A KARATE instructor from Darwen is out to prove he’s tough enough to take on TV’s most gruelling assault course.

On Saturday, viewers will see Martyn Skipper, 47, of Blacksnape Road, Blacksnape, appear on BBC’s Total Wipeout.

The father-of-two is no stran-ger to extreme events, but says this is the ‘most extraordinary fun’ he’s ever had.

Martyn, who works in marketing, has previously taken part in a coast-to-coast cycle ride, run half-marathons, and competed regularly in national veterans’ karate competitions.

He said: “I am pretty fit because I take part in a lot of sport, but it was tremendously tough.

"A lot of the other contestants had trained too, but some hadn’t. Luckily I came back in one piece.”

Martyn applied for the show two years ago, and at regional auditions, beat 20,000 other hopefuls to land a place.

He flew to Argentine capital Buenos Aires, where filming takes place, in October with the hope of winning £10,000 by mastering the course which features obstacles such as giant bouncy balls and punch walls over pools of mud and water.

Martyn said: “It was a fantastic three days, even though we were all worn out.

"The other 19 people on the show were a great bunch and we’ve stayed in touch via Facebook.”

Contestants are sworn to secrecy about the show’s outcome until it airs, but Martyn says it is worth waiting for.

Martyn will be watching the show with family and neighbours at the Red Lion in Blacksnape.

Last January, 38-year-old Jeremy Kemp, of Clayton-le-Moors, became East Lancashire’s first winner of the competition.

However, he was left heartbroken after being invited back to take part in a champion of champions final only to miss out because of broken leg sustained in a football game.