A Hull woman who recently featured on ITV's The Chase has taken to social media to reveal what filming the hit quiz show is really like.
Victoria, who was 23 at the time of filming, featured on the show on Thursday, August 29. The retail supervisor told presenter Bradley Walsh that she wanted to win the money so she and her father could go to Download Festival for the 'full VIP camping experience'.
A lover of music, Victoria spoke on the show of her band, which was nameless at the time. She took £1,000 back to her team after accepting the lower offer from Paul Sinha.
Sadly though, she did not take home any money after appearing as the only contestant left standing in the final round.
Now Victoria has taken to social media to talk about what she says was 'the best experience of her life'. She confessed she originally applied for the chase six years ago when she was only 18-years-old.
She said: "If you have applied for something like the Chase a long time ago and haven't heard anything back yet, don't be discouraged because it was five years before I actually got to go and film, so it was quite a while."
However, even after receiving the initial phone call asking if she was still interested in appearing on the show, there were still multiple stages to go through. "I did my audition and then they invited me to a second round of auditions - they were over Zoom. It was me and five other people. Two of us got shortlisted, so it was me and another guy," Victoria said.
"From the point of being shortlisted, you have to just wait and see if you get accepted, which I did. I got an email asking for a call so we could look at some filming dates. We decided the best time for me to film was going to be in October."
Victoria has praised the kindness of the producers throughout the experience. "They offered to pay for my trains because obviously I'm from the north. I did ask though if my dad could come with me and we go in the car because I have quite bad travel anxiety and I didn't really want to go on my own but I didn't want to miss out because of that.
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"They were really great and accommodating. My dad got to go with me and they got us a double hotel room in London so we could go together."
Once there, Victoria said the support didn't stop. "The producer came and picked us up and took us to the studio. We sat in the green room with some of the producers who were all really lovely. They told us how to interact with Bradley Walsh and what kind of things are good to say about yourself.
"I decided I wanted to talk about my band so I said that I'm really into music and I sing in a band."
Contestants are told to take five outfit choices, where a wardrobe team will make sure the clothing is appropriate for TV. They were also told to do their own makeup, and a team simply touched them up with powder before filming.
According to Victoria, they film multiple episodes throughout the day. She said: "I think we were like the second lot.
"I'm a theatre graduate so when I walked across the stage it was amazing. The set is a lot smaller than you think it would be. Bradley came over to say hello. We took a picture with him which they only sent recently because they say 'don't tell too many people you're going to be on the show' and obviously you can't tell anyone the outcome.
"Filming takes about an hour. There are a few bits that get cut out. They asked all of us which Chaser we wanted. I actually said Paul because he's my favourite. So that was pretty cool when he walked out."
Speaking of sections which were cut from the final TV show, Victoria said: "There was also a really fun bit which I was quite gutted that they cut. One of the other guys got a question about Hull, so there was a moment where Paul, Bradley and the other guy from the team all turned to look at me and I was just sat there. I did know the answer and I do know now why the phone box is cream - it's because we have our own phone network."
Sitting down to watch the show with her family was a 'surreal experience' for her and she confessed to ignoring advice from producers. "The producer did say 'Don't look at Twitter' while they episode is on. But because I'm nosey I had to go and have a look. Some people were really really harsh - Obviously I did take the lower offer but it was a positive offer. I wouldn't have got back if I didn't take it."
Although she didn't take home any money, Victoria says she doesn't mind. "I wasn't that bothered to be honest, I was just having a nice time. It was a really cool experience.
"Loads of people have been really lovely, so supportive. The band have really benefited from this which is really cool. I say in the show I'm in a band. We didn't have a name then. We do now, we're called Venerate and we have new music coming out soon.
"It was a really cool opportunity, I'm just really grateful for the whole thing."
