A former Tipping Point winner has revealed what host Ben Shephard is really like once the cameras stop rolling.
The This Morning presenter, 51, has fronted the popular ITV quiz show since its debut in 2012 and hosts every regular and celebrity series.
It sees players answering a series of questions so they can drop a counter into the huge coin-pushing arcade style machine, with each counter representing £50 and the jackpot counter valued at £10,000.
TikTok star Ellie Millar, who boasts 2.9 million followers on the social media platform, appeared on the competition in 2022 and left with some earnings.
She shared the behind-the-scenes secrets of her October 2022 stint, which was filmed in May of that year.
She recalled: “[When] it was time to go to the stage and to meet Ben Shepherd. He was just talking to the producer and was like, 'Hi guys, are you okay?'
"He was so, so lovely and I was a bit starstruck. The whole day was such a blur, even thinking back on it now there's only specific things I remember."
At the time, Ellie triumphed over both of her fellow competitors and competed alone for as much as £10k in the final round.
She admitted she played "terribly" in the final round and got her prize fund up to just £2,100.
When Shephard asked if she wanted to keep playing for £10,000, she chose to accept the money and leave instead of risking it.
She said: "After the show Ben was like, ‘Would you like to get a photo?' So yeah, I was chatting to Ben saying this money can get me and my boyfriend to Bali and I left.
"The producers made me sign this contract to say when I would get the money, and that was it.”
She confessed: "The only rules I was told is that I couldn't disclose to anyone what the outcome of the show was. I did tell my mum though, I'm not going to lie."
While Shephard’s Tipping Point salary is not publicly disclosed, he reportedly earns as much as £550,000 for co-hosting This Morning alongside Cat Deeley.
Last year, Shephard bought an historic 10-bedroom house for £3.375 million in the London borough of Richmond.
The presenter, who lives with his garden designer wife Annie and their two teenage sons, is a long-term Richmond resident. And the affluent riverside borough, which is frequently voted the UK’s happiest place to live, evidently has his heart, as the family have elected to stay in the area.
The family sold their home nearby for £5.3 million, the Daily Mail reported, having bought it for £2.95 million in 2016.
The Shephards’ new home, in a riverside conservation area, has large gardens which wrap around three sides of the house.
The house itself was built in the 18th century, and covers almost 6,000 square feet of space over two floors and boasts river views.
