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I risked my big day on telly's meanest reality show - and won

[gallery] It's the bitchiest show on telly, with more backstabbing and bickering than an episode of 'Enders.

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It sees its contestants lose points for things as outrageous as too many vegetables in the vegetable soup and vicars being overly enthusiastic about love.

Yes, welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Four Weddings – the worldwide smash of a show that sees four brides battle it out to win the honeymoon of a lifetime.

And never mind blushing brides, it takes a woman of steel to win this show. Step forward Blair Woodward, a mother-of-two who triumphed over biscuits being scoffed in her ceremony, whinges about her football theme and one of the meanest contestants in history to win the grand prize.

She and new hubbie Dean jetted off to Antigua after winning an episode in the latest series of the cult programme.

For those not in the know, the show sees the four brides attend and rate each others' big day, awarding points for the overall experience, dress, food and location. It's brutal stuff, leaving many a new wife in tears after someone had the nerve to say the lamb she served was too fatty or her gown too poofy.

But how did Blair feel about risking the biggest day of her life on national TV?

"I did have my doubts, there's a lot of added pressure having TV cameras there," says the 26-year-old, who works for British Gas. "And you never know what people are going to say about you or how you will be portrayed.

"But I have always loved drama. I was once Mary in a production of a Black Country nativity and my old teacher said I should be on something like Dinnerladies too. I just decided to put myself out there and give it a go. Plus, I knew having it on TV would make it all the more special.

"My friends and family thought I was mad and they were like 'do you know what you've gotten yourself into?'. Dean is also really quiet, he is the exact opposite of me, and he was like 'oh God' but in the end he said 'just do what you have got to do'.

"I have always watched things like Four Weddings and Don't Tell The Bride and then I saw an advert for the show online and I thought 'you know what, I'm going to go for that'."

Blair and Dean, parents to six-year-old Connor and five-year-old Arron, meet in 2006 at a local pub.

But was it romantic when 35-year-old Dean finally popped the big question?

"Ha, he didn't even ask!," laughs Blair. "He just got drunk one night, mentioned it and I held him to it. But I always knew what I wanted my big day to be – I wanted a football theme mixed with a traditional white wedding.

"After I had seen the advert for Four Weddings online and decided I was going to go for it, I had a phone call and they were asking all about me and my family. Then I had an interview over Skype and then they told me I had got it.

"That's when the pressure started to creep up because I knew it was going to be on TV. They said on the show my budget was £9,000 but it actually ended up being more than £12,000 because I wanted everything to be perfect. They don't give you any money towards it either. They only pay your expenses to get to the other weddings."

Before the televised wedding ceremonies start to take place, the four brides-to-be (and sometimes the odd groom) meet up for the very first time to discuss their themes, budgets and dreams for the day.

"All we'd seen up until then was a card with dates on – no names, no clues, nothing," explains Blair. "Then we all had to go down to London and it was a proper military operation. We all stayed in separate hotels and they kept us apart right until the last minute. We were literally hiding behind walls from one another. It was in some weird rundown asylum. It was quite surreal."

Now it was time for Blair to size up her competition. First up was bride-on-a-budget Sarah, followed by up-for-the-craic Irish belle Nikita and four-times-married Carol.

"I knew from the very beginning that Carol would be trouble," says Wolves supporter Blair. "She would just say whatever she felt. She didn't hold back. I thought she would be my biggest competition too because she was having a vintage theme. I was still pretty confident though."

Blair and electrician Dean tied the knot at St Mary's Church in Kidderminster followed by a bash at the ground of Kidderminster Harriers. The wedding took place on May 8 last year but was screened just a few weeks ago. And viewers were shocked at the antics of Carol, with Twitter and Facebook going into meltdown.

"She criticised me for getting married in a church, saying I was only doing it for a photographic backdrop. She was also eating biscuits in the ceremony and then moaned about the food at the reception. She said there was grass on top of her soup but it was leek. The food at my wedding was amazing, it was prepared by a Michelin chef and it was beautiful, so I know she was just doing it tactically," she chuckles.

"I just laughed when I saw it all back. I didn't let myself take it too seriously. I knew it was a game and it was a game I wanted to win but I wanted to win it fairly. I would never intentionally go out of my way to hurt one of the other brides' feelings. I was honest but I wasn't mean. I think that was her downfall."

So what was it like attending three complete strangers' wedding days? Was it all champagne and smiles or Malibu and misery?

"It was really strange," says Blair, who lives with her family in Oldbury but is originally from Cradley Heath. "The other guests were staring and looking at us. Not everyone was friendly, you got the vibe they didn't all want you there. It's also weird having a camera in your face 24/7 when you're a guest at the other weddings. The producers pick up everything and do give you some prompts but by and large we were just ourselves.

"When it's your own wedding, they let you get on with it and only ask for one interview with you at the end of the day. My wedding day was, apart from the birth of my sons, the greatest day of my life. It just went by so quickly but I enjoyed every second of it. And I just knew it was going to win. There was lots of things they didn't show too – like us all singing football chants and the musical act Lady And The Sax."

The big Top Bride reveal is made at an airport down south after all the scores have been totted up. Blair says she nearly fell to the floor when Dean walked through a smoke-filled doorway to announce she had won.

"There were so many nerves on that day. Some people wanted it much more than others. I never entered it with the intention of winning the honeymoon I just thought it would be an amazing experience," says Blair.

"When I saw Dean, I have never known shock like it. When my friends and family watched it back they were like 'oh my God, you're speechless, that never happens'. But I knew in my heart I had had the best day – it was a different standard."

The couple won a five-star trip to Antigua and went in May this year to celebrate their first anniversary.

"It was paradise. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves. It was difficult leaving the boys but it was so nice for me and Dean to have time alone together – that never happens. The only holiday me and Dean had had before that was a trip to Benidorm when I was pregnant and had really swollen ankles so you can't really compare them," she laughs.

The show, which has different versions across the globe, is often blamed for helping to fuel the trend of bridezillas. Blair however thinks she was relatively well behaved – although her bridesmaids beg to differ.

"I just hope I came across as myself. I don't want people thinking I'm nasty or mean," she says. "I don't think I was bridezilla either but my bridesmaids say otherwise. They said I was bossy and kept shouting 'get this and get that'. I just wanted everything to be perfect though. Dean didn't really get a look-in either. He just paid for everything and I said what I wanted!

"It is a stressful time planning a wedding, there is so much to do, and I suppose having it on national television did add extra pressure but I have no regrets. In fact, I wouldn't rule out other reality shows in the future. My mates say I'd be great on Big Brother so you never know.

"I wouldn't change a thing about my experience. Yes, there were times when I was nervous or not very relaxed but it was totally worth it.

"And when we were lying on that beach in Antigua, even Dean agreed too."

By Elizabeth Joyce

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