Meet the Lancashire man who is the unluckiest person in TV history

Lancashire Post

Lancashire man, Edward Oldfield, has appeared in over 50 TV shows in ten years- and not won a single penny!

Transcript

00:00 Like the death of Elvis Presley, everybody remembers where they were.

00:04 The first time they met Edward Oldfield, and that's me.

00:06 I'm from Kirkham, where I live with my wife and two children, two children that I know of.

00:11 Now, I've starred in over 50 television programmes over the last 10 years,

00:15 broadcasting in 150 countries to over 3 billion people,

00:19 and just about all I've got to show for it is a packet of fake pills and a Steph's Packs lunch money.

00:24 I have won nothing, probably making me the unluckiest person in television,

00:28 but goodness me, what a ride it has been, up and down.

00:31 And I would say to people that want to get involved in television that it is addictive.

00:34 You are treated like royalty on the set. It's very exciting.

00:38 You meet some fantastic people, whether it's the crew or the contestants or even the celebrities themselves.

00:44 And I would say to you that what for me has been the memorable moments is probably working on Britain's Got Talent,

00:50 where I met Stephen Mulhern, and one of probably the most underrated TV presenters of all time.

00:56 He was the person that on the second time I appeared on Britain's Got Talent,

00:59 actually pulled me aside and had a corridor conversation and said,

01:02 "Look, you know, the judges don't always get it right. You are a funny guy. Stick with it."

01:07 And I suppose that's what's led to 10 years of it.

01:10 Other people that I've enjoyed working with is Steph McGovern, which was a great experience.

01:14 And the first time I appeared on her show, The Packed Lunch,

01:18 she actually invited my mum to appear with me on the next programme,

01:21 which was a bit like that film Stop or My Mum Will Shoot,

01:24 with Sylvester Stallone.

01:26 And I think the other person that I would say that stands out as somebody that I've actually enjoyed working with immensely

01:31 was Caroline Flack. And it was interesting because when I rang the wife after the first day of filming,

01:36 I said, "It's being presented by a girl called Caroline Flack.

01:39 I don't know if you know who she is, but she was on The X Factor and messed up the results."

01:43 And at this point, my wife said, "No, no, don't you ever say that again.

01:46 It was Ollie that messed up the results. Caroline is what...

01:48 Don't you ever criticise Caroline again."

01:50 And I'd never really watched any of her TV programmes.

01:53 And I realised my wife was a closet fan of Caroline Flack, as my mother was of Steph McGovern.

01:59 So it's interesting when you work with these people.

02:00 But certainly with Caroline, she was the person that for all the status that she had,

02:04 would message me to ask how the family were and the children.

02:07 And what a wonderful experience. These are superstars at the end of the day,

02:11 but they are human beings and they are very nice people to work with.

02:14 I think one of the funniest experiences was working on Ninja Warrior.

02:18 I had a phone call from a casting producer saying, "Ninja Warrior."

02:23 And I was like, "Well, I don't think this is my cup of tea."

02:26 And he said, "Well, have you ever watched the programme?"

02:28 I said, "Yes." And he said, "Well, we always put somebody that dresses up as a costume

02:31 and makes a fool of himself." And I said, "OK, well, that sounds about me."

02:35 So that was Ninja Warrior.

02:36 And I remember they put people through four at a time on the assault course.

02:40 And I was put through with two DJs from Radio One and some girl off Love Island.

02:45 And an audience member came out to me and asked if I could have a photo of his son with me.

02:51 And I said, "Well, at the end of the day, they're the celebrities over there.

02:53 I'm not a celebrity." But he turned around and he said, "Well, I don't know who they are,

02:56 but I know who you are, so I want a photo with you."

02:58 So what does that say about Radio One?

03:00 Anyway, so moving on, probably another experience was when I was in the green room

03:04 with Sandy Shaw and Gillian McKeith came up and asked for a photo of Sandy and myself.

03:09 And I was a little bit flattered, but I didn't realise who I was stood next to.

03:12 So you do meet a lot of famous people in these circumstances.

03:15 And after a sort of Wikipedia Sandy Shaw, I realised she'd won the Eurovision Song Contest.

03:19 And, you know, she was Gilbert Abba.

03:21 So these are the sort of celebrities that you meet on the television.

03:25 I think if I was going to do any more television programmes,

03:28 I reckon that Bargain Hunt's one that I need to do because I was in an exclusivity clause

03:34 with Channel 4 at the time when I was offered to go on that show with my sparring partner, Bill.

03:40 And I suppose your mum's goggle box, because at the end of the day,

03:43 I know the inner workings of television, having been on all these varied television programmes,

03:47 you know, whether it be Tipping Point or The Weakest Link or even the best of Judge Rinder,

03:52 that actually I think I'm probably one of the most undiscovered TV critics out there

03:58 that probably knows a thing or two how to critique TV.

04:01 So I would say to people that are watching this, say, you know, what's it like and how do I get onto it?

04:08 I say, well, my top tips of television and getting on the television are be persistent.

04:13 Don't get disheartened if you don't hear back. You know, there's a lot of competition.

04:17 Enjoy yourself in your experience with television.

04:20 And if there is a top tip, I would say if you have to apply for a television programme,

04:25 then I would always, always, always do a video if they ask you to do a video.

04:28 It is a surefire way to get deselected if you don't do a video.

04:32 They want to see your personality. I remember a smile, smile, smile.

04:35 Nobody wants to see a grumpy person on television, not unless you're doing a Crimewatch file reconstruction.

04:41 And people want to see happy, happy, happy. And I hope I hope you've enjoyed some of my shows.

04:46 I'm going to sign off now. All the best, Edward Oldfield. Nice to have met you.

04:49 Thank you.

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