Janet won £1

Where does he get his shirts from? Noel summarised Lucy's game from yesterday as 10p for every show she had been on - £5. As opposed to Aaron, Lucy had not known when to deal - in spectacular fashion.

Today it was Janet. She wanted a Gin and Tonic, and her aim was to bankrupt the banker. A voluptous woman, she had 'the life and soul of any party' written across her forehead (metaphorically speaking). An amateur dramatist, she brought a picture of herself as a nun - I have no idea why. Giving the banker too much information she went on to explain she advertisd for a man in uniform, went on a blind date with a fireman and ended up marrying him two years later. Her advert had cost £1 - 'the best pound I ever spent'.

Round one: Fadil had box 13, Janet decided to get superstition out of the way early - it was £50. Cathy had box 15 and it had 1p. Referring to Sarah's pretzel, Janet selected Johnnie's box 8 - £15,000. 'The new guy', Richard, was next - he had £250. This was a good first round - finishing up with JT and £750. The banker offered £6100, reflecting the board's strength, the power five were still intact. Noel tried to keep Janet's feet on the ground 'it is £6000 more than Lucy left with yesterday'.

Round two: She went for her joker Steve, she had been playing with him since they first met - £75,000. Gabrielle and box 15 was next - £50,000, another large red, this was ominous. The break delayed John from opening box 5 - it evetually revealed £500. The bankers offer was £2300, a drop of £3800. Janet the actress was moving through her repertoire, Noel was in the supporting role as ever, between them morale was kept high - 'No Deal'.

Round three: Dave opened £20,000, 'oooo' from the crowd, just like the Zulus at Rourk's Ridge. Pete £35,000, another 'oooo', and, despite a panic'd Noel predicting another large red, Julia opened £3000. Noel imitated the banker - it sounded like Churchill - 'never had so many won so much...' - but surely this was Dunkerque, not the Battle of Britain. However the offer was £7000, this despite a pure red round. Janet was pleasantly surprsied (so was I). The contestants advised Janet to go on. In her head she could hear her mother shouting to take the money, and her husband saying do what you want - she was racked with indecision - she went to contestant Jim who said go on, so she did.

Round four: Gary opened 50p, the crowd cheered, then Pat drew £10,000, somebody in the audience started to clap but it tailed off quickly. Janet was struggling to find the next player, it was clear that nothing was coming to her mind. She eventually picked Linda, 'you don't want to change your mind?', asked Noel, 'No I have her lucky vest on'. Linda and Janet had swapped underwear before the show got underway proper, (that could boost ratings if it were ever needed). After the break Linda delivered £10. The offer was £14,000 - 'Wow' said Janet. She decided to ask the 'intelligent' side (the west side), it was roughly split 50/50. 'But some of them know me well, and some of them not so well', said Janet without further clarification. Noel offered to check the audience 'people who did not know her at all', she firmly said 'No thank you'. The question was asked, and she looked as if she was going to give in, but from somewhere she found 'No Deal'. The lure of the 250k and 100k were just too strong.

Round five: The gorgeous Helen opened £100. Janet shut her eyes and went for Massimo who explained that they were both wearing blue tops, indicating that this was a good sign - it turned out to be a meaningless sign - he opened £100,000. Panic now, she had to avoid the big one, scrambling she went for Kirsty, Noel's voice rising to a shrill as he commanded 'it musn't be the two fifty'. But it was. Janet's head was now in her hands - she was looking at a top prize of £5000. The banker offered £400 - and the true shock suddenly hit home. 'Are you sure?' she was incredulous. 'No Deal', cheeks reddenning, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

Round six: Jim opened 10p, and the crowd clapped politely. Noel demanded that they become more positive so the noise level went up. James opened £1000. At this point we were left with two £1, £5 and the £5000. Again she was indecisive, it took an age and then she went for Sandra. 'Don't worry darling, whatever it is, it doesn't matter', but as she said this her voice tailed away to nothing because Sandra was opening her box and Janet had caught sight of the red - £5000. Silence echoed through the studio, then murmurs as the vacuum needed to be filled. Two shows in a row; it was like going for a cruise on Titanic's sister ship and hitting the same iceberg.

Was this the same audience as yesterday? How much pain can a studio audience take?

Janet opted to open her own box - and inevitably it contained £1. Unbelievably, Lucy had done 5 times better than Janet. An even sadder fact was that Lucy had been left with little option but to continue throughout her game because of the very low banker's offers - however Janet had £14,000 placed into her hand at the end of round four, if only she had made a fist then and held on to the money.

Was Fate talking to Janet? The advert for her husband had been the best £1 she had ever spent - today's £1 must surely be the worst she had ever earned. Maybe the message was that she had reached her quota of luck the first time. The program finished quietly, with Janet in shock - this game is not about life-changing amounts of money, but simply about life-changing moments. I wonder, are contestants offered counselling?