THE director of one of Scotland’s largest independent courier firms has managed to avoid falling victim to a TV prank by managing to hustle the hustlers.
Jerry Stewart found himself the centre of a scam orchestrated by BBC3’s hit show, The Real Hustle yet was able to avoid falling pray to the team’s plans after spotting that something was not quite right with the set up.
Set up by his work colleagues, The Real Hustle team which included Jessica-Jane Clement who is currently taking part in this year’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here cornered Jerry in a pub in the Newington area of Edinburgh.
Thinking he was waiting for a meeting with journalists and public relations executives, Jessica-Jane and her team walked in and began chatting with Jerry, before trying to lure him into the offer of buying a cheap iPhone – which Jerry smartly refused.
Suspicious
It was later revealed that if Jerry had accepted the offer he would have been offered a box containing a brick and would have been left £250 out of pocket.
Jerry was a good sport throughout and explained: “I became suspicious very early on. Being from the West, I think I am a bit more streetwise than those in the East.
“Fair play to the guys from the show and I can see how others would easily be duped into making the transaction. It will be very interesting to see who if anyone actually fell for the same scam when the show comes on air.”
Jerry was set up by his Co-Director Fiona Deas and six months previous to his hood winking recalls being asked to complete a questionnaire by his colleagues, asking if he recognised the stars of the show, which he didn’t.
Fiona said: “I put Jerry forward because I know he has a good sense of humour and would take it in good spirit.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t told what the hustle would be until quite late on in the process. It took some story-telling to get him there and it was a shame that he didn’t fall for it in the end.
“Jerry is now possibly going to rather enjoy watching the lady who tried to con him out of £250 undergo a variety of gruelling jungle challenges on TV over the next few weeks.
”The television series, usually based in London, travelled to Scotland for its 10th series and manage to dupe a number of unsuspecting Scots, in intricate plots including the sale of a fake Scottish title and even a section of the Forth Road Bridge.
