Interview with Sarah Greene on The Finishing Line

How would you describe the format of The Finish Line?

I'd say it's deceptively difficult! It's got three qualifying rounds: three races, a head-to-head and a final. And if you are the person in the final and you beat the track, you win £5,000. That's it in a nutshell. But of course, within all of that, there are all sorts of subtleties.

Essentially, I think that your success as a contestant is going to be how well you respond to the studio atmosphere and whether or not you can go ahead and completely enjoy it, which is my hope for people, because if they enjoy it, they relax, and they will be able to respond to the questions quickly.

So, being able to think under pressure is key?

Yes, because it's all about time. And what was fascinating for me was that extraordinary thing that you see people do, who are in jobs or sports, where it's all about speed. What they almost appear to do in the way they move is slow everything down, strangely. Almost slow time down so that they're relaxed. But actually, they're answering things more quickly, or driving a race more quickly, or hitting that shot in tennis more quickly than their opponents. It's a very curious skill.

But I did notice that the people who we thought were definitely going to do well in this because they're so motivated, they're so on it, so sharp, they're quite aggressive in their approach; in fact, it would be the person who almost came in from under the radar that sometimes shone through, the person who appeared to be enjoying themselves. I think the ones who appeared to be enjoying it the most coped better under pressure.

Do you have to be a quiz boffin to be able to take part?

I think there's a measure of that which helps, certainly. And the whole world of quizzes really is huge. And it's grown a lot I think over, probably, the past 10 or so years with the success of various quiz shows on TV and on radio. I think during lockdown, everybody's quiz knowledge was tested.

Well, I don't know about your family, but we were hooking up with friends and family in different parts of the country to have quizzes on Zoom. So everyone started swotting up on their quiz knowledge. I think that certainly shows. Having said all that, of course, it still comes down to whether or not you happen to know that question. Yes, your quiz knowledge is going to help you, but it could be that it's something that you've never heard before because our question-setters are second to none!

You’ve done so much in your career, what is it you’re looking for when you consider new projects to take on?

I have worked in practically every single genre of television except for sport and religion! And I'm saying never say never. But let me tell you, both my religious knowledge and my sport knowledge grew immensely on this particular programme, especially the sport side of things. But I hadn't done, as they call it, a quiz show before. And so, this was the ideal thing.

I'd been on the other side, on the answering side and I'd had an absolute ball. It was terrifying being on The Chase. Absolutely terrifying. But I had loved the whole atmosphere of the studio because Bradley made it like a party. I loved being on Richard Osman's House of Games, a touch more difficult and a lot harder work because you're recording a whole week's worth of stuff in one day and your brain is absolutely bursting by the end of it, and you're up against some very sharp people, because no group of people on this planet are sharper at this type of a show than stand-up comedians. They are so fast, especially on the buzzer, even if they don't know the answer!

So I think that really whetted my appetite. And so when I was asked if I would like to be on this show, and I looked at the pedigree of it - you’ve got the man who invented The Cube, is the person who invented the format; and the company who is behind The Chase, is one of the companies behind this - I thought, "Well, we've got to have a look at this." And when I saw the most basic description of the format I just thought, "This is addictive, I want to know more about this." And so I was sold on it. I was absolutely thrilled to bits. And Roman, of course, was the other icing on the cake.

How would you describe your role on the show?

Well, I think I am a cross between the Richard Osman role and someone who constantly takes the of mickey out of Roman and just gently keeps him in his place! Having said all that, he did exactly the same to me, which is why I think I enjoyed it so much. I think in this particular role, it's quite fun because I'm very much across the timing of it all. I'm very much about the scores. And it's not just doing the housekeeping, and there's nothing wrong with that, someone has to do the housekeeping on a show like this, but actually, it's more than that. It’s talking about the timings, how close people are, what lane they’ll be in and what that means to the game.

The only reason why I'm really comfortable talking about hundredths and sometimes thousandths of a second, is my history of motor racing. Mike introduced me to the whole world of motor racing all those years ago. He said, "I want you to get involved, but you're going to have to get involved and actually work. Please don't think you're there to make teas and coffees for people." And I said, "Well, no, I wouldn't be there just to make teas and coffees for people. I have always wanted to stand with a stopwatch." And it did depend on hundredths of a second.

