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In order to truly understand my idols I had to go off the beaten track, visit their historic haunts and experience first-hand the life that real-life hustlers led in order to discover whether their infamous bets could actually be done. I was visiting Texas, Vegas and New York, but I wasn't going to be a tourist. I was going to be a hustler, and I was going to meet some incredible people along the way.

In Vegas I had the opportunity to meet Bobby Cotton. Bobby is a pool hustler, has lived in practically every city in the US and spent time with Titanic. He makes you realise that the life of a rogue gambler is much like holding down a "normal job". You have to show true dedication, and if you're no good at it, you won't make any money. Hustling isn't how it appears in Ocean's 11. I have spent a lot of time practising card throwing, hours on end in empty rooms, just me, some cards and a hat. The glamour!

On my trip across the USA, I took on all sorts of bets, from trying to throw a walnut over a building to racing a horse on foot. I'm a bad loser though. I hate to lose at anything, especially something physical, so when there was money and pride at stake how was I going to cope? I bet for cars, hotel rooms and food, and I had some nasty forfeits to avoid – spending the night in jail or having to wash dishes. On top of that I was going to look pretty silly on TV when I lost… which I did quite a few times!

My trip started in Texas, where I met Titanic's son Tommy. Now in his late sixties and a preacher, Tommy Thompson followed in his father's footsteps as a professional gambler, despite never having really known him. Tommy's life reads like a movie waiting to be made. He came close to being shot one too many times, which made him choose another path. But the look in his eyes is that of a man who's seen the real meaning of hustling.

Tommy gave me an insight into one of the stories about his father. Legend plays a big part in the gambling world, but it's hard to tell the man from the myth. The legend has it that Titanic was able to throw hotel keys into locks, a seemingly impossible trick that earned him free nights in some of the best hotels. Suffice to say Tommy untangled the truth from the myth: Titanic's trick was to throw a room key into a pigeonhole at the reception desk.

I was particularly excited about doing Titanic's first-ever bet which he did in his school years. He would be fishing by a river and bet that you could take a stone, mark an "X" on it, throw it in the water and his trusted dog Carlo would jump in and fetch it. I went to the location it may have taken place and gave it a shot! Did it work? You get to find out in the first episode.