DESPERATELY SEEKING SAMSON

With just hours to go before applications close for the Ark, the Ship of Fool internet reality gameshow, several of the Bible's most colourful characters are in danger of being left behind in the rain as the floating zoo sails.

Over 120 people from places as far apart as Mount Eliza in Australia, Devil's Lake in North Dakota and Exmouth in Devon have applied for one of the 12 berths onboard the Ark. Each winning contestant will play a biblical character for the 40 days and 40 nights of the gameshow, logging on for up to 2 hours a day from their own computers.

The Bible character most applicants want to play is Esther, the Old Testament beauty queen who saved her people from genocide, who has scooped up 14 per cent of all applications. In second place is Mary Magdalene, and the joint-third spot goes to John the Baptist and Job.

Surprisingly, last in the queue are characters who provide some of the Bible's most dramatic and scandalous moments, including Samson, Bathsheba, Jonah and Elijah.

One would-be contestant from Australia who has signed up for Samson explains why he would like to play him: "Samson was not timid. He was the Incredible Hulk and he knew it. He knew he had a special calling and he knew his strengths – and it certainly wasn't diplomacy. I love his vulnerabilty and the irony that it wasn't untill he was blinded that he could really see."

Another applicant, from Ontario in Canada, is drawn to the role of Bathsheba: "She's a good woman with flaws. Ultimately, she accepts God's will and lives by it. Plus, I could get the chance to be a real gorgeous babe."

Applications for the Ark close at midnight (West Coast US time) on Friday 28th February. For your chance to join the Divine Dozen onboard the world's most famous ship, click here!