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Arneldo · 07-12-2005, 03:15 PM

Channel 4 today reveals the final contestants line up who are set to face the final frontier in the new entertainment show Space Cadets, launching tonight (Wednesday 7th December) at 9.00pm.

Having received weeks of intensive training in ‘Russia’ courtesy of STAR (Space Tourism Agency of Russia), the following nine contestants have been chosen to take part in the most audacious, complicated and ambitious practical joke in TV history.

For the next ten nights, live on Channel 4, Space Cadets will follow this group of adventure-seeking applicants, monitoring their progress through the rigorous selection process, the exhaustive training programme and the mission itself, in a TV event that’s out-of-this-world and yet nothing of the sort.

Name: ASTRID ROBERTS
Age: 19
From: Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Occupation: Works in call centre for an insurance company
Status: Attached

In the same school year as Charlotte Church, Astrid loves partying and has bags of energy. She dreams of riding in a Formula 1 racing car, speaks German and does 200 sit-ups per day. She also thinks she is reincarnated and, due to an irrational fear of water as a child, she thinks she may have drowned in a previous life. She says she sees UFOs in the sky but concedes that this is probably due to an overactive imagination. Astrid has had five different jobs in the past year and says she is looking for some real excitement in her life. She could not live without her hair extensions, which she changes every month.

Name: ANDREW CARTER
Age: 19
From: London
Occupation: Student
Status: Single

Andrew describes himself as funny, diverse, confident, outspoken and considerate. He says his style is unique and regards himself as a trend-setter. Andrew is a Christian, if there’s no football on, he’ll go to Church but confesses to only miming the hymns because he doesn’t know the words. An Arsenal fan, he plays centre midfield in a local league team. He finds the R Kelly track I Believe I Can Fly ‘inspirational’ because it gives him self-belief and makes him feel he can do anything if he puts his mind to it. Andrew is scared of moths.

Name: CHERYL DEARIE
Age: 23
From: Glasgow
Occupation: Housing Association Assistant
Status: Attached

Lively, ambitious and opinionated, Cheryl is also impatient and hates being alone. A firm believer in fate, she believes in reincarnation and ghosts – she says a guardian angel visited her when she was aged 16. She fears drowning and fire but feels that taking part in a ‘thrill-seekers’ show of this nature would give her the chance to do something unique.

Name: BILLY JACKSON
Age: 25
From: Kent
Occupation: Recruitment Consultant
Status: Single

Billy is a semi-pro footballer and his ultimate ambition is a to be a footballer or film star. He realises he is too old for professional football but there is still time to hit Hollywood. He describes himself as tall, dark and handsome, funny, outgoing, polite and caring but also one of the lads. The biggest prank he’s ever played was on a new player who joined his football club. The guy was homophobic so Billy pretended to fancy him for half the season to wind him up.
Billy loves the film Armageddon, hates spiders and the idea of drowning and says his most embarrassing moment was when his ex girlfriend’s dad witnessed him walking down the catwalk in a red silk thong. He believes in reincarnation and wants to return as a golden eagle. Billy does not believe in ghosts but claims to have seen an alien.

Name: LOUISE NISBET
Age: 23
From: Whitstable, Kent
Occupation: Currently working as secondary school PE teacher
Status: Single

Something of a tomboy, Louise is very sporty and competitive and represents her county in basketball and athletics. She lived in Canada for ten months, which she says is her proudest achievement to date. She admits she is afraid of death, ghosts and dislikes the dark, and says she has never done anything bad in her life, as she worries about what her parents might think. She has a sea-horse tattoo – which her parents don’t yet know about.

Name: RYAN McBRIDE
Age: 28
From: Born in Glasgow, currently living in London
Occupation: Electrician
Status: Attached

Ryan is laid back, describing himself as ‘noticeable’, someone who does things on a whim, and his personality as Teflon; being impermeable to insults. He is very proud of a practical joke he once played on his whole family when he asked 10 of his friends and family to meet him at the airport, expecting him to arrive back from Australia. Ryan never appeared - it was his April Fool’s Joke and he was still out in Oz. He believes in UFOs as he says there is too much evidence to prove it and cover-ups to hide the facts.

