I was really honoured to be asked by Oprah to take part in a series like Oprah's Big Give and I completely didn’t expect to learn so much by doing it. As a foreigner, it has really helped me to see a totally different side of America. What I knew of America came mostly from the stuff I heard on the news, but being a judge on this show gave me a chance to see how wonderful and diverse the country is; from the different beliefs people have and the accents they speak with, to the ways they spend time together.

The people I met and spent time with were so warm and friendly and helped me see that England and America are not as dissimilar as I’d once thought. The sort of problems this show brought up, be it homelessness, poverty, people in trouble, or war veterans in need, were problems that I saw when I returned home too. That made me realise that my “Big Give” radar was already switched on.

And as for the actual competition, I have to be honest and say I didn't really know who would be standing at the end. As the weeks went on, some of the contestants seemed to get more and more thoughtful and their gives became more genuine. At the same time, some of the people I had thought were really on the ball at the beginning started struggling and became less able to deliver impressive gives. My opinions and emotions about who would win changed several times over the course of the show.

Stephen did particularly well in the final challenge, and congratulations to him for winning because I think it was a pretty tough competition all the way through. Cameron and Brandi were bloody good competitors. Though it took a little bit longer for Cameron to open up and show his softer side, once he did, he was fantastic.

Brandi was also a close runner-up. She proved that the clichés about beauty queens aren’t true and turned out to be a bright, fantastic, hard working lady. I think she managed to be tough at the right times and emotional at the right times.

And as for the cash prize, Oprah didn’t even tell me about the money, so I was just as surprised as the contestants when they found out! I know for a fact they were shocked by this twist because I saw their reactions firsthand. As a judge, the question is; Would I have made different choices if I knew I was giving away $1,000,000? I don’t think I would have, and I’m still happy with the decisions I made. I want to say a big thank you to everyone who got into the spirit of the Big Give over the course of the series. I really hope you all continue to give big. It’s been a fantastic experience – Cheers!

I've gotten a lot of questions since Oprah's Big Give started about what it was like working with Malaak and Tony for all those weeks, and I must say: It was an absolute pleasure. I had never met either of them before the show – I knew of Malaak's husband Chris, who I think is very funny. But, being an English boy and not really understanding American football, I have to admit I didn’t know much about Tony Gonzalez. But over the two to three months of making the show I became very close to both of them. They each have their own charities and are wonderful, inspirational people in their own right. It was an honour to be judging with them. No judge drama here!

Looking back on tonight's episode, I think Rachael helped to make that demonstration look incredible. She is incredibly talented and sang beautifully and from the heart. Malaak and I were looking at each other going, “Bloody hell! She’s good!” Then, of course Natalie Cole came out and was amazing. So to be sitting in Carnegie Hall with all of that going on was a completely beautiful thing. As a member of the audience, I didn’t notice anything other than a beautiful ‘give’ happening. But of course, behind the scenes, the rest of the team were riled at Rachael for, as they saw it, doing what she wanted rather than listening to other people. So we decided to send her home NOT because she wasn't incredibly effective at giving – which clearly she was – but because teamwork was a large part of what we had to judge on in this episode.

I can’t wait for you all to see what happens next week. Remember, we’re on at a new time!

When you're giving back, it's not always about the amount of money or goods donated. There needs to be some connection with the receiver or some personal thought that makes the receiver feel special, not like just another charity case. Taking the extra few moments to go the extra mile tells a person that you understand them and appreciate what they are going through. That's what makes a give really big.

At this point in the game we’re really starting to get to the micro-details. We’re having to look at not just how much people did, but exactly what they did and how effective or necessary it was for the people who needed it.

The thing about Kim is that she was still letting herself get lost every five seconds. She could have dealt with that by sorting herself out with a navigation system and turning up to places on time, but unfortunately, she didn’t.

I think Eric is a wonderful person who really has the big give spirit. He has done some great things for other people on the show and off. I know he is a fan favorite. And In terms of the show, he was a real contender, I thought he may even make it to the end. But on this episode somehow he got off track. He did give away alot of money and that was great... but it felt to me that he got flustered by not keeping his promise of going back to pay for Ralph White's funeral. At the end, he seemed a bit rushed and got everyone a load of gift cards...

It was very clear when we totted up what everyone did that Kim and Eric had to be the ones to go. I never like the goodbye bit but when it comes down to it, we can only do our jobs and judge them on what they did, nothing else.

As for why people had a hard time giving their money away, I think spending money on yourself can be quite easy. But if you’re given the task of spending a large amount of money on other people, quickly and in a way that can make a sustainable difference to them, it can be difficult.

The pressure's definitely on now that the contestants know they have to make every penny they spend count towards doing something good for other people. It's bloody hard… especially with only 24 hours to do it!

Tonight's episode was the first individual challenge, yet the boys - Cameron, Eric and Stephen - formed a group! I'm torn on how I feel about that. But the boys ended up scraping through the challenge by the skin of their teeth and - if you divide what they raised by three - they still managed to raise a good amount of money. It seems that they found comfort in working with each other, which is fine. But from personal experience I know that sometimes making the environment around you comfortable means you don't get to fully experience the moments of brilliance that can occur when people are challenged by really tough things.

As for the elimination, Angelo is a good, sweet man with a heart of gold. Unfortunately, we never truly got to see his potential because he made a silly mistake by giving his car to the bar manager. And yes, it was great that the bar manager had helped him out for the give, but when it comes down to it, he wasn't the person in real need.

I think Angelo should have either given the car to Jason or auctioned it off and given him the money. I am sure that if I were a soldier who had just poured his heart out to Angelo and then watched him give a car away to a restaurant manager, I would be asking myself "Where's my car gone?!" So although Angelo's idea of 'paying it forward' by giving the car to the manager was sweet, it just didn't make sense to us.

I will say this though, it's really, really hard to send someone home when they are trying to do good deeds. It's not like the contestants were ever standing up on a stage and dancing or singing badly. Everyone on the show was trying to do great things and we often had to send people home over the smallest details. Basically, I tried to put myself in their position and think about what I would have done in their place - that made decisions a little easier.