Clare won £1500

Noel welcomes us into another week - he reminded the audience of James' disastrous game, well the result anyway. Today's player was Clare, the 'wee Brookside lassie'. She danced up to the front, a cheeky grin, the energy of Lulu, the style of Susie Quatro, and the voice of Paul O'Grady on speed. 'I'm gonna have it', Noel with eyes like saucers completely agreed, 'but first we'll play the game'. Mr Edmonds had the hots for Clare, he clearly felt restrained by having Clare's mum and aunty in the audience, but as his Mum thought he was 'a good prospect' he felt his path was clear. Clare was a former hotel receptionist - she lost her job for being nice on duty, and according to Noel she was formerly in a relationship too (I hope her boyfriend is Noel-sized). Clare described herself as very decisive, and very lucky. She had lost all control, desperate to get started even before the housekeeping had been done. Eventually we got under way.

Round one: Gaz, box 8 - £750. Clare shouted louder than any of the audience. Box 21 was next opened by Emma B - £50,000. Clare very excited by this point. She wanted a Range Rover Vogue and that was just enough money. Noel challenged her choice, she shot across his bows, 'better than your hairdresser car'. Clare was picking names as if she was firing from the hip. Emma D was next with box 5 - £10, Clare's grin was right across her face. Morris with some poetry had box 15 - 50p, and finally Pat, very quiet of late, box 22 - £500. The phone rang and Clare picked it up. Most obviously she stated 'I'm from Liverpool'. She had a really dirty laugh, giggling with the banker. The best joke of the show came next, the banker suggested this was Noel's Scouse Party. He also added that Clare was a force of nature - that she was. He doesn't like natural forces, said Noel, putting her off the scent, but the offer was - £9000. Clare didn't give the offer a moment's thought. 'No Deal'.

Round two: Simon was told to smile by Clare, he had box 6. But he had reason not to smile - £75,000. Raj next with box 12 - £15,000. Massimo with box 14 followed the break - £100. Noel hoped she had calmed down - 'In game play terms think of this as marathon, not a sprint', and indeed she was slightly calmer than during the first round. Noel discussed the offer with the banker, and then asked Clare what she thought it might be - she thought £4000, but her mum was right, it was £12,000. Now she was taking things seriously - she still rejected the offer, but fluttered her hands over her heart, the pressure was building.

Round three: Clare went to Dave W, on the basis that he couldn't have the big one five times in nine games could he? Smiler opened box 13, and smiled - 10p. Noel referred to Veronica (Clare's mum), 'find the 1p'. Veronica said box 20, so Clare went with that. Lofty the new guy had to open the box and unbelieveably he had it - 1p. Even more remarkably this was hardly commented on by Noel and Clare, as if it was expected. Box 7 to end the round, Sandy lifted the lid on £5. This was a fabulous round but Clare had gone past excitement, this was big now, the previous offer was more money than she had ever seen before, and then she had an all blue round. The offer was now £17,000. Noel went up and sat between mum and aunty - they both recommended that she play, that was what she was here to do. Clare turned back to the board. 'Ask me the question Noel', said Clare. She said it three times, before Noel deemed it was right - No Deal.

Round four: Box 16, Patrick - £5000. Box 3, Susie - £35,000. The board still had the top two in play. Clare was now cold, shivering, the smile had gone, the shine had gone, her eyes showed real fear. 'I'm nearvis', she said to Noel. She went for box 17 and the gorgeous Sarah - £50. The audience were cheering loudly, an all blue round followed by one almost as good. The banker stated that he was supremely confident she would deal at £20,000. Dave E advised go on, Richard thought it was her day, Mum said its a lot of money, but she also thought she should play. Noel hadn't even finished asking the question when Clare said - 'no deal'.

Round five: Dot, box 18 - £1000, Clare's mascara was going, but she cheered and threw her arms in the air. She had to find the low numbers, her eyes scanning the boxes, eventually she settled on Tan and then turned her back, unable to look. Tan opened box 9, Clare's fingers crossed - £20,000 and it got a big 'yes' across the studio - the £100,000 and £250,000 were still in play. Her bottom lip was quivering, finally she went for box 4 - Francesca, how could she keep avoiding the big numbers? Francesca opened the lid and the audience groaned - £250,000 - bang, right between the eyes. She giggled, relief perhaps that the worst had finally happened and she was still standing. The board now contained £100,000,£10,000, £3,000, £1, £250. The offer was £8000, a long fall from the heady heights of £20,000 bringing Clare back to earth. This was a one box game - the contestants advised her to take the money, but Clare wanted to go home with more than that - 'no deal'. Tragedy was taking on shakesperian proportions - you could feel what was about to happen.

Round six: Hilary box 1 - £100,000, and that was it really - today's plane had come out of the cloud straight into a cliff face. Clare was standing up, arms over her head, maybe she would wake up and it was all a dream. Noel was doing the thinking for her now, aiming at the £10,000. She looked round, scrambling for solid ground, wanting to be anywhere but there, she went for Max and box 11 - £1. Maybe she could take £10,000, afterall that's a lot of money too, but Clare couldn't find it, she was shaking her heading as she called out Dave E. He opened the £10,000 in box 19, it was just inevitable. The phone rang and she picked it up, 'I thought you said you liked me', she said, in the same tone as my eight-year faces the playground bullies and yells 'you don't scare me'. She burst into tears, real tears, the power of this game was immense, the banker had been nice to her, complementing her bravery and spirit - and not for the first time in the game she was wrong footed. The contestants were crying too - it could have been any one of them going through this unique form of torture. The offer was £1500 and she said 'deal', she wasn't going home with £250. 'I'm devastated' she said, wiping her tears with the back of her wrist. Her mum and aunt came down to cuddle her, and she said 'why did you let me go on at £20,000?'.

As it turned out she had £250 in her box (2), and Richard had £3000 in box 10. Noel tried to convince Clare that she would soon feel much better about beating the banker, but Clare had gambled £20,000 of what was effectively her own money by the mid point of the game, and ended up with £1500 - 'I'm gutted' was all she could say.

What tremendous entertainment; exciting, riveting, funny, unpredictable and at the end heart-wrenching . We watched as the layers of a hard, sharp-edged Liverpool lass, were peeled away to reveal a vunerable little girl underneath - I wanted to give her a cuddle myself. But Clare was living on the thrill, she should have dealt at £20,000, and definitely dealt after she lost the £250,000, but the pull of the crowd was just too strong. The tears reminded me of Gazza in 1996, it made his career, maybe it will make hers too?