When we left my chat with Ed Phillips last time, we were just beginning to discuss the time when Ed and his co-host Livinia played as contestants on Temptation, in a special Celebrity Edition of he show. Now read on…

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SH: And when you played as a contestant on the show, how did you and Livinia go?

EP: (LAUGHING) So glad you asked, Hally. It was the last question of Fast Money and it was something about, “Annie get your gun was the famous line of which character?” and I think I might have said “Dead-Eye Dick” instead of Annie….

SH: Annie Oakley.

EP: Yes! Annie Oakley. So I might have just said “Dead Eye Jane” or something, as just a Hail Mary. So I lost it on the buzzer and probably copped one in the ribs from Livinia’s elbow.

* You can actually watch the episode we’re discussing, right here on Youtube.

SH: Ouch. You were also a contestant on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire in 2002, on the ‘Battle Of The Game Show Hosts’ special. How did that compare to being a contestant on Temptation for you?

EP: That was terrible. There was no time constraint there, which actually really worked against your mind as well. As you know, you read every word of the question as it pops up. It is very one-on-one, because you’re there with Eddie McGuire staring at you. And you kind of think “Obviously, they are trying to trick me here; let me read the question again. Three times over. Okay – it’s A, B, C or D. My initial reaction is B. Now, why would that not be right?” And you just spend half of your time undermining your own initial gut reactions and doing your own head in. It’s quite a bizarre experience.

SH: So you found yourself second-guessing everything?

EP: Yes. It is a terrible way to fuel your self-doubt. Then of course you can ask the audience, and some of them are all spread far and wide with their options. I rang my smart brother as my Phone-A-Friend. It’s a real tough one. But it’s a great way to be quizzed, and you learn a lot about yourself in the chair as well.

SH: And about how you approach situations like that.

EP: Well, the show went for an hour and he could only ask a dozen questions in that time. In a half hour episode of Temptation we could get through 70. So, different sorts of pressure, but it is just a wonderful way to test your brain and to see if it explodes.

SH: (LAUGHING) And did it?

EP: Well, it hurt! Plus, you’re waiting there, in that chair, to get on…

SH: The suspense…

EP: It’s agony.

* For more great tips for competing on ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’, refer to my interview with Michael Pope from around this time last year.

SH: Right. Any plans to be a contestant in the future on any other game shows?

EP: I’d rather host them. I think you look so much smarter coming off holding questions and being the deity that says yes or no. “Yes! I give thee five points!”

SH: “I am The Keeper Of The Knowledge”.

EP: Go and spend it on a nice holiday to Hamilton Island.

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And that’s where we’ll leave it for this week. Next week, Ed reveals the strategies and traits he observed in Temptation‘s biggest winners… so that’s definitely one not to miss!

By the way, Ed Phillips is on Twitter. If you’d like to follow him, here he is.