Really tense. What's unique in quiz history is that the contestants have paid to be on the show. These are the risk-takers. A thousand pounds is a large amount of money. Some of the contestants are here to really prove that they are the very best. Some are worried about their thousand pounds.

What are the particular pressures of this format?

It's such a physically combative arena. It's a pressure game. It's quite astonishing that after just one round the whole thing can just suddenly flip. Even the height difference can make a difference. One contestant was over six foot, another was five foot nothing and she practically had to stare into his navel the whole match! Some contestants just lose it. They cave in.

I really get into it. I'm screaming in the commentary box: "SWITCH! SWITCH!" It's absolutely nerve-wracking.

There must be seeing a lot of familiar faces here from your years on Countdown?

Oh yeah. I know a lot of them. They're all great competitors. It's quite interesting because they all have a weak spot. Some of them are really good at general knowledge to a very high standard but they may be weak at numbers.

I think they would hope to win but not one of them, knowing the level and the standard of others, would say they'd win it.

What makes a world-class quizzer?

I think you have to be obsessive. I suppose it's a bit like some sportsmen. Like Steve Redgrave. To be his standard you have to devote hours and hours a day. You have to be obsessive. And they are.

How would fare on Grand Slam?

I'd be okay. I have a slight tendency to be obsessive. I can be quite single-minded.

And you're pretty good at numbers yourself...

If I was actually going to be a competitor, I'd revise: some quick multiplications, times tables, Roman numerals - things like that. You'd gen up on that. If you revise, you do get faster at it. So I'd be pretty good. But, as I stand at the moment, being a saggy bellied old mother of two aged 42, I'd probably be in the top three at the moment when it comes to numbers.

It's okay. But then again, I've got a bit of a photographic memory, I can gen up on it. On Celebrity Millionaire I got to the £250,000 question (that was in the day when you had to go it alone). I revised for that. All the capital cities and who'd won the Derby for the last 30 years. And of course, not a single piece of information I revised came up in the show, but I felt more comfortable because of it.

What do you think of the quizzing community?

I think it's great. The quizzing world, particularly on the Internet, is amazing, all these websites like quizzing.co.uk. There are loads of websites, whole communities, where people write in and exchange information. Why not really? If you're interested in that.

Quizzes are so popular all around the world. What do you think is the appeal?

We love it, I think, because deep down all of us are competitive to some degree.. And if you find you have a particular skill, whether you prefer the word game side or the general knowledge side - I love doing the numbers - you like to put it to the test. It's fascinating because it is a challenge to yourself.

What would be your specialist subject on Mastermind?

What would I bone up on? Probably Newton. The Life And Times of Isaac Newton.