40 years since Brian put himself to the 'The Krypton Factor' test

Over the years Quiz shows have had a great following producing legendary viewing figures.

One of the most iconic over the decades was the Krypton Factor produced by Granada Television.

Over 10,000 people applied each year in search of a chance to appear and be tested on The Krypton Factor.

In the 80's it was still a rarity for anyone from Northern Ireland to be a participant in a National quiz show.

The Krypton Factor would have had 10,000 applications each year such was it's popularity.

The 1984 Krypton Factor series was to be aired between August and November and on that series there was to be two contestants from Northern Ireland. From Belfast there was Ken Craig an accountant with a logistics company and the second contestant was a young man from Broughshane who worked for a Finance company, his name was Brian Thompson.

Here, Brian, now a councillor on Mid and East Antrim council,on the Fortieth anniversary of his appearance recalls the process.the preparation, the filming and the journey on one of the country's most watched shows.

The Krypton Factor journey started for me towards the end of 1983 when I applied to the show after seeing an ad on television.

On February 14 th ( Valentines day) I was called for an interview and test at Ulster television on the Ormeau Road.

As I sat in reception waiting to be called a delivery driver arrived with a Red Rose.

Nothing surprising in that as it was Valentines day.

“That's the fourth today” said the security man at reception.

Who's the lucky lady I asked going over a few of the female presenters at the time in my mind.

The security man then said it’s not a lady they are for Eamon Holmes!

In those days Eamon was the pin up boy of UTV. As we know now Eamon went on to have astellar career with Sky and ITV and today is still a top news anchor with GB News.

About 30 were interviewed and put through a test.

From Valentines day we jump forward to St Patrick's day and that evening I received a phone call from Granada Television to say I was on the show.

So began 6 weeks of preparation from quiz questions to physical fitness. Here I should note the assistance I got from the following people.

For quiz questions it was Gerry Donnelly from Randalstown.

For fitness it was Harry McConkey who was a PE teacher in the town at the time

For the assault course it was Joe Burrell who was then a PT instructor at St Patrick's Barracks.

I also felt that there was an opportunity to raise revenue and promote local causes.

With help from Rotaract and Phillipa Amos two causes were identified - Dunfane special school and Ballee Children's home.

At Easter Ken Craig and myself flew to Manchester to film the assault course along with all the other contestants.

It was an early morning flight and we were picked up and taken to Granada studios where we had lunch

As it was Easter there was no one around so we went for a stroll around the Studios and ended up on the set of Coronation street, the World famous soap drama.

In the afternoon we were taken to Maine Road to see Manchester City against Huddersfield Town.

Manchester City were managed by Billy McNeill and other names were Kevin Bond who scored two penalties, Ray Ransome and Derek Parlane.

Huddersfield won 3-2 and the Match day programme cost 40 pence!

That evening the contestants assembled at Granada and were transferred to the Hotel close to Holcombe army camp.

As we got to our rooms we discovered all the Krypton Factor goodies were laid out - tracksuit, t-shirts, sports bag and badges.

All were to become great memories in years ahead

The next day we practiced over the various obstacles that made up the assault course, all under Army supervision.

It became clear technique was just as important as a good level of fitness. My initial thoughts were that there was little opportunity to get into a rhythm as each obstacle was close together.

The assault course was so popular that every August bank holiday the camp was thrown open to the public and thousands came to visit.

There are 12 episodes initially of the series so that meant there would be 12 races the next day,the moment of truth had arrived.

In my heat was Bruce from the Isle of Man, Sue from the North of England and Sally from the South of England.

Under a handicap system I started last but that was also a help as I chased them over the course.

Fortunately I was to win the assault course challenge and was pleased to have 10 points on the board .

The studio part of the Krypton Factor was filmed a month later in May. In the afternoon we practiced with tasks from a show from a previous series.

In the evening the filming began for real After the second round which was the physical ability of the assault course I was in the lead where I stayed until the last round of General Knowledge.

In the afternoon I had done well in the general knowledge so I was quietly confident but with 3 seconds left I was to lose out to Sally who put a great finish together.

Disappointed as I was, my high score was enough to qualify for the semi finals.

June saw us at Holcombe for the assault course semi final. This was a tremendous challenge as all four had won their respective races over the assault course and we didn't disappoint as it was to be the fastest ever assault course race in the history of the programme.

It was won by John Lyle from Scotland an international volleyball coach who was now the favourite to win the entire series.

A few weeks later we were back to film the Studio part, Like myself in the previous show, John Lyle, the series favourite, was to lose by one point in the last three seconds to Pat Everitt

In July, Ken Craig and myself returned to be guests at the final.

We had developed a good friendship with Quizmaster Gordon Burns who was originally from Northern Ireland and had joined Granada from Ulster television.

Gordon loved his cricket and had secured the legendary West Indian cricketer Viv Richards as the celebrity guest to present the trophy.

The series winner was Paul Smith.

So ended the Kyton Factor for 1984 and the two shows I recorded went out in September and October.

Overall £1444 was raised for the Dunfane school and Ballee Children's home.

I still have my Tracksuit as a memento of that time. Forty years later my participation on the Kryton Factor still comes up in conversation which is remarkable.

We were paid a fee of £100 for each show however it was never about the money as many of today's shows are.

It was all about the prestige of taking part in a great challenge.

For example I learned that it was much sought after by the armed forces.

The year before a RAF jet pilot was the winner and there was a Navy guy in my year.

Overall it was a great experience both taking part in the Krypton Factor and being around Granada studios you never know who you would bump into.

For instance Bonnie Langford was around one day and latterly she was appearing in Les Miserables at the SSE arena last week.

Many would like to sit on a throne but for me sitting in the Ogdens house on the Coronation Street set with the three ducks on the Wall was just one of some great Kryton Factor memories