St John's Family compete in BBC's Family Brain Games

Why would you ever agree to appear on television?  "I would never put my family through this. We just wouldn't apply. We would sooner eat our own legs, as we say in Ireland, before we'd get involved in this." So said Dara Ó'Briain, host of The Family Brain Games, a new BBC game show focused on family intelligence.

So how did we end up on the show? 

First of all, we didn’t apply. In December 2018, we were called out of the blue by a TV company searching for contestants. After several weeks of rigorous tests, psychological profiling and a criminal records check, we were called with the “good news” that we were one of eight families selected. 

The games were fun and we made it to the semi-finals where we started well but sadly lost in the final round to the eventual champions.  On the show, the games relied far more on communication within our family than on individual intelligence. Working with others without visual access to their information was key. More Krypton Factor than Oxford Finals. No pen and paper, just face-to-face communication and the heat of the studio lights.  Oh, and Dara!

Are we one of the eight cleverest families in Britain?  Definitely not! 
But did we enjoy the experience?  Absolutely.