ITV's popular gameshow Tipping Point has become a staple of our afternoon viewing. But shortly before today's episode, the show announced that one of the contestants on today's episode had died.
Cath, a retired school bus driver from Bolton, lined up alongside Afqad and Mark as the trio battled it out for the chance to take home the potential £10,000 jackpot. Hosted by Ben Shephard, Tipping Point has been on our screens for a decade and totted up 12 series of the daytime quiz game.
Hundreds of contestants have tested their luck against the arcade-style machine, which drops tokens down a choice of four chutes, as they hope to knock piles of them off a moving shelf. The more you collect, the greater the prize fund. Sadly in today's episode, Cath was knocked out first, leaving Afqad and Mark to jostle for the jackpot.
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But before the show aired, reports came in that Cath, who had announced "I don't want to go home" just before being knocked out, had died since the filming of the episode. In a tweet 15 minutes before the show aired, Tipping Point said: "After the recording of today's programme, we spoke with Cath's family who shared the sad news of Cath's passing. Everyone at Tipping Point would like to extend their sincerest sympathies."
The tweet was met with messages of support for Cath's family. "I'm devastated to hear this and would like to offer my condolences to Cath's friends and family," one Twitter user posted. "Bless her. Sad to hear when this happens. Thoughts with all the family x," another wrote.
Ben Shephard followed up with his own message of support: "Today's Tipping Point is a poignant one… since recording the show, lovely contestant Cath, pictured backstage here, has passed away. Our thoughts and love are with her family and friends x".
Sadly, Cath never got to see herself on the show, but tributes to the pensioner continued to pour in throughout the show as news broke.
