One contestant’s Price is Right victory became a burden (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
When Brian Gilmore won big on Bruce’s Price Is Right it seemed like his lucky day, but things got a little complicated.
In 1995, physiotherapist Brian took part in the first series of the show hosted by the late Bruce Forsyth, and ended up walking away with a whole host of prizes varying in value including an antique egg-holder, a lamp table, a writing bureau, a microwave and a fridge-freezer after correctly guessing their RRP.
This wasn’t just luck, Brian spent weeks revising the Argos catalogue in anticipation. If you grew up in the 90s then that probably just sounds like an average December preparing for Santa Claus’ visit to you.
However, the large haul of goodies plus the gazebo, hot tub and conservatory he won in the final round entitled Showcase Showdown turned out to be rather problematic.
Brian told The Guardian that he was living in a house share, and had nowhere to put his winnings from the rebooted series which ran from 1995 to 2001 with Forsyth at the helm.
Brian had nowhere to put his winnings (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
‘After the show, the production team said, “Right, where do you want us to deliver these?” And I was like, “Woah! Woah! You can’t deliver a gazebo. I’m in a shared house!”,’ he recalled.
Over the coming weeks, he spoke to them regularly during his lunch breaks but he was no closer to having a solution.
He told production: ‘I know you’ve got to get rid of the stuff, but I genuinely have nowhere to put it.’
In the end, Brian, who also won £1000 cash on the series, invested in a storage facility which cost £100, plus £10 per item per week.
He described the situation as an ‘absolute nightmare.’
Brian described the situation as an ‘absolute nightmare.’ (Picture: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
‘It was like winning a scratchcard but finding you can’t cash it in,’ he added.
Eventually, he managed to sell the freezer, microwave, garden furniture and credit notes for the conservatory, while the hot tub sale happened just in time for a special occasion.
‘I sold the hot tub just before my wedding, so I was able to buy a big round of drinks at the hotel for the 200 people who came – Brucie’s round! That was good craic,’ he remembered.
While most of the prizes are long gone the antique egg cups remain in an old Sports Direct bag in his garage.
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Things didn’t run smoothly for Brian.