Chesterfield PC stars on TV gameshow

Steve O’Callaghan, 34, who lives in Sheffield with his wife and two children, starred on Can’t Touch This, a new obstacle-course based show similar to the massively popular Wipeout.

After completing the course in super-quick time, Steve fell agonisingly close to overall victory after being unlucky on a rope swing in the knockout round - but still loved the experience.

He said: “It was great fun - I did it because I like going to the gym and putting myself to the test - just to check I am still in good shape.

“There was a sweepstake on who was going to win it and everyone picked me, so I was gutted not to but I still had a really great time and met some really good people.”

“The show I was on was actually filmed last September in Belfast - the production company flew us over to Northern Ireland and put us up in a really nice hotel.”

In the show, competitors of all shapes, ages and sizes must complete the obstacle course in the quickest time possible and then go head-to-head for the right to ‘touch’ and win a brand new car.

Steve said the course was ‘much harder than it looks’ but that he’d love to have another go.

“It’s pretty rough and ready - it takes place in this massive industrial warehouse and when you hit the freezing cold water it takes your breath away,” he said.

“In the first round you don’t see how anyone else has done and I was sat for ages in this room while 16 other people had a go at it.

“When I fell on the pole vault at the end I thought I was the only one who had but in fact no one’s done it in the entire series.”

“In the knockout round I was doing really well and coming first until I got to the rope swing bit but I just couldn’t get up it.”

Steve has been a police officer for 12 years and has worked in Chesterfield for the last ten.

He now works on the Chesterfield town centre beat for Derbyshire police and says he enjoys doing physical challenges like Can’t Touch This because it is so different from his day job.

“I like to test myself by doing things like this to have a bit of escapism from my work in the police - doing something completely different and really fun,” he said.

“And I was ready for a new car as well.”

Can’t Touch This is produced by Stellify Media and airs on BBC One on Saturdays.