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The Chase has been a much-loved staple of British television since it first appeared on ITV back in 2019. Hosted by Bradley Walsh, hundreds of contestants have appeared on the quiz show over the years, with them all being ever hopeful to go home slightly richer after beating the Chaser.

As of 2024, Chasers Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan and Darragh Ennis are the quizzers that the players go head-to-head with. While many fans have their favourite Chaser, recently one player was dubbed “the best ever” as they appeared to be a favourite of Shaun’s.

Tom Williamson, a computer programmer who lives in Liverpool, appeared on an episode which aired on October 22. He was in the hot seat as the first contestant to take on the Chaser of the evening.

He wowed fans at home as he managed to answer every single question thrown at him by Bradley Walsh correctly. In the next round, when offering a high offer of £60,000, Chaser Shaun Wallace said: “Tom, you’re probably one of the best players I’ve ever played against in my 14 years of The Chase. Try this for size.”

Now the player, who suffered from a very rare medical condition called haemorrhagic cavernoma before appearing on the show, has shared what it’s really like behind the scenes of the popular ITV quiz show.

Bradley Walsh hosts The Chase on ITV (Image: ITV)

The Chase application process

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Tom said: “They tell you this in advance, they say they are going to record you talking about yourself for about one minute. And they don’t give you another go.

“So, you have to write a script. You have to know exactly what you’re saying and have an idea of what they want to hear. They want everything to be fast and understandable.”

He shared that they also get you to answer some questions as part of the application process, similar to the cashbuilder round, but don’t share your results with you. Tom continued: “You also get a researcher calling you, and I must have had about five phone calls with them, each lasting about an hour. So they want to know everything about you.

“One of the things that they try and get you to do is share something quite interesting that you are going to do with the money.” The contestant shared that his original plans for any winnings were to go travelling to see his family in America. However, he was told: “Everyone says that,” and was asked to think of something else.

He shared that the introduction that each player does on the ITV show, when speaking to host Bradley Walsh, may only last for about a minute on screen but “has about a year’s worth of preparation behind it.”.

Tom shared what it was like to be a contestant on The Chase (Image: ITV)

Inside the ITV Chase studio

Tom shared that it was a “fantastic” experience overall. He said: “They make you feel like a TV star for the day. They put you up in a hotel, which was the most fun.

“The hotel I stayed in was almost exclusively used by The Chase contestants.” He said that they got chatting in the evening at the bar and soon discovered that they were all there for the same reason.

The player continued: “You had a bunch of people all there for the same reason and all really excited about what was going to happen. That was a great atmosphere. We worked out that there were three groups, with the first one starting recording at 7am, then one at 9am and another group at 1pm.

“When you get there, you learn that it’s pretty much a military operation. You get about an hour with your team [before going into the studio] and get shown a presentation of what makes a good contestant, what makes a bad contestant and they give you tips.

“My favourite tip was to try and show up the Chaser if you can. If you get a question and you’ve got some knowledge on it, if you give the question knowledge then you’re showing the Chaser up.”

He shared a bit more about the day’s routine as he said: “You finally get taken to the studio in a little buggy and when you get in there it’s just so overwhelming. I’d never been in a TV studio before or experienced an atmosphere like it.

“But you’ve got absolutely no time to adjust to it because you’re then introduced to the director and the independent adjudicator. You’re told if there’s any question about anything then they get involved.”

After that Bradley Walsh comes out to introduce himself to the team. Tom shared: “He gave us a little speech, which I think he must give to everyone.” The player shared that the host asked them to call him Brad as “Bradley is too formal”.

One person that the players are not introduced to before filming begins is the Chaser. Tom explained that all crew members have a radio and ensure that corridors are clear before contestants are allowed to move about. While the players are allowed toilet breaks, the staff work hard to ensure that they don’t bump into any other teams or Chasers.