A FIREFIGHTER from Yate had to summon every ounce of courage and stamina as he faced his biggest challenge last week - the wrath of Anne Robinson.

Graham Mill-Wilson came face-to-face with the fiery television personality when he appeared as a contestant on the quiz show the Weakest Link.

The father-of-three had to endure nearly an hour at the sharp end of the presenter's tongue as he battled 18 other contestants to reach the final of the competition and a cash prize.

He said: "You know what to expect before going on the show and you know you will get some ribbing from her because the researchers get every little bit of information they can about you to give Anne something to sink her teeth into."

It was Graham's job that found him in the firing line because, although the programme was aired on BBC 2 at Christmas time, it was actually filmed last June.

Graham, who has worked at Yate Fire Station for 13 years, explained: "At the time of filming we were actually in the middle of a pay dispute with the government and I got a lot of stick from her for that."

He also came under fire for his slightly unusual second job - as a pet undertaker.

He added: "I work for a pet crematorium where I collect animals that have died from the vets and take them to be disposed of. They are all packed up and put in a van and taken away to be cremated but Anne implied that they should have their own hearses."

However, although the plucky contestant remained composed enough to reach the final round of the competition, his hopes of winning £3,350 were extinguished by a tricky question on the musical Queen and an Irish psychiatric nurse called Laurie who scooped the prize money.

He said: "It would have been nice to win the money but the questions got trickier and in the final round I only managed to get three out of the final five questions correct. I'm getting a bit of stick for that because everybody who saw the show seemed to know the answer."

Yet, despite the disappointment of losing and the vicious remarks from Anne, Graham insists he enjoyed the experience.

"It is all a bit of an act with her and I gave as good as I got. A lot of people told me after seeing the show that I had stuck up for myself well and anyway she is far too small to be frightened of. It was good fun though and I had a good time," he added.

* The answer to the question which floored Graham - which comedian co-wrote the musical Queen with Bryan May - was Ben Elton.