BINGO SENSATION

Mike wants to be the country's number one bingo caller

It's a multi-million pound industry and Eastleigh's Mike Barnes is bidding to become the best in the business.

Inside Out welcomes you to the wonderful world of Bingo.

Eastleigh-based Mike Barnes is bidding to become the South’s best Bingo caller.

The 23 year-old was runner-up at the 2002 regional final of the National Bingo Caller of the Year competition.

This year, the comedic, ghost-hunting, Star Trek fan intends to go one better. He want to be crowned the South's Bingo Caller of the Year.

The contest

The competition is based on two disciplines - an interview involving three questions - and a five minute routine with the crowd which includes calling a game.

Victory means qualification for the national final. The winner of the national crown will win £500 prize money, a flight to LA, the honour of calling a game of bingo in Las Vegas and the role of Britain’s Bingo ambassador for a year!

Mike says, "I’m nervous. Not as nervous as last year. I just want to get the mic in my hand. When I'm on stage, I'm fine."

Fans

Mike has a legion of fans in Eastleigh, who are desperate for him to steal glory in this competition.

Mike’s mum Jill, his biggest fan, says, "He's an extrovert in a costume - any sort of costume. He does things in his Star Trek uniform.

"He is a very quiet and shy retiring young man when he is not dressed up. But give him his Bingo things and a mic and he's away."

A coach load of fans will travel to Reading with their larger-than-life hero as he takes on five other hopefuls. These include Brighton's Billy McLeod and Bognor's Bret Hyjrak.

Mike says, "I prefer to hang out with old people. They know more. They tend to be more intellectual."

Fun and games

Mike in his 'page three' attire

Mike works full time as a bingo caller, at a Bingo Hall in Eastleigh.

Despite his success in last year’s competition and hoards of fans, things don’t always run smoothly.

Mike talks about his most embarrassing moment as a bingo caller, "It would be the time my boss came to me and said, ‘we're doing a Father's Day promotion and it's for a date with a Page Three Girl’. Then he said 'Mike, I want you to be the Page Three girl’."

Big business

Bingo is big business. In Britain alone, it is worth an estimated £1.5 billion.

Over three million people regularly play in Britain’s 699 licensed and operating bingo clubs. Seventy percent of these players are women.

Bingo’s large cash prizes are a big draw. An estimated £52 million was paid out in prize money during 2002. The biggest ever win was on December 22 2002 when Paula Young from Sheffield scooped £956,000.