Ottawa contestant appears on Jeopardy

CTV Ottawa: 'Alex: Who is Myfanwy Davies' An Ottawa woman realizes her dream to appear on Jeopardy. CTV's Eric Longley reports.

Perhaps you’ve watched it from home, got a few answers right, and thought to yourself “I could be on Jeopardy. How hard can it be?”

Ask Myfanwy Davies. The Welsh-born, Ottawa-raised trivia buff has been a fan of knowledge-based competitions since her days on the Reach For The Top team at Bell High School.  She’s been trying to get on Jeopardy since 1998.

Last year, after her tenth application, she got the long-awaited call. “They said we want you in Los Angeles in November,” she says. “You’re going to be on the show.”

An appearance last November, but not airing until Tuesday, Feb 25th. That’s how far in advance Jeopardy tapes its shows. Davies and her fellow contestants have been sworn to secrecy ever since. “Basically they could withhold my payment,” she explains. “They pay 120 days after the airings are finished.”

The retired retail manager crammed as much as she could for her big appearance. She studied newspapers, TV shows, and guide books written specifically for Jeopardy contestants. She even practised in front of her TV, using a pen as a clicker to play along with daily episodes. Jeopardy questions could be about almost anything. “You have to know what’s happened in the past. You also have to be up to date on what’s going on right now.”

Davies says the day of the taping was a whirlwind. The show tapes a week’s worth of shows in a day. She says the lights, cameras, and audience weren’t a distraction.

Keeping track of the giant game screen took a little getting used to though, especially against her rival, the infamous Arthur Chu. The defending champion has been criticized for his aggressive play, jumping all over the board to keep opponents off-balance while hunting for lucrative Daily Doubles. Davies says it’s actually an old tactic and she quickly got used to it. She thinks fans of the show shouldn’t be so hard on him. “He’s really a nice guy. He’s very sweet.”

There is a well-known Ottawa connection to Jeopardy. Host Alex Trebek is a University of Ottawa alumnus. But Davies says they didn’t have much chance to interact. Contestants can’t be seen spending too much time with the man who holds all the answers.

Otherwise, Davies says her time on Jeopardy was a dream-come-true.  “I’m thrilled. I’ve crossed another item off my bucket list.”

The result of the game itself left Davies feeling "satisfied" with her performance. She battled gamely, accruing $18,800 in total with her answers. But she ultimately came in second to defending champ Arthur Chu who won for the sixth straight night.