King John is wiped out
WIPEOUT John Harper
HENRY VIII look-alike John Harper is still coming down from cloud nine after appearing on his favourite television show.
The 22-year-old of Fawcett Road, Southsea, starred on BBC 1’s Winter Wipeout.
It was his bushy red beard and resemblance to King Henry that led to him being accompanied by Tudor music every time he appeared on screen.
Despite his best efforts, John failed to get through the qualifying first round of the challenge course, but he did manage to rake in lots of laughs.
‘I would do it all over again in a heartbeat,’ he said. ‘It was so much fun and such a privilege to have got through to the filming stage.
‘But I was gutted that I didn’t get onto the next stage and that I’d done so badly on the course.
‘I fell off everything and it felt like I was taking forever to complete it.’
It took John six minutes and 25 seconds to complete the qualifier, putting him in second last place. He watched the show from home with his wife Claire, 24, and their three-year-old daughter Vivi.
‘I was dreading watching it back because I knew how badly I’d done and I wasn’t sure how that would be portrayed,’ John said. ‘But it was actually really funny and my family loved it, especially Vivi.
‘She kept saying she wanted to see me fall over again.’
John had applied for the show in January last year, and forgot about it after he failed to hear anything back. Then in August he received an email asking if he would like to go to London for an audition.
He needed to pass two separate audition stages and a physical test before making it onto the filming stages.
All 20 contestants for the episode were then flown to Argentina, in November, for filming and to take part in the outdoor water challenge course.
John added: ‘I enjoyed every moment of it.’
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Weather for Portsmouth
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
Wind direction: East
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Temperature: 13 C to 23 C
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