and forwards to Manchester and London.

“It was a fantastic, brilliant experience and I met some really good people. I felt tall next to Ant and Dec. I was very excited about winning, but it is just one of them things. It was so close, yet so far.”

First published at 19:52, Saturday, 22 September 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk