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Banbury pair in audience rewarded with holidays by Ant and Dec
26/02/2024
ITV persuaded Prabhu Natarajan and Rowan Ridley to be in the Saturday Night Takeaway audience
Two people from Banbury have been given holidays for their families after being recognised for their work in the community during an ITV Saturday evening prime time show.
Prabhu Natarajan and Rowan Ridley had been invited to join the audience for the new series of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend. During the programme the whole audience were given holidays after it was revealed they had all worked hard to raise money and complete work in their local areas. Across the whole audience they were responsible for raising around £40million.
Local hero Prabhu runs the Lunchbox project. He has been working with Banbury Car and Bike Meet organiser Rowan to provide for struggling local families.
Their places in the audience came after a researcher from ITV contacted Rowan to find out about the work he and Prabhu did for the community in Banbury. A few weeks after the call both Rowan and Prabhu were invited to take a place in the audience at Television Centre in London for Saturday Night Takeaway – a show both of them admit they hadn’t seen before.
It was only during the programme they learned that everyone around them was – like them – a person who worked hard fundraising and supporting their community.
The big surprise came when Ant and Dec revealed everyone in the audience had won a dream holiday – either a cruise or their choice from a number of destinations.
Prabhu still can’t quite believe what happened, especially as his wife Shilpa has always dreamed of going on a cruise. He said: “They said someone was going to win a holiday. I was curious to know ‘who is that lucky person’?
“Then they said everyone in this audience is going for a holiday. I shouted and screamed a lot!
“Still in my mind – around 10% – I think this is a prank!”
Rowan hadn’t known what to expect when accepting the offer to attend. He said: “We got dragged into the excitement of the show, cheering and clapping along.
“Then to win a holiday – that knocked my socks off!”
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam
Trevor.williams On 27/02/2024 at 9:25 pm
Well done to you both