Local woman to star in tombola bingo’s national TV campaign

MAY 2011 – A woman swaps Dundee for Cornwall to enjoy five minutes of fame on TV this week when she will be seen by more than seven million viewers during Emmerdale on ITV1.

Lesley Hughes aged 43, from Dundee stars in the third season of Emmerdale bumpers created by tombola bingo which launch this month and again star real online bingo players by the UK’s number one online bingo site, tombola bingo. The new sponsorship bumpers launched last week on ITV1.

The sponsorship deal includes broadcast sponsorship on ITV1, ITV2 and ITV3, online sponsorship at “itv.com/emmerdale”, interactive sponsorship, mobile interactive bumpers and licensing.

It means Lesley who has two teenage children is aptly known on the tombola site as curlymiss will be regularly exposed to audiences of more than seven million people across the UK.

In all, twenty-five tombola bingo players took part in a three day fly-on-the-wall documentary style filming. Each individual will appear in up to 21 bumpers and will feature as the main star in at least one of the bumpers for a few seconds, either at the start or end of the show or between breaks on one of ITV’s most popular TV shows.

The idents or ‘break bumpers’ were filmed in March in Cornwall including the pretty coastal town of Looe, Truro and Newquay which is famous for its beaches. tombola, which is officially the UK’s most popular online bingo site, put an appeal on its website for players to be a part of their sponsorship deal. Players enjoyed a range of activities on the beach, deep sea fishing, a pasty making lesson, quad biking, and a balloon ride.

Lesley said: “It was a fantastic experience, I will always remember it as three of the best days I’ve had. There were a few of us travelling from Scotland, so we all met up and flew from Edinburgh rather than getting different flights – we had such a laugh all the way there and back again.

She added “I can’t wait for my family and friends to see me on tv in the new Emmerdale ads.”

Head of Marketing at tombola, Dawn-Elizabeth Howe said: “These ads have the same creative format as the previous ads on the Emmerdale show. We had great feedback as the warmth and fun the players have together comes across brilliantly in the final bumpers and it really reflects what tombola is all about. So when we decided to produce new ads we knew we wanted to repeat much of the existing look and feel. This time, we have pushed the boat out – literally by taking the players deep sea fishing and also up in a hot air balloon. They’ve had a great time and we have some great ads so everyone’s happy!”

Every week, £4m is won in cash prizes on tombola. Howe added: “Sponsoring Emmerdale, one of ITV’s leading brands, is a significant opportunity for tombola. The show’s reach, the affection in which it’s held, and its values of drama, fun and community make it the ideal partner for the tombola brand.”

To see all the players chosen for the bumpers and play bingo online, visit the tombola site.

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Media information: Christian at Quay2 Media on 0191 296 6800

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Christian Cerisola

Quay 2 Media

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