Former travel agent Christine Blocksidge appeared on the BBC quiz show Pointless last week, winning a coveted Pointless trophy.
Formerly of Taylor Travel and Garstang Travel, she was also previously on the board of directors at Abta. She is now chairman of the Abtarians Society, which is open to Abta council, committee and secretariat members.
“I keep in touch with my former colleagues and Abtarians, so I let them know that I was due to appear on the show,” said Christine, who lives in Preston.
She also works for Trevor Davis’ 3FOR consultancy, which means she visits travel agents to help with marketing and other support services.
“I will be 76 on my next birthday but you cannot retire from travel,” she said.
“You just go on and on, like in the theatre.
“I say that travel agents never die, they just carry on making amendments.”
She appeared twice on the show on consecutive days, on January 31 and February 1, along with an old friend Alan, who originally met her when he wanted to book a Club 18-30 holiday.
The shows were filmed at the BBC’s Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire back in March 2018.
“I had forgotten a lot about it, so I was as excited as my family and friends to see it,” she said.
“It was been great fun taking part and [presenters] Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman are delightful. They are very warm, professional and quick-witted.
“But it was horrible watching myself on TV; all you see is your own faults – but the reaction from people has been lovely.”
Answering questions ranging from US states to Andy Murray, Christine reached the penultimate head-to-head round in the first show, and then won the second show – but didn’t scoop the cash jackpot.
“We also talked the importance of booking with travel agents, and I said someone who’d wanted to go to Sydney, Australia, had ended up in Sydney, Ontario, as they had booked themselves,” she added.
As well as being a veteran of the travel trade, she is also a seasoned quiz contestant.
Her first appearance was back in 1977 on an early episode of The Krypton Factor, and more recently she has appeared on The Chase, and twice on Fifteen to One.
“I’ve not won any money though,” she admitted, adding: “It’s the taking part that counts, and it is fascinating to see the presenters in action.
“There are so many daytime TV quizzes, I see us as ‘camera fodder’.
“My next one will hopefully be Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, as I have applied to go on the next series.”
