Barry CourterFans of the TV game show “The Price Is Right” know there are a couple of things every member of the audience wants to hear. The first is “Come on down,” the phrase announcer George Gray uses to call out a new contestant.
After that, the next thing a contestant wants to hear is “A new car,” signifying what he or she will be playing for.
Ooltewah resident Bethany Bickham got to hear all of that two months ago while on a work trip to California. A travel nurse who also works at Erlanger, Bickham thought it would be fun to see the show live and came home with a new Ford Fusion S. Well, sort of. Bickham’s episode aired Tuesday, and to keep everything about her appearance a secret, producers held off delivering the car. It would be hard to keep it a secret if she were seen tooling around town in a new ride.
“It was so exciting,” she said. “I got to hear those magic words that every contestant wants to hear: “A new car.”
Bickham and a fellow nurse originally thought of applying for daytime tickets but then heard that tickets for one of the three prime-time shows the series was planning were guaranteed, so they applied for those.
Upon arrival, she quickly realized that getting into the audience and getting onto the show would be trickier than she thought. It’s about a five-hour process that involves waiting in a long line and being interviewed by producers who are looking for energetic, colorful people.
“The whole time I was bouncing and dancing and so excited,” she said. “On the way there, I bought this ridiculous huge headband with flowers. I wanted something memorable and it was ridiculously gaudy, and I figured I would be able to pick myself out on TV [later].”
Bickham said she “pretty much hijacked the conversation” with the producer, which obviously made an impression because she got the “come on down” call.
“I really believe it was my flowers that did it,” Bickham said.
The irony in it all is that she and husband Jeff just bought a new car last summer.
To make things even more special for the couple, Bickham found out she was pregnant not long before heading to California.
After winning the vehicle, she told show host Drew Carey that the Fusion would work just fine with a baby seat.
Contact Barry Courter or bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.