Name: KERI HASSETT
Age: 25
From: Birmingham
Occupation: College Administrator
Status: Single

Keri has a passion for space travel and her ultimate fancy dress outfit is that of an astronaut. She describes herself as friendly, outgoing and will try anything once, and compares herself to Bridget Jones. She is a team player – as long at the team wins! A yoga devotee, she fears drowning and spiders and believes in ghosts, reincarnation and UFOs. The two things she says she would never do – even if she were paid - is a free-fall jump into water, or sing in front of a group of people. Her strangest job was dressing up as a human eyeball promoting Specsavers.

Name: PAUL FRENCH
Age: 26
From: Bristol
Occupation: Plasterer
Status: Attached

Paul describes himself as a happy-go-lucky charmer who has a good sense of humour and enjoys a wind up either at his or others’ expense. He dislikes heights, deep water and ghosts – which he believes he has seen. One of the best moments of his life was the birth of his niece. Desperate for a crack at the limelight, Paul finds his plastering job boring and enjoys the simple pleasures in life like going to the pub and playing football. His favourite song is Coldplay’s The Scientist.

Name: SARAH-JANE CASS
Age: 19
From: Northumberland Heath, Kent
Occupation: Currently studying media performance and radio at Luton University
Status: Single

A confident, self-confessed chatterbox , Sarah Jane describes herself as a hyper bird who lives life to the max. She is always the first one on the dance floor and to belt out her favourite karaoke song, (Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground). Some of Sarah-Jane’s best pranks include kidnapping and micro-waving her old flatmates’ prized teddy bear, and putting cling film over another friend’s toilet. Her hardest test to date has been saying the word ‘butterfly’ and overcoming traumatic dental surgery. She doesn’t believe in ghosts or UFOs and can’t live without her hairbrush.

CADETS UNDER COVER

To have a fighting chance of pulling the wool over our Space Cadets’ eyes, we need people on the inside who can influence the genuine applicants and cover up if there are any mishaps! Three of the lucky Space Cadets who were selected for the show are actually actors pretending to be thrill-seeking contestants. At the end of the training period, one of the actors will be “chosen” along with three genuine contestants to blast off in the shuttle.

Each actor has been assigned a fictitious character profile and they must remain in character at all times. They are played by:

Charlie Skelton
Charlie appeared as The Earl in Channel 4’s Comedy Lab. He is also an accomplished writer. Most recently, he has been writing for BBC TV’s Have I Got News for You, the MTV Europe Music Awards and a new BBC project for comic Mark Wootton, having previously written for the award-winning My New Best Friend for Channel 4.

Charlie is also a journalist, founder of the satirical website The London News Review, and author – he recently co-wrote (with journalist Victoria Coren) Once More with Feeling about his experiences of making an adult movie in Amsterdam.

In Space Cadets, Charlie plays an eccentric poet who applied for the show looking for new material.

Ranie Daw
Australian Ranie’s film credits include Suburban Nightmare, Room for Rent, Half Way There and Minestrone Fats. On stage, Ranie has played the lead in improvised comedy This Is Soap at the Edinburgh Festival, musical comedy Kiss and Tell, sketch show The Comedy Show and drama Live Acts on Stage.

Ranie’s role in Space Cadets is an Aussie traveller and adrenaline junkie.

Steve Hester
Steve’s film credits include Tale I Lose, Bloodlines, Scallywag and Swallowing It. He has also appeared in many theatre production including Blood Wedding, Stags & Hens, The Rivals, Where Did All the Children Go, Arcadia and The Merchant of Venice.

In Space Cadets, Steve adopts the character of a jobseeker.