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The dad who became a legend after winning a radio competition for punching above his weight is celebrating after his stunning blonde wife fell pregnant.

Darren Donaghey from Newcastle famously won Metro Radio's controversial competition Punching Above Your Weight when listeners voted him and glamorous partner Kate the most mis-matched couple in the looks department.

The couple were thrust into the media spotlight and found themselves the talk of Twitter but the genial 30-year-old insists he wouldn’t think twice about entering again if he could.

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As this year’s competition launches, Darren urges others with less than leading-man looks to enter for the chance of the holiday prize.

For him it marked the start of a cracking year which saw the pair marry last August, using their two-week prize trip to Greece as their honeymoon, and culminates with Darren sharing news that 25-year-old Kate is now pregnant with their second child as he revealed his wife would not be having a drink to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

Talking about the whirlwind, the sales advisor said: “I did a piece for the Sunday Sun after the competition then all the national newspapers picked up the story and it was getting interest from all over the world.”

(Image: Chronicle Live)

There followed a “surreal” appearance on the This Morning sofa and on Million Pound Drop.

“It’s been crazy how it took off. It went global,” recalled Darren.

“Metro Radio weren’t expecting that much reaction either.”

There was “a lot of controversy” about the competition he said. “There was a furore!

“We always expected to get a bit of back-lash from some people with the society we are in. Luckily for every negative comment there have always been ten good ones.”

So why did he enter?

“Ever since I’ve been with Kate friends used to say I was punching above my weight so once I heard about the competition I thought it was made for us! And I thought why not?”

With the competition being on the radio, the couple, who had been together eight years, weren’t expecting any wider attention but when the story took off, he and Kate - a trained hairdresser who is currently stay-at-home mum to three-year-old son Jaxon - were suddenly enjoying a taste of celebrity life.

TV sets around their honeymoon hotel brought them to the attention of fellow tourists and staff. Then came calls from as far afield as Australia, India and America.

“Once it started it opened other avenues for This Morning and things like that.

“I don’t think it hit home until after the wedding when I was sitting thinking ‘this is crazy’.

(Image: Chronicle Live)

“I’d just uploaded photos to the Metro Radio website then there where we were on the biggest morning show in front of millions of people. The Loveable Rogues, the band from Britain’s Got Talent, were also there in the green room and there were celebrities walking back and forth - it was really exciting.

“I was quite a shy person before this. Speaking about it was quite nerve-wracking but the attention got easier.

“We still get recognised and when we go out for meals people come up to us - in a good way!”

Most of the reaction has been positive. “I’ve always found people more good than bad.”

As for the rest: “I take it with a pinch of salt.

“It’s a bit of a joke; I don’t take it too seriously or else I wouldn’t have entered in the first place.”

He urged others: “Go for it. I’m looking forward to seeing if the show is bigger than last year.

“If you’d take it too serious and take the nasty comments to heart then don’t enter. But if you’re up for a laugh then absolutely do it!”

He was the competition’s second winner. Its debut the previous year saw nothing like the same reaction so he’s keen to see what happens this time.

“I would enter this year if I could! I was saying we should maybe have a national competition - I would be up for that.”

Punching Above Your Weight opened on Friday and will run for two weeks on the Metro Radio Breakfast Show presented by Steve Furnell and Karen Wight.

Steve said: “I’ve never known a competition get people talking like this one. We have more fun every time we do it."

Karen added: “I went on holiday after the competition last year and it was incredible to see it making news across the world.”