Ben Shephard struggled to keep a straight face during Sunday’s Tipping Point: Lucky Stars after Sam Thompson turned an unusual quiz question into an unexpected innuendo.
Tipping Point: Sam Thompson left Ben Shephard in stitches (Image: ITV)
The ITV host was joined by Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson, comedian Suzi Ruffell and actor Stephen Mangan, who were competing to raise money for their chosen charities.
Sam endured a shaky start but managed to fight his way through to the final, where things took an even funnier turn.
Sam makes it through to the final
The 28-year-old initially struggled during the opening round, but still finished with £1,100 in his prize fund.
Stephen ended the round with £500, while Suzi had £100.
Suzi was subsequently eliminated after managing to raise £300 for her chosen charity, leaving Sam and Stephen to battle it out for the place in the final.
Sam eventually edged ahead in the second round, finishing with £3,000 compared with Stephen’s £2,700.
However, his final-round campaign got off to a difficult start when he immediately answered the opening question incorrectly.
Ben asked Sam about the three highest mountains in Britain, with Snowdon being one of the answers.
“Snowdon is going to be one of them,” Sam said confidently.
Ben then asked whether he had heard of the other two, Scafell Pike and Helvellyn.
Sam admitted he had no idea, eventually choosing Scafell Pike because he thought Helvellyn sounded familiar.
When the correct answer was revealed to be Helvellyn, Sam jokingly blamed the host.
“Come on, it was Helvellyn,” he said. “That’s your fault.”
The ‘cockchafer’ question leaves Ben crying with laughter
Things soon became much more entertaining when Sam encountered one of the strangest questions of the episode.
Ben asked: “What type of animal is a cockchafer?”
Sam immediately looked doubtful.
“You’re joking?” he replied.
Ben then gave him three possible answers: a snake, a bird or an insect.
Sam began trying to work through the options, but his reasoning quickly took an unexpected turn.
“I just… whoever is naming these things,” he joked.
“I don’t think you call a snake a cockchafer, so I’m taking snake out.”
He then considered the possibility of it being an insect.
“With an insect, I’ve never heard ‘Oh, watch out for the cockchafer,’ like they can bite you, you know what I mean?”
But Sam’s final observation was what finally broke Ben.
“Oh, the cockroach… so there are cocks in insects. That sounds so weird, I’m so sorry.”
Ben had managed to keep a straight face until that point, but Sam’s comment sent him into fits of laughter.
The host hunched over as he struggled to contain himself, while Sam continued trying to make sense of the unusual name.
Despite his reasoning, Sam ultimately selected bird.
Unfortunately, it was the wrong answer.
WATCH HERE: Episode 6 – Tipping Point: Lucky Stars (Series 7, Episode 6) – Apple TV (UK)
Sam walks away with £5,200
Sam nevertheless managed to complete the final round and was left with a decision over whether to risk the money he had accumulated for the chance to win the £20,000 jackpot.
In the end, he chose not to gamble.
Instead, Sam walked away with £5,200 for his chosen charity.
While the jackpot remained out of reach, his bizarre encounter with the cockchafer question provided one of the episode’s funniest moments, leaving Ben Shephard unable to stop laughing.
Tipping Point continues weekdays at 4pm on ITV.