'YOU are the weakest link, goodbye,' were the famous and fatal words heard by contestant Mrs Barbara Galloway recently, before she stepped back and promptly fell off the podium on the top-rated TV show.

But Mrs Galloway, who together with her friend, Mrs Eileen Mason, both of Spennymoor, is a voracious entrant of television quiz and game shows, is not always so unlucky.

The two women, who are on the speakers' lists of many organisations in the county telling of their exploits among the stars who compere the various programmes, have always enjoyed entering shows.

"We are definitely star-struck," said Mrs Galloway, who was bitten by the bug after attending a recording of Hughie Green's The Sky's the Limit on a works outing with Smart and Browns in 1969.

"He asked everyone to shout 'you mind your own business,' and the person with the loudest voice was chosen. I thought, I can do that," she added.

Her chance was to come two years later on a bus trip organised by the Variety Club, again to see a recording of The Sky's the Limit. "I knew what the format was because obviously I had seen it before, so I stood up and shouted," she said. She won £10 before going on to win £64, a lot of money in those days as she was earning less than £3 a week.

She had quite a gap before her next TV appearance, which was on the Generation Game in 1977, during which she won a tankard and goblet. But she has never been too bothered about prizes, feeling herself lucky to be put up in a luxury hotel during recordings.

"If you get picked to go on a show that is great in itself. If you win anything it's a bonus." She also used to enjoy after-show parties, but those have mainly been knocked on the head these days, as there does not seem to be as much money around.

She became friends with Mrs Mason after meeting her at a WI meeting, where she was giving a talk. "She seemed really interested and I encouraged her to go for it," said Mrs Galloway.

Coincidentally, Mrs Mason had also made an appearance on The Sky's the Limit after George Romaine, host of the One o' Clock Show, sent some tickets to the local cricket club after appearing there. Mrs Mason and her husband were chosen to go as they were comparative newlyweds, and they went on to win £30.

Encouraged by their similar interests, the two women began to apply for more and more shows, enjoying meeting the stars as much as competing. "Eileen is the one with the brains and good recall. She had to take a Mensa test to get on All in the Mind," said Mrs Galloway, "So she enters quiz shows, while I prefer to compete in game shows."

They both collect autographs and have several favourites among the rich and famous. They agreed Dale Winton was lovely. "So genuine and sincere," they chorused. Cannon and Ball also got the thumbs-up in their show Casino. "They were fantastic," said Mrs Galloway, who was lucky enough to win a Vauxhall Astra, microwave, Edinburgh crystal, £550 and a portable CD player in her brush with Tommy and Bobby. Unluckily however, the car was stolen six weeks later.

Bob Holness they found to be very nice, although not funny, while Les Dennis was "the perfect gent." Eamonn Holmes they found charming, as were Michael Aspel and William G Stewart, who took the time before each show to speak to everyone and put them at their ease.

But they are not allowed to reveal too much about the stars as they have usually been asked to sign disclaimers preventing them from spilling the beans.

Both agree that the difficult bit is in getting auditioned for the many shows that grace our screens. "You need to put things on your application form that will stand out and get you noticed," said Mrs Galloway. "I always mention my thigh-length dark hair or funny stories about my finger nails, which I will go to almost any lengths not to break. I told one tale about me yawning, causing my jaw to come off its hinges," she said.

"They want something the presenter can pick up on and talk to the contestant about," they said. It is all a bit different from the early days when researchers used to travel the country interviewing potential contestants at their homes. Both stressed the importance of being smartly dressed for auditions, feeling that plain outfits look best on television.

Once the audition stage is reached things don't always go smoothly. Mrs Galloway was in the hospitality "green" room before a recording of Winner Takes All with compere Bobby Davro, when the producer announced that it was an intellectual show on which they did not want the likes of Supermarket Sweep contestants taking part. "So I kept quiet," she said, after earlier winning £1,000 on the "downmarket" programme.

Mrs Mason was left literally stuck for words when, after hitting the buzzer during XYZ her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. "It's a good job there is such a thing as editing out," she joked.

One of her favourite memories also involved Supermarket Sweep. "I had been to record in Nottingham and been put up at a lovely hotel," she said. "But when the time came to set off home there was a train strike on. I expected them to send me back on the bus, but they paid for a taxi from Nottingham to Spennymoor."

The best hospitality she received was during the making of Big Break, in which she partnered people's snooker champion Jimmy White. "I was put up at the Kensington Hilton for two nights as well as winning lots of top prizes and cash. Bliss!," she said. On most shows contestants are also allowed to take one or more members of their family, who also receive free accommodation and travel.

But the show that gave her most personal satisfaction was an appearance on Chain Letters with Ted Robbins, where she won £1,000. "I broke the record for completing the superchain, with 20 seconds to spare," she said.

The two women began working the speakers' circuit together about four years ago after a visit to Cockfield WI, where the VCO advised them to go on the list. They are out two or three evenings every week as well as some afternoons. They are so popular they are invited back to the same venues again and again because they are able to update their talks as and when they appear on the latest shows.

As well as many cash prizes and goods, such as watches, dishwashers and microwaves, the women have also won holiday breaks to Vienna, Amsterdam and London.

Mrs Mason's latest appearance was on 15-1 a fortnight ago, while Mrs Galloway's was to fall off the podium in front of Anne Robinson, edited before the public saw it.

The pair have bookings for up to two years in advance, but they also have spaces in their diaries if anyone would like to hear them speak. Mrs Mason is available by telephoning 01388 816715 and Mrs Galloway can be contacted on 01388 815556.

Although she is flavour of the month at the moment, the women would not be drawn on what Ms Robinson was like. "Remember the disclaimer," each warned the other. Although they remained tight-lipped, the duo gave the impression that she was not one of their all time favourites. Perhaps it was the thought of those immortal words: "Mrs Galloway and Mrs Mason, you leave with nothing!"