Ipswich mum inspires son into quizzing after competing in 15 game shows

Jenny Barnes is passing on the competition bug to her son

An 86-year-old woman who has been a contestant in 15 TV quiz shows over the last 40 years has passed on her love of competing to her son.

Jenny Barnes, from Ipswich, first appeared on TV as a contestant on the game show Jeopardy! in 1983.

She has since competed in various shows and was most recently on Pointless with her son, Ed.

Ms Barnes said: "It's a buzz and it's an anticipation of the fact that you could possibly win."

Ms Barnes said she applied for Jeopardy! on a whim, after seeing an advert in the paper.

"I enjoyed it so much that as soon as I got the hang of how you apply, I carried on," she said.

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Ms Barnes has appeared on The Chase, The Weakest Link, Sale of the Century and Fifteen to One, but said her favourite game show that she took part in was Fast Friends.

"Just for the atmosphere and the people - we just had such fun because [presenter Les Dawson] was so lovely," she said.

"Now I'm in by eighties, I'm a bit slower on the buzzer," Ms Barnes continued. She added that she prefers to play along at home now, rather than apply for the shows.

'Do your homework'

Her last game show appearance was with her son Ed on Pointless, shortly before the first Covid lockdown in 2020.

Mr Barnes has appeared on four TV quizzes and said he was inspired by his mum to compete.

"I grew up watching my mum do that and I was like, 'that's what people do, right?'. So I started applying for quiz shows and the first one I got on was Deal or No Deal," he said.

Despite his mum never winning a show, Mr Barnes has won £33,000 in prize money and accumulated about £50,000 overall.

Mr Barnes shared his advice for anyone who wanted to become a contestant: "If you're going to go on a quiz, you've got to do your homework.

"You can't just wander in. You've got to watch how the quizzes work," he added.