A FORMER Greenock firefighter was put in the hot seat when he appeared on TV quiz show Mastermind.
Brain box Graeme Ross, braved the black chair opposite John Humphrys when he appeared on the BBC Two show last week.
The 57-year-old kept his cool while answering questions on general knowledge and his specialist subject — the life and music of Arthur Lee and his rock band Love.
Graeme of Margaret Street, said: “I’ve always loved the programme and I’ve watched it since I was a boy.
“I always fancied going on it so I applied and went through a phone audition and another with the production staff — each time I had to answer 20 questions.
“The auditions were tough so I was delighted to make it onto the show — it fulfilled a lifelong ambition.”
Graeme spent four weeks swotting up before filming began.
He told the Tele: “I only got four weeks notice before filming whereas other people had four months, so I didn’t have much time to study.
“During filming, I was really nervous and John told me to smile after I finished my first round.
“I think I looked serious but I was just so nervous!
“For my specialist subject I scored 13 points and for the general knowledge round I scored 10.
“I had a wee bit of brain fog during the general knowledge round.”
Graeme, who’s retired from the fire service, says his family including his wife Ann and his sons Mark, 32, Craig, 28, and daughter Jennifer, 23, together with his five grandchildren, were delighted to see him on TV.
He said: “They were chuffed for me and enjoyed watching it.”
When Graeme isn’t gracing the TV screens, he can be found at the Scottish Football Museum where he works as a tour guide.
He has also written several books about Morton and compiled ‘The Western Movie Quiz Book’.