In summary then, I saw two trainwrecks. £1,600. But I did not come away particularly annoyed or disappointed about the size of the wins, because both players had taken justifiable risks in my opinion, and unfortunately they didn't pay off on this occasion. Of course, the mega money would have been great, but both games were unbelievable in the studio for tension because both left a huge sum and little else from quite early on - pity the twins weren't left to the end in both games!

I was not a big fan of Jo - in fact, I don't think anyone was by the end, because she didn't make it easy for herself, she was overcomplicating the game, and she was indecisive when asking for the question. Her mind was scrambled by the end, and I think her lack of emotion at the end was mainly because she was in a daze. That speech at the end was a LOT longer, rambling and inprecise than was shown. Shame she lost the plot, but at least the twist and precarious nature of the board kept the decisions and the game interesting. Other contestants tried to keep the energy up, Harvey got desperate and did a rap. Oh dear.

Mark, if anything, was the complete opposite - full of energy and enthusiasm and clear in his own mind what was a good offer and what was bad. He was instinctive where Jo was indecisive. He was a breath of fresh air after Jo, and his show took practically half the time to film.

Overall, I had a great time. I think the experience is well worth doing because it gives you a greater perspective as a viewer (and the warm-up man is great). You know the decisions took longer than they appear, a piece of advice from a contestant is edited out, or Noel will say something insightful (well, maybe...) that a contestant might base their decision on. Sometimes there is an extra reason behind a deal/ no deal that we don't see. We can only judge from the edit, and I don't know about others, but I know my mindset changes on a contestant when I'm actually in the studio as opposed to watching at home. The background info is greater and the show is better informed, if you like. Some contestants are complex individuals and some are, well what-you-see-is-what-you-get. But all shows fit 45 minutes.

There ends my speech for the night.

Can I ask, I've always wondered this. WHat happens after the celebrations/commiserations?

The photographer takes The Picture, then Noel does some poses walking side to side behind the player in the chair while the phone rings, which I guess is for editing purposes.

Then Noel shakes the player's hand before leaving.

Then sometimes that is the end - sometimes they have to film a couple of the boxes opening again coz they were opened too fast.

Well, generally they'll be a few 'pick-up' shots, as they tend to call them, which often include some boxes being re-sealed and opened again, close-up of the telephone ringing, and of the contestant sitting in the chair and everyone staring at the phone for some reason. Then there's usually a photo of Noel and the contestant taken, Noel offers his congratulations/ commiserations and then he scuttles off to his dressing room or wherever, and a short while later the contestants file out. And eventually, the audience.

I think the winning contestant goes off to sign an expenses form or something before they go...

ditto the difference of £600 is absolute peanuts to me in gameplay terms anyway.

When you're in the audience, do you clearly hear what the contestants and Noel are saying? Because with the contestant's back to the audience, it might be difficult to hear what they and Noel are saying. Or is the studio small enough that sound carries across it well enough, or are the microphones attached to loudspeakers somewhere in the studio?!

It's possibly the "red" versus "blue" illusion - some players are desperate to win over £1,000 as it feels a lot better than if they go away with a "blue" amount. Two high blues and a low red remaining, you get a "red" offer so take it, even if it's mathematically a bad decision to do so!

Why you'd deal £600 on £500/£750 final pair is anyone's guess though. Even if the offer was £625 you may as well go for it!

You can see each player has their own mike (especially when Simon had his famously removed in Steff's game! ) and they can be heard across the studio by everyone.

When Noel even talks quietly you can pretty much hear what he says clearly, as you can with whoever is playing their game too, coz of them being kitted up.

Don't forget the audience sound a tad louder asell coz of the dangling mikes above our heads!

I'd actually deal on a £500/£750 finish if the amount of money was something amusing like £611.83 or something. Not a plain boring £600 though.

I suppose by this stage, Mark was thinking in terms of what the money could buy and probably had a list of stuff in his head he needed for the wedding. When you see £500 on the board in relation to £100k, £500 doesn't look like much. But when you get down to £500, £750 and £3,000, you start to think exactly what you could buy with the money. And when you think about it, an extra £100 could help towards paying for the food etc. at a wedding... that's the only reason I can think of for dealing £600 on a £500 vs £750 final 2...

Interesting game today. KP has done enough statistical analysis for the 8 box board today for me not to even try and better it.

Odd decision at 3 box but I guess when you turn money into things you want, it makes it harder to gamble.

was I the only one who spotted the pun of the year so far? Noel rhyming off the bankers puns during the first call and saying "yes, they're corny and they're getting "cornea"?!! quality!

anyway, by half way through, the "bravado" as Noel called it, was really getting on my nerves, so it was quite funny when the last big one went out of the game

I spotted it too, saw it coming a mile off, see what I did there, using the word saw it, like seeing, because of the eye gags........I'll get my coat.

Loudspeakers through the studio