'Random' Henrik Larsson answer wins TV quiz show Pointless

A teaching assistant has credited her Celtic supporter boyfriend and his hero Henrik Larsson with helping her win TV quiz show Pointless.

Contestant Tasha Smith said her partner told her to give the answer "Henrik Larsson" to any football question.

When she was asked to name a footballer who scored in Euro 2000 during the final round of the popular teatime game show, she wisely followed his advice.

The answer earned delighted Tasha and her sister, Jo, the £2,250 jackpot.

The sisters chose to answer questions relating to the year 2000

The won the top prize after following the advice of Tasha's boyfriend, Alex

The object of the BBC One quiz show is to find the most obscure correct answers to a series of questions.

Winners take home a cash prize if they find a "pointless" answer in the final round.

After the win, Tasha told hosts Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman about the tip she received before the show.

She said: "My boyfriend Alex is a massive Celtic supporter and he knows that I'm rubbish with names and things like that so he said, anything football-related - he's played for Man U, he's played for Celtic and Barcelona, I think.

"He just said go for Henrik Larsson. And it's paid off."

It was one of three answers that the sisters, from Woking in Surrey, gave to questions relating to the year 2000.

Neither of their other answers would have earned them the jackpot.

Henrik Larsson spent seven seasons with Celtic

But Osman confirmed that Larsson had scored against Italy while playing for Sweden in the European Championships in Belgium and the Netherlands.

He said: "I literally can't get over Henrik Larsson. It was absolutely brilliant.

"People often say 'I'm going to go for a punt'. The look of genuine shock on your face when that column started going down was fantastic."

He added: "It was one of the great endings to an episode of Pointless that we have ever had. What a lovely thing to watch."

European trip

Speaking to BBC Scotland online after the programme was broadcast, Tasha said she was "very surprised" to have won.

"Alex didn't believe me when I told him, he thought I was having him on," she added.

She said she spent her winnings on a trip to Italy, Croatia and Greece.

Asked what she thought about the reaction to her win, she said: "I can't believe how much attention the win is getting - it's so funny!"

Henrik Larsson played with Celtic for seven seasons between 1997 and 2004. He was also captain of the Swedish national side.

Watch the sisters' Pointless win on the BBC iPlayer here.