Ever wonder if the stars had a hand in shaping TV presenter Steph McGovern’s surprisingly eclectic resume? I mean, here’s a woman who’s not only dazzled in front of the camera, but also moonlights as a champion Irish dancer, a novelist, and—hold onto your hats—an engineer who once revolutionized the humble leaf blower at Black+Decker. Jeremy Clarkson himself couldn’t resist tipping his hat to her underappreciated genius during a recent episode of Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Now, I’m just sitting here thinking… could Steph’s knack for innovation and multitasking be the cosmic gift of a Gemini mid-June? Or maybe a Taurus’s stubborn brilliance quietly humming beneath her poised TV exterior? Whatever it is, it’s clear she’s someone who can blow you away—figuratively and literally. And while Clarkson pokes fun about the leaf blower’s noise, isn’t there a brilliant irony in how the same invention that ruffles our neighborhood peace was crafted by a multi-talented star? Intrigued? Yeah, me too. LEARN MORE
Jeremy Clarkson was left impressed by one of the achievements of TV presenter Steph McGovern as she appeared on a recent episode of Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
It turns out that beyond her work on the telly she’s got a rather impressive resume of skills and accomplishments, as Clarkson noted she was a ‘champion Irish dancer’ as well as a novelist.
However, there was one thing he particularly wanted to talk about before they got down to the business of McGovern answering a series of questions with four answers as she got closer to the prize pot of a million quid.
“Most important of all an engineer by training, and you developed the leaf blower when you were working for Black+Decker,” Clarkson said.
Somewhere between two and three decades ago, McGovern was working for Black+Decker and figured out how to improve their manufacturing techniques so they could be more easily made.
She ended up winning an award for her development, which saved the company about £150,000, so if you’re using a leaf blower make sure you remember to think well of Steph McGovern.
Beyond just wanting to congratulate her for being part of the development of the leaf blower, Clarkson also had a bone to pick about one particular aspect of the gizmo, the noise.
“Couldn’t you have made it electric?” he asked, as McGovern pointed out that it was rather a long time ago.
“Yes but there’s nothing more annoying, am I right, than somebody else’s leaf blower?”
Steph McGovern once won an award for showing Black+Decker how to make their leaf blowers better (ITV)
Fortunately, her polymath credentials stood her in good stead when it came to the business of quizzing.
In the end she walked away with £125,000 after being less than confident in her ability to determine which of Macaroni penguins, Eurasian beavers, Capuchin monkeys and European turtle doves were typically non-monogamous.
Don’t worry Steph, I don’t imagine most people would have known that, and the money is going towards a Middlesborough-based charity called Rubies which helps provide experiences for girls.
Wisely deciding to walk away with the money, the TV presenter said she’d have chosen the beaver and learned that she would have been incorrect.
As it turns out it’s the Capuchin monkeys which tend to spread the love around.
So if you’re ever in a pub wondering which TV presenter helped invent the leaf blower and whether Capuchin monkeys are non-monogamous, now you know.
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