OKEHAMPTON man Bob Reddington came face to face with TV's most acerbic game show host Anne Robinson —and walked away in triumph on the Weakest Link last week.

Bob, former landlord at the Seven Stars Inn at South Tawton and Okehampton Argyle 2nd team manager, appeared on last Monday evening's edition of the popular BBC2 show.

Bob survived the process of elimination to win £3,130, a sum considered a good total by Weakest Link standards.

Bob said one of the most tense moments came when it was time to vote off the final person before the head-to-head final.

'When we got down to the last three, we all voted for each other. It was a three way tie, but fortunately as I was the strongest link in that round I was able to vote off the girl who I thought was the strongest opponent and who had voted for me,' he said.

Bob said with hindsight, he felt some of the questions he had got wrong had been quite simple, but perhaps the most agonising moment came when he made a slip of the tongue.

'I said pass instead of bank in the last round where they treble up your total, and so that cost me an extra £150,' he said.

The programme was recorded in September and was originally due to be shown around Christmas or New Year, but was delayed several times.

Before the screening, Bob was sworn to secrecy about how he had got on.

'There were only a few people who knew how I had got on, just my wife and family, and they had to promise to keep it secret too,' he said.

'It is a lot harder when you are in the studio, but it is a hell of an adrenalin rush when you first see your name up on the podium,' he said.

And what about Anne Robinson's legendary put-downs?

'When she walks on, she has certainly got a presence about her, but I think I got off quite lightly,' Bob said.

Bob said he had watched the episode at home with his family, though his workmates at the Heinz factory had also been avidly tuning in to see how he got on.

Bob said staff at the factory and regulars at the Tors at Belstone held a sweepstake on Bob's performance to raise money to buy a piece of garden furniture for the confused and elderly patients' unit at the new Okehampton Community Hospital.

Bob was the weakest link in just one round of the quiz, but the strongest link on three occasions.

Bob said he had a 'really great day' filming at Pinewood Studios, with a good competition between all the contestants. 'They were a nice bunch of people and we were consistent as a team, and got a good routine going,' he said.