A DYSLEXIC father-of-two has written a book about how to win at gameshows after he failed to make the grade on a popular TV show.

David Ogden was selected to compete on Who Wants to be a Millionaire but found his condition hampered him from making it into the top chair.

Spurred on by his experience the 56-year-old became obsessed with improving his skill and has spent nearly a year writing a book, Winning Ways for TV Gameshows, giving advice on how to succeed.

Mr Ogden, a supply quality manager at Cummins, spent 2,000 hours researching tactics and strategies that would help contestants win a major prize.

He was selected to appear on Who Wants to be a Millionaire in January but he failed to make it through the fastest finger round. Mr Ogden, of Woodham, County Durham, said: "It was an absolute nightmare.

"I knew it was going to be difficult but I was completely unprepared. I did a post mortem after the show and devised some improvement techniques.

"From there it became an obsession. In the end I spent 2000 hours, a third of my life, investigating the elements of the show and coming up with solutions.

"It took over most of my life for nine months."

The book aims to help people win on any gameshow and includes charts and diagrams to help people practice their techniques.

The author hopes to use his research to get back on the show and hopefully make it into the millionaire's chair.

"People need to know the game and what their strengths and weaknesses are in relation to it. The book is preparing people to understand better.

"People love gameshows and the book is already selling really well.

Winning Ways for TV Gameshows is priced £11.99 and is available from Ottakers bookshops in Darlington, Sunderland and Hexham

Mr Ogden's top five tips for winning the game are:

Be prepared. Know and understand the game fully-do your research. Brush up on general knowledge-research main subjects such as English literature, science and maths. Be prepared for the call back question-you only get one chance at it. Prepare for how you are going to use your three life lines and what psychology you are going to use.