Beaumont and Koukash set for Judge Rinder showdown
Leigh Centurions have confirmed club owner Derek Beaumont will appear on the popular ITV programme Judge Rinder on Tuesday, 25th April (2.00pm).
Beaumont and his Salford Red Devils counterpart Marwan Koukash will take centre-stage in the court room in a battle concerning Centurions’ signing of Gareth Hock from Salford and his subsequent appearance against his former club in the Challenge Cup in 2015.
The respective club owners are also engaged in another battle – a weight loss challenge to be the Biggest Loser in the Betfred Super League which will be revealed before their sides meet in the Dacia Magic weekend at the Sports Direct Arena on 21st May.
Beaumont said: “Whilst Marwan and me are good friends now, it didn’t start that way with the business over Gaz.
“Whilst we resolved that to a point, there was always a slight niggle that we had put to one side.
“So when the opportunity came about it was good to take it up to see how it would be perceived by a judge and who better than Judge Rinder?
“It was great to have a bit of fun whilst resolving a genuine issue and to be able to do it in an informal way that brings some attention to the game of rugby league to a massive mainstream daytime audience.
“It is well known we are both outspoken and not shy of the cameras and that we do our best to create attention for our great game.
“Judge Rinder was great fun, and apart from being an extremely intelligent man, he is a very funny guy as you will see.
“I have no doubt those that know Marwan and me will be watching to see if we received the famous Judge Rinder ‘pfffttt’ to pipe down whilst he talked.
“I hope people tune in and enjoy it for what it is. It’s currently one-nil to Marwan with Salford having beaten us on the field (on Good Friday), so this could be my chance to equalise before the weigh-in at the Dacia Magic Weekend.
“Whether that happens will remain to be seen until the show is screened on the 25th April.”
Judge Rinder is a British court show that has been broadcast regularly on ITV since August 2014.
The show is set in a studio mock-up of a real small claims courtroom with criminal barrister Robert Rinder as the judge, overseeing a variety of civil cases.
Judge Rinder, who is a practicing barrister with chambers in London, acts as an arbitrator in a form of binding arbitration, not as an actual judge, but his judgements are based in accordance with real UK law.
The claimant and defendant enter the courtroom separately and the case proceeds. When the case is concluded, Judge Rinder leaves through a door at the back of the courtroom, while the litigants are escorted by to the lobby outside, where they give their views to the camera about what they think about Judge Rinder’s decision.