Pat Sharp's Fun House twin unrecognisable pulling pints in her local Wetherspoons
Fun House twin Melanie Grant is now working behind the bar in her local Wetherspoons. The 51-year-old is pulling pints in one of the budget boozers in her hometown and laughed as she admitted that lots of punters recognise her from her 90s kids TV heyday working alongside 90s icon Pat Sharp.
Her boss was a fan of the kids programme and was starstruck when he got her CV. Melanie is team leader at the Royal Victoria Pavilion pub - the biggest Spoons in the UK - in Ramsgate, Kent. She rose to fame on the ITV show alongside twin sister Martina when they were just 16.
Child contestants on the programme hosted by mullet-haired Pat Sharp had to complete challenges in the soft play house. While Melanie supported the red team, Martina was on the yellow team, and together, the pair provided 10 years of fun for children all around the country.
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The cult gameshow ran for a decade from 1989 to 1999. Melanie decided to swap the Funhouse for Wetherspoons because she loves chatting to the locals.
She said: “I love working at the pub. It’s perfect for me as I grew up around here and I’m a real people person and always love a chat with the customers here. A lot of customers know me and recognise me from the show, and we have a lot of laughs and memories about it.”
Before Wetherspoons bought the pub - which opened in 2017 - it was used as a nightclub under two different names. It was called Peggy Sue’s then Nero’s which local girl Melanie used to go to.
“I used to come here in those days," said Melanie, "so I have a great connection with the building.”
Pub manager Chris Whitbourn said: “To have Mel here is superb. I used to watch Fun House as a kid and then found myself interviewing her for a job here. She is a great staff member and an asset to the pub.”
The Royal Victoria Pavilion is on the seafront in the Kent town and has a capacity of 1,400 customers, as reported on What's The Jam.
