Belinda White, who is a Paraplanner in our Manchester office, was on our television screens in October as she appeared as a contestant in The Chase on ITV.
Belinda was the first of the contestants to compete against one of the resident ‘Chasers’ and did brilliantly as she passed through the first round against “The Menace”, Darragh Ennis, and secured £6,000 for the prize pot. She was joined by two other contestants in the final round, where they competed for £14,000, although unfortunately came up short despite Belinda’s great efforts.
Belinda says, “I love quiz shows and I can be very competitive. Originally, I applied for Tenable with some friends but Covid happened so I decided it must be easier to arrange a solo appearance. Last year I looked online and saw The Chase was accepting applicants, so I applied trying to make myself sound as fun and competitive as possible.
“My initial application was successful, and I was invited to the first of two January Zoom auditions; both sessions were fun, relaxed and interactive. At the end of the second audition, I found out I was successful and soon received a filming date in February. Alas, Covid struck again, and I eventually filmed in April.
“The TV company provided transport to Elstree Studios, and I was put up in a hotel overnight as we were required at the studio for 7am. The Chase films three episodes a day, all with different Chasers and it is a very slick operation. Everything was designed to put us contestants at ease with breakfast, wardrobe ironing our clothes and make-up even did my eyelashes! We were also given personalised water bottles.
“Darragh was the Chaser I was up against, and I had the opportunity to speak with him afterwards, he is a very nice and down to earth guy. Bradley Walsh was lovely and chatty and it’s surprising how good his general knowledge is.
“It was a fantastic experience; the people behind the camera were very welcoming and reassuring and I truly enjoyed my morning at Elstree Studios. I definitely recommend anyone to apply.”