Wichita couple appearing on Ellen game show says experience was ‘cool but odd’
A Wichita physical therapist and his middle school teacher wife will appear on Ellen DeGeneres’ “Ellen’s Game of Games” on Tuesday night, and it looks like things are going to get slimy — and possibly a bit stinky.
Clayton and Renae Dir say people can tune in to watch them play a game called Stink Tank when the second episode of the game show’s fourth season airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NBC, Cable Channel 3.
The show flew the couple to Los Angeles to film in August, they said this week, and it was a surreal experience — made even more surreal because of the pandemic.
And before anyone asks, the couple found host DeGeneres — who has been in the news for the past several months over her alleged harsh treatment of staff and guests on her talk show “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” — to be warm and approachable. Clayton, 26, even gave her a hug.
“Before they hit record on filming, we had some small talk,” he said. “It was really cool to talk to her. She’s really normal.”
Renae, a 26-year-old math teacher at Valley Center Middle School, said she and her husband are fans of the show — where contestants compete for cash prizes by participating in over-the-top obstacle course and trivia challenges — and always thought they would do well if they could compete.
The Dirs, who have been married for three years, are known among their friends for hosting an annual backyard competition they call “Couples Olympics.” The pair competes against their married friends in three-legged races, corn hole, wheelbarrow races and other yard games, and the Dirs are four-time reigning champions.
“Quote that,” said Clayton, a Wichita State University graduate who works at Wichita’s Natural Wellness Physiotherapy.
The couple applied to become contestants on the show in January 2019 but didn’t hear anything. Earlier this year, they were invited to do a Skype interview with producers, who said they wanted them on the show. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and their appearance kept getting pushed back.
Finally, they were confirmed to film in August, but the safety protocols surrounding their trip were intense, the couple said.
They had to quarantine in a Los Angeles hotel reserved just for the show’s crew and contestants for several days before filming the show and also had to submit to three different COVID-19 tests.
The couple arrived on a Saturday and didn’t leave their hotel bubble until the following Tuesday, when their portion of filming began. They flew home that Thursday.
“It was a cool but odd experience,” Clayton said.
The Dirs can’t say how they did on the show — people will have to tune in to find out — but they can reveal that they participated in a game called Stink Tank. Renae was strapped to a chair over a vat of smelly slime, and whether she was dunked into it or not depended on how well she and Clayton collaborated to answer DeGeneres’ questions.
The couple plans to gather family to watch the show on Tuesday — though Renae will be racing home from school conferences that end just as the show begins.
It was hard not to tell their friends and family why they suddenly took off for Los Angeles in August, they say, but now, they’re ready for everyone to see what happened while they were gone.
“We’re excited to see their reactions,” Renae said. “They don’t know what happens on the show, either.”
This story was originally published October 9, 2020 at 10:54 AM.
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