A writer and radio presenter has become a contestant in a new ITV game show.

Robin Nixon, 63, from Sheerness, will be on our TV screens this Saturday as one of 100 people battling for the £25,000 top prize in 99 To Beat.

Mr Nixon applied for a place on the show early last year and took part in several weeks of intense filming at the new TV studios in Reading in July.

Contestants have to compete in a series of increasingly whacky challenges, with the last to finish eliminated at every round, until there is just one winner.

Mr Nixon said: “It has elements of Squid Games but all the challenges use things you might commonly find about the house.

“It really was a lot of fun, but quite intense too, especially when the klaxon went to start a new challenge.”

The contestants are given no advance warning of the games, and no chance to rehearse.

It’s a format that has already proved popular with audiences in Italy, Belgium and Norway.

The show is made by the production company Initial, which is also behind Big Brother and Tenable.

It is being fronted by broadcasting brothers Adam and Ryan Thomas, who between them have appeared in Coronation Street, Neighbours, Celebrity Big Brother, Emmerdale, I’m a Celebrity - Get Me Out of Here, and Strictly Come Dancing.

Mr Nixon is not entirely new to television himself.

He appeared in Channel 4’s Moneybags in 2021, and took part in several pilot series for shows that were never actually released.

He said: “Without a doubt, this was the most fun TV work I’ve ever done.

“Adam and Ryan were terrific; they really are the new Ant and Dec. They were so friendly, funny and they looked after all the contestants really well.”

Mr Nixon needed a bit of looking after. Just three months before filming he had a full knee replacement surgery.

He said: “I was actually in a lot of pain, but the crew were marvellous, bringing me a chair to rest on between takes. They even modified some of the challenges so that I could take part.

“All the other contestants were great too; we really bonded.”

“But it was hard work. It was four weeks of really early starts and really late finishes. By the end of it we were all wiped out.”

Originally from Yorkshire, Mr Nixon regards himself as a Kentish man having spent most of his life in the county.

He currently lives on the seafront at Sheerness.

On three days a week, he presents the afternoon DriveTime show with BRFM radio.

He has also been a serial entrepreneur, running pubs and restaurants, and even once opening a tearoom in Texas.

In recent years, he has concentrated on writing and he is the author of more than 40 technical books on computer programming and website design.

He is forbidden by a Non Discloure Agreement from saying how well he does in the eight-week series.

He said: “You’ll just have to watch it and see!”

99 To Beat airs on ITV 1 this Saturday, March 22, at 6pm.