Noel Edmonds has blocked Stephen Emery from appearing on Deal or No Deal, the Lufbra Echo can exclusively reveal. It is understood that the Coventry Godiva star applied to be on the Channel 4 show in order to fulfil a "long-held" ambition to beat the banker and become the first male quarter millionaire in the history of the show. However things went array when Edmonds - a life long Rugby and Northampton fan - discovered that the 3:48 man had snubbed his beloved club in favour of a lucrative move to Coventry.
Emery is known to be "borderline obsessed" with the programme and regularly plans training commitments in order to free him up for its tea-time slot. "This is a major blow to Stephen" said a close friend "it has been such a tough few weeks and I know that he was really looking forward to the show. He has quite literally been sent to Coventry". The BUCS Bronze Medallist is said to be "devastated" that his boyhood hero is behind the rejection. The source refused to confirm whether the Noel Edmonds poster that adorned Emery's bedroom wall had been torn down in disgust, but did say that he was "really really upset".
It is not known whether this setback will effect Emery's preparations for the 2011 campaign, but it is now likely that his availability for training on weekday evenings will be a lot more flexible.