GIRL POWER; Mercury daredevil loses out in bar challenges: HE has been werewolf hunting, hurtled down an ice track at 80mph and broken bones mountain biking in Andorra. Now madcap reporter JONNY DANGEROUS has taken up a mystery challenge at a Birmingham bar.

THE invitation was intriguing: "Dare you be beaten by a girl? "If so then meet our sexy TV siren tonight to find out more." Never one to shy away from a dare I found myself enjoying a bottle of beer and a mouthful of crisps at the appointed hour in Birmingham's Bar Risa.

Just as I feared the letter had been a hoax I felt a tap on my shoulder and found a familiar face looking back at me.

But before I had time to admire gorgeous Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallet, she was barking orders at me.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

"You haven't got time for that Jonny, I have got three challenges for you, follow me."

After dragging me from my stool the sassy soap star introduced me to her all-female team. I was told I'd be taking on Norwegian freestyle footy goddess Charlotte Lade, 21, in a keepyuppy contest.

Joanne Poole, a 17-year-old arm wrestling champion, would then be testing my strength in a head-to-head duel.

Finally I would be trying to copy the moves of 26-year-old contortionist Yvette Du Sol.

Not too difficult for a man of my calibre! Sexy soccer star Charlotte suffered an injury-plagued playing career, but that setback only inspired her to greatness in the freestyle football world.

With her tight fitting trainers on, she caressed the ball into the air, where it stayed for a good two and a half minutes as she performed dozens of bewitching tricks. Hampered by either the bright stage lights, lack of space or my innate poor technique, my attempt ended in failure as the ball quickly bounced out of my control and down the bar.

Emasculated by my poor soccer skills, it was time for the armwrestle.

Joanne, whose dad Richard is a former national champion, regularly beats men twice her age and size. As we locked hands ready for our duel, I tried to use my toughest death stare on her.

But the power of my steely gaze could do nothing to help me as the teenager from Slough took just a second to rip my arm down onto the spongy, padded table.

A second attempt was no better, even though she gripped my wrist rather than my hand to reduce her power, it was all over in the blink of an eye.

Humiliated and bruised, I sighed as contortionist Yvette pranced serenely to her podium, where she whipped through an astonishing routine of eye-watering manoeuvres.

My long and mostly rigid limbs couldn't dream of doing what 26-year-old Yvette had managed to achieve in a few seconds.

I enlisted her help, along with arm-wrestler Jo, to catch my legs as I attempted a schoolyard handstand.

Some measure of pride restored, I still had to accept that I had been outmanned in all three challenges.

Roxanne kindly gave me half a point for my acrobatics, but that still made the final score Girls 2.5 - Jonny 0.5.

CAPTION(S):

FIGURING IT OUT: Jonny with contortionist Yvette Du Sol. WEAKER SEX?: Jonny Dangerous with arm-wrestler Joanne Poole and (inset below) with Charlotte Lade.