Destination X finalist 'was doing it for Birmingham'

Saskia Hayman made it to the final three of the BBC show hosted by Rob Brydon, Destination X

One of the finalists of Rob Brydon's BBC show Destination X has told the BBC: "I was doing it for Birmingham."

Saskia Hayman, from Great Barr, came third in the prime time show in which contestants made an epic journey around Europe, travelling around on a bus with blacked-out windows while trying to work out where on the continent they were.

While Ms Hayman came third in the competition, losing out on the £100,000 prize to nuclear engineer Judith Magambo, she told BBC Radio WM she had an amazing experience.

The marketing executive said she frequently spoke about her beloved home city in the filming, but it never made the final show.

"They don't show how much I talk about Birmingham but every single time I'm in front of the camera I'm mentioning Birmingham, the people of Birmingham, the accent," she said.

"Even the cast kind of allude to it when we're in Austria, they were like 'Sas, we're not in Birmingham anymore'."

The grand final aired on Thursday night, when Judith was crowned the winner after being the first to find presenter Rob Brydon at the Spanish Steps in Rome.

Other locations the contestants had cryptic clues about through the course of the show included the Eiffel Tower, the Sound of Music trail in Salzberg, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Ms Hayman said the experience was different to what she originally thought it would be, but thought it was amazing and unique.

Josh (left), Judith (centre) and Saskia (right) made it to the final three of the competition where they competed to win £100,000

"It's so fun, and to be honest when you're on the cameras 24/7 you actually do just forget you are being filmed," she said.

"And I think the show captured a lot of who I am as a person - good and maybe not so good, but it was a really raw experience and for that I'm really grateful for the BBC."

If she had won the £100,000 prize by pipping fellow contestants Judith and Josh to the finish line, Ms Hayman said she would have given a lot of the money to her family, particularly her mother.

"She's helped me out a lot in this life, so she would have got a lot of it to be honest."

Speaking about her family's reaction to the show, Ms Hayman said: "They're so proud and just hearing their thoughts means the absolute world.

"I've had so many nice messages from people I've never even met before and just knowing how much they love the show it just means the world. The show is amazing."

In the series finale, the last three contestants had to try and find host Rob Brydon in Rome