Nowadays, of course, it's all completely electronic and they've all got it in their cars and you can see. But I do test myself still with my beloveds. My other half is also a racing driver. His son is now driving. And my other half and Mike had their own racing team. So we've all known each other for hundreds of years. And it just made me smile that there was so many links to everything else in my life on this show.

Had you and Roman met before?

I feel as though I've met him because I work with his parents. So, I said, "I am your honorary godmother. You do know that, don't you?" Added to which, I have lots of godchildren, and one of the eldest is one of the regular characters in a BBC series called The Next Step and he is exactly the same age as Roman. You could put their picture side by side, Myles Dobson, Roman Kemp…it was like having Myles in the room with me. And Roman didn't mind me saying this to him, I said, "I'm sorry, I'm a bit freaked out because you look so much like my godson." He said, "No. Well, I'll be your honorary godson." I said, "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind? I think that could work very well."

He's Londoner through and through, there’s something about that vibe, I suppose, because I grew up in the Camden Towny area of London. There's a certain approach, there's certain ease with people, there's a certain groove. And Roman's really got that. And I've loved what he's done on the radio. I've loved what I've seen him do on telly. He's very good at live TV. He's born for live TV. And this, although it's not live, you have to treat it as such.

Did you two do anything to bond before filming?

Well, we met first of all, for coffee right next door to where Roman works for Capital Radio. Now, for me, there are all sorts of strange links here with my past. Because the man who I fell in love with on the radio, who became my husband a few years later, he was the youngest ever person to do Capital Radio Breakfast Show. And Roman is that person now. Anyone who can do that job well has my undying admiration.

People argue with me about this till they're blue in the face, but I still stand here and say I think radio is much harder than telly, much harder. I think even Mike Smith would say that Roman Kemp makes a pretty good job of it. Of course, Mike was playing Roman's mum and dad's hits back then. So Roman and I met then and that was lovely. He was absolutely delightful and very charming.

Then, quite soon after that, I think the following week we met in the office and we did a full episode together, literally staggering through with contestants. And that was hilarious because straight away, he was just poking fun at me and I was poking fun at him. I thought, "God, I hope they don't mind this because we are really enjoying it."

Then I was looking at faces around the room, and they were beaming because I think that's kind of what they hoped would happen. We just instantly clicked, you realise that you have a similar sense of humour and certain things make you both giggle, that's the key to it really.

Roman has described you as a bit of a minx who loves an innuendo…

Oh, yes. Well, don't we all? I’m just there being naughty on the sidelines, kind of trying to put him off and make him laugh. Absolutely! And I think also, people click into that too. And if they can join in with that, not just in the studio, but at home too, they feel part of that. It feels more inclusive then.

How competitive did it get between the contestants?

Oh, it did get very competitive. Well, they love each other because they're all in the same boat, but there still is that look. Especially the first time they race, they're looking to see where they are, how far ahead their podiums are in front of the next person. And you knew that when they hit that finish line at the end of each of the races, there was a “Yes!”, even though the question was going out at that moment. Because you could hit the finish line while somebody else is trying desperately to answer a question. And they're trying to do it quietly and contain themselves.

But they're absolutely thrilled to have got there, obviously, because it means they're through to the next stage and they're closer to the prize. But they did have these little war cries that they gave each other. The last two to survive, the last two to get through were in the round that were called the head-to-head. And they would offer little warnings, I think one of the funniest that I heard was it was a head-to-head with a teacher, and the teacher said something like, "I've dropped maths and now I'm going to drop you," which is kind of hilarious, talk about British trash talk! It’s not exactly pulling the gloves off, but it's probably the scariest thing that person had ever said to anyone else, "I've dropped maths and now I'm going to drop you!”

One gentleman won and then he proposed to you at the end, were there many guys that were flirting with you during filming?

Oh, gosh! Well, I suppose he was the most transparent. He was extraordinary, actually. Most of them didn’t think they had time to flirt. Cornelius was stylish because he made the time! Maybe I was choosing not to notice!

Were there many nail-biting moments?

Yes, there were nail-biting moments, literally, it can all turn on one question. Because all the races, as they go across the video floor, there’s literally a pixel or two sometimes under that floor between the podiums.

We’ve got lasers under the stage constantly measuring how close they are. I think that the closest race, someone left the show because they were literally two centimetres behind the person in front. This is just as precise as Hawkeye and VAR. It really is. And it has to be, because there is money riding on it and the pride of winning. It has to be right. It has to be absolutely right. And it was nail-biting. And sometimes we were waiting to find out who had won. The audience won’t have to do that, but we had to make sure the right person got it.

