Manchester-based British taekwondo star Damon Sansum admits nerves set in before filming his recent appearance on hit ITV dating show Take Me Out.
Despite regularly competing against heavyweight fighters across the globe, the 26-year-old was apprehensive while waiting in the show’s famous Love Lift.
Damon survived all three rounds with several lights intact, and over 4 million viewers saw him bag a date to the mysterious Isle of Fernando’s with Katie from Bristol.
He said: “I was nervous before I came down the lift. It’s totally out of my comfort zone – it’s nothing like I’ve ever done before. It was a fun experience though – I didn’t take it too seriously.”
Rather than applying for the show, he was approached by producers who asked if he would be interested in taking part. This meant a hasty trip to London after returning from a taekwondo training camp in South Korea last year.
He said: “When I found out they were interested, it all happened very quickly – I believe if you apply in the normal way it takes longer.
I’m not sure how they found me – but it seemed a good opportunity to get my sport on national television and have a laugh at the same time. There’s a round where you can demonstrate a skill and it seemed to impress. It was weird preparing myself backstage – it was like a competition.”
Appearing on the show made reigning French Open champion Damon prime target for light-hearted abuse from his team mates in training at the GB Academy in Newton Heath.
“They’ve been saying I was going to get a blackout and be shown up but I know it’s all a bit of banter. George Lee and Andrew Deer got to appear in my video as well which I know they enjoyed,” he said.
Going against the grain, Damon picked The Coral’s Dreaming of You to make his entrance in the Love Lift.
“I wanted something different and I play guitar myself. I’ve always liked the track and it’s a bit different from all the usual stuff you hear like Take That and Bruno Mars,” he explained.
He’s still in contact with Katie – but wedding bells are not on the cards just yet. Viewers saw the pair enjoy a date on a yacht with cocktails on Saturday night.
He said: “When I first saw her in Fernando’s, I knew I’d picked the right girl. Katie was really attractive and fun. It wasn’t hard to act natural – the conversation flowed easily. She lives in Bristol so we haven’t seen each other much, but we’re meeting up to watch out show with some of the others. We’ll see what happens.”
“If anyone is thinking of applying for Take Me Out I’d say definitely go for it – don’t take it too seriously and enjoy it.”
Follow @DamonSansum on Twitter
Picture courtesy of ITV and Thames via ITV Player, with thanks
For more on this story and many others, follow Mancunian Matters on Twitter and Facebook
