“Come on down!”
Anyone who has watched The Price Is Right has heard those famous three words from their television screens, but few have heard them uttered after their name – and a Toronto woman is one of them.
To celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, Cherry Ann and Brooks Gorst decided to take a trip out to the west coast of the United States in August. They rented a car from Salt Lake City and travelled to Las Vegas and San Francisco before making their way to Los Angeles for a seven night stay.
The Toronto couple have both been long-time fans of The Price Is Right – Brooks has been a fan since he was a child, when the late host Bob Barker was a regular Saturday morning fixture, while Cherry Ann has been watching for the last decade.
“I’ve been watching every day The Price Is Right. So in my mind, ‘Oh, I wish I can go on the show and even just (be) in the audience,’” Cherry Ann said. “I never imagined that my husband (was) planning to have a ticket with this (trip), and he told me that. ‘Ok, we’re going there.’”
All Brooks did was grab a couple of available tickets – he said they did not cost a penny – and they showed up to the new studio in Glendale, a neighbourhood in northeast Los Angeles.
Brooks, who had been in the audience before back in 2015, explained when they arrived, they had to line up, sign some forms, and sit in a waiting room filled with screens airing old episodes of the show.
“Then they’ll take each row into an interviewing area. And when you go in there, they’re encouraging you to like really clap your hands and be really excited, and pretend almost as if you won,” Brooks said.
After another hour of waiting in the waiting room, they said they were brought down to the new studio.
“Then George, who does all of the announcing, comes out and talks us through, and he basically says, ‘Look, it’s gonna get so loud in here, when I say blah, blah, blah, come on down, you look over there to the right,’ and there’s a guy holding up your name on a Bristol board,” Brooks said.
Cherry Ann said she didn’t hear her name get called when it was her time to come on down to the stage.
“I’m confused because I’m not focused on it, because it’s too loud inside the audience,” Cherry Ann explained. “Then my husband next to me is saying, ‘Honey, they called your name.’”
As soon as it sunk in it that she was selected as a contestant, Cherry Ann said she started jumping with everyone trying to high-five her as she nearly ran to the stage.
“Then I come back, I give a kiss to my husband. I never expected this,” she said.
While Cherry Ann did not win the prize during the One Wrong Price game she participated in, where contestants have to correctly identify an incorrectly priced prize, she was much luckier when it came to spinning the wheel.
Even though the wheel isn’t really heavy, Cherry Ann said, she wanted to not spin it too hard so it wouldn’t whirl around quickly.
“She got in with just 70 cents, which is difficult, right? If you know The Price Is Right, there’s a good chance someone’s going to spin over you,” Brooks said.
Now, all there was left was the Showcase Showdown. The Gorsts said they befriended Cherry Ann’s competition: Lily Dang, who they said really wanted to win a new car.
“I said to her, ‘You got this,’” Cherry Ann recalled.
When it came time to play, Cherry Ann’s opponent passed on the first showcase to her – which included a boat, a trip for two to Palm Springs and designer clothes. Dang ended up bidding on a prize that included a brand new car.
Dang overbid on her prize, making Cherry Ann the winner of a showcase prize totalling US$28,000, according to the Gorsts.
“I gave Lily a big hug at the time,” Cherry Ann said. “I said, ‘You did a great job.’ I said, ‘You know, you’re a great person.’”
Then, Cherry Ann ran toward her husband and jumped up and down together.
“I actually couldn’t believe it when she won,” Brooks said. “I still couldn’t believe it because, you know, we had no plan … just for a day’s leisure to come, enjoy a show as Canadians, didn’t have to pay for the show, no parking, just be on the TV is wonderful. And then to have her win this, I was just on cloud nine, wondering how we’re going to get the boat home.”
Brooks said they actually couldn’t bring the boat home, and opted for a cash deal instead. As for the rest of the winnings, they have to pick it up from the nearest port of entry in Buffalo – which they can do now that the episode aired.
While they taped the episode back in August, just days before Barker passed away on Aug. 26, the Gorsts said they had to keep their major win a secret from everyone until after the episode aired Friday.
“During lunchtime, my phone is like busy, ding, ding, ding, on my Facebook because my friends (are) sending messages to me,” Cherry Ann said. “One of my friends (said), ‘Hey, I just recorded it. Can I have an autograph?’”
As for the entire experience, the couple said they feel very blessed.
“We didn’t go in there expecting anything. So the fact that we walked out [as winners], that is quite a nice surprise,” Brooks said.
CTV News Toronto reached out to The Price Is Right for comment but did not receive a response.