What can we expect style wise from you on this show?

I can't believe you're calling it style! I was really, really feeling my way. I'll let you in on some secrets here.

So, neither Roman nor I had seen the set before arriving in Belfast. And when we arrived, we had to hit the ground running. There was no time to go out and say, "Okay, so the set is that shiny? Right, we need to get these kind of clothes." Roman was going to keep things very simple and have two suits that he would alternate. And they said to me, "Well how about you having two tops that you could alternate?" I said, "No, that is really not going to work. I'm sorry guys!” And this goes back to how it mainly is blokes on quizzes. I said, "On social media people let me know straight away whether or not they like what I've been wearing on TV”.

Whether you like it or not or you think it's important or not, it's a visual medium and you have to feel comfortable, look comfortable, but also look as good as you can. You owe it to people to do that. And so I had no clue, essentially. I had no clue how casual it was going to be, how dressed-up it should be. He's going to wear a suit, should I wear a suit? What should I do? So I bought a selection of shirts that I thought would look quite comfortable and relaxed, but not too comfortable and relaxed. And that's what I did!

Were there any funny moments that had you giggling when a contestant gave the wrong answer?

Oh, gosh, there were quite a few! And under the pressure, in the heat of the moment, some of things that people say are brilliant!

There was one question, "What's the first consonant in the alphabet?" This person went, "Antarctica." And of course, they completely misheard it as continent. It was just the way he went, “Antarctica!" And everybody just fell on the floor laughing. But it's those things that can happen, even to Roman, he thought a petticoat was a small coat! Which absolutely, you can understand. If you are someone who is in their early 30s you wouldn't have known about petticoats. So you think "petty," small, petite. "Coat," it's a little coat. He had no idea it was a skirt on the bottom half that flew straight out. Everyone took the mickey out of him mercilessly over that!

It sounds like you’ve had a lot of fun filming this show?

This reminded me of how much I love working in television. It really did. It had all the good things about TV. The production team were excellence bar none. And the crew, what was so wonderful was they absolutely loved, not just working on it, but watching the show. And that was my only problem, that I got so involved with what was going on, sometimes I forgot that I was actually on the telly. I was so sad when we'd finished recording. It was great fun.

So, are you going to be doing more TV work again?

Well, I would like to think so, I hope so. I'm watching this space really. Once this has started going out, there might be some things going on. And like I say, the things that I have said yes to are the things that I've always wanted to do, like Would I Lie To You. Always wanted to do that and loved doing that. And I get nervous with it. They're desperate for me to do Mastermind. And I just don't know if I could cope. Too much pressure! But we'll see. I said to them, if ever Clive wants the day off, I'll go in and I'll ask the questions. That's what I'll do. I think I've realised that I really enjoy that side of it on quiz shows!

What sort of things did contestants want the prize money for?

That took me by surprise and I found that one of the most interesting aspects of the show, actually, people’s different thoughts about how they would spend £5,000. It honestly went everything from, “I’ve always wanted to know how to play the saxophone, and it’s going to help to pay for a saxophone and lessons”, to paying off heating bills and renovating their house. I think the most interesting, as far as I was concerned, was, “I’m going to get some new teeth.” He needed his teeth doing, and that’s what he was going to spend it on. And I thought, “Good for you for fessing up and saying that’s what you were going to do.”

Would you want to do a celebrity version and who would you want on as guests?

I would absolutely want to do a celebrity version. I’d love to see Hannah Waddingham, Peter Kay, Miriam Margolyes, Bradley Walsh and Shirlie Kemp, Roman’s Mum, I’m thinking this mix might work well. And how about a drag queen special featuring Hope Springs, Scaredy Kat, Lavinia Co-op, Lady Portia Di’Monte and Ru Paul? There definitely have to be a drag queen on there! Who else would I have? I think we'd have to have a politician in there, it’s who I want to give the worst time to! And that doesn't narrow it down very much, because you'd want someone who'd be fun as well and would take themselves just seriously enough to look ridiculous. I'd put a James Bond in there. I think we'd have to have a James Bond. We could even have a special for Comic Relief or Children In Need, that would be amazing.

How would you sum up the show in three words?

Nail-biting, hilarious and actually tear-jerking sometimes. Because if someone has made it and it's meant a great deal to them, it's very moving.