A lucky contestant on The Chase from Liverpool who became one of just a few to make it all the way to the big prize has spoken about his experience on the show. Steven Sneade, 69, from Liverpool, lifted the lid to OLBG on what it’s like on the other side of the camera.
The ITV quiz show sees contestants face off against a formidable quiz champion – the Chaser. Steven went head-to-head with Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha back in 2017, making it to the final and walking away with his share of his team’s impressive £17,000 prize pot.
The contestant has spoken about strict clothing rules contestants have to follow, and explained why filming an episode takes two and half hours, which is later whittled down in the editing room to a 45-minute programme. Speaking about the application process, he said: “It was three years from doing the online application to the show actually being broadcast.
“It was the very first programme I applied for. The audition process was very thorough, luck just went my way to be honest.”
He shared further details about the telephone interview, revealing he was asked questions about his likes and dislikes and what he would do with my money. Steven also had to answer 20 general knowledge questions before he was invited to an in-person interview.
And he faced a long wait before finally making it on stage. “After about two years I got a call and the production person. They were thinking about casting me, but they asked if I had been on any other shows,” said Steven.
“I had been on Tipping Point, so they said they would be back in touch next year. They don’t want people being on those two programmes so close together – apparently they get a lot of backlash for having the same people on different shows.”
Before filming, contestants are given advice on what to wear. Steven said: “You had to avoid anything with a heavy pattern. With the high-definition cameras, strong small patterns can wobble.”
He claimed contestants have to take five different shirts and three pairs of trousers which are held up to the camera to check. Then producers pick what you wear.
The Scouse contestant said: “You’re told that if you don’t bring anything that’s suitable they’ll pick something from wardrobe. But they warn you it might be something you don’t like.”
Explaining how much is filmed which doesn’t make it onto screens, Steven said host Bradley Walsh always chats to the contestants before the cash builder round, most of which is edited out.
Steven said while he was face-to-face with ‘The Sinnerman’, the Chaser came out with quite a lot of Beatles jokes – which also didn’t make it to broadcast.
When breaks happened on TV, staff “would come over with a bottle of water to keep hydrated.” The make-up person would come over too.
Steven discussed the off-camera version of host Bradley, saying: “He was very friendly. You can tell he’s genuinely on the side of the contestants.
“He really sided with us. He came out and shook all our hands and we had a bit of a chat. He was really genuine when he was talking to us.”
After winning The Chase, Steven offered an insight into what happens: “You have to promise you won’t tell anyone apart from your close family, so I had to keep it a secret for nine months. I did, I gave my word I wouldn’t tell anyone so I didn’t.
“If you win you have to sign another contract as you’re accepting money from them. They told us not to give money to the contestants who didn’t win money just because you feel sorry for them.