Skelmersdale dad-of-two to take on the big red balls on hit BBC show Winter Wipeout this weekend

Feb 9 2012 by Rob Pattinson, Skelmersdale Advertiser

A DAD-OF-TWO will take on the big red balls when he appears on primetime BBC1 show Winter Wipeout this Saturday.

Factory worker Edward Ager, from Holland Park, will be one of 20 contestants shown battling for the £10,000 prize in the episode of the hit programme.

The proud dad was flown out to Argentina – where the snow-covered obstacle course gameshow, presented by Top Gear’s Richard Hammond, is filmed – last November.

And while he can’t reveal how he gets on, he told the Advertiser: “It was unbelievable, the hardest thing physically and mentally I’ve ever done. I came out of it black and blue – you’re never out of the water, constantly being hit. “But it was a fantastic experience.”

Edward, who works on Pimbo, credits his daughters Megan, 13, and Grace, six, for getting him on to the show. The girls are both big fans, and sent off for an application form for their dad to take part last January.

Edward said: “They love it and are always giggling at it on a Saturday night. They filled in the form for me and next thing I know I was invited down to London for an interview.”

After getting through the interview stage and subsequent fitness tests, Edward found out he had been chosen from thousands of contestants to take part back in September.

And he says the experience of flying out to South America with 20 strangers has left him with a whole new set of friends.

He said: “We’ve all kept in touch. Everyone on the show was great, Amanda Byram was so nice, as were all the production crew.

“When we got out there and were driven to the course it was an amazing feeling to see it, it suddenly became real.

“Waiting to start the course the adrenalin was really pumping – I don’t actually remember much, except for the hits!

“I class myself as pretty fit but I was absolutely shattered at the end. I wouldn’t swap the experience for the world though, my wife Emma was really proud and I have my girls to thank for getting me on there. “I’d also like to thank all the lads on the factory floor for their support.”

Watch Edward in action this Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC1