WHEN it comes to getting to grips with complete strangers, Sam Smithson has plenty of experience- she has been British judo champion three times!

But the petite 23-year-old from Accrington will have a challenge of a rather different nature as a contestant on ITV television show Blind Date on Saturday.

Sam, of Fern Gore Avenue, has sworn not to say whether her appearance on the show led to a love tangle - until the programme is broadcast.

Programme makers kept any mention of Sam's martial arts prowess out of the show, preferring to play on her part-time job as a fitness instructor at Hyndburn Sports Centre.

Sam, a student at St Martin's College, Lancaster, and former pupil of Mount Carmel High School, made sure she had a say in the answers she gave to the questions: "If you're really stuck then they will give guidance. But there was no way I was going to say some of the things they wanted me to say!" Sam auditioned in Morecambe, where she had to perform karaoke and impersonate Absolutely Fabulous star Joanna Lumley. She believes one remark clinched the appearance for her. When asked to compare herself to a celebrity, she said Sylvester Stallone- "Because I'm action packed and only 5ft 1in!"

Blind Date won't be Sam's first appearance on the small screen - she once appeared on daytime chat show Kilroy to give advice about self-defence.

Sam, who is in her final year of study on a sports science course, has slipped down the judo rankings. She suffered torn ligaments at last year's British championships and her university work means she has been out of contention recently.

Sam is keeping her promise to stay quiet about how she got on in the programme, but expect to read the inside story of her appearance in your Lancashire Evening Telegraph next week.

"After the programme goes out I want to dig myself out of the hole I got into," was all she would say.

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