Can Alan ‘Beat the Chasers’ on TV quiz?

Alan McClarty, who is well known to local theatre-goers, will take on the Chasers in the ITV quiz hosted by Bradley Walsh on Saturday, October 2.

Head of Drama at Cambridge House Grammar School in Ballymena, Alan said: “I have always been told I should apply for a quiz show by friends and family.

“A friend of mine, Kellyann McKillen, had previously been on The Chase and had sent me a link to the application for a different show and I then saw that Beat the Chasers was looking for applicants. In my opinion, it is one of the best game shows in recent years. I thought I’d go for it and I applied then and there.

“I filled in a form and recorded a short video. A few weeks later the production team rang me. I was auditioned right there on the phone. I had to answer some quiz questions and explain my reasons for entering.

“I then had a virtual audition on Zoom. This was fun. We played games and talked about ourselves, before doing a two minute ‘Final Chase.’ At the end of this we were told if we would be considered for the show. I was lucky enough to get through. It was several weeks later that they said I had been selected for filming.

“As chance would have it, I was due to be in London at the time as I was running a Half Marathon there. It give me an excuse to extend my stay for a couple of days.”

Sworn to secrecy about the outcome of his appearance, Alan did describe his experience on the show as “incredible”.

“I met some amazing people from the Beat the Chasers team and fellow contestants,” he said.

“We were well looked after before, during and after the recording.”

A lifelong film fan, and particularly Star Wars, Alan was also thrilled that the recording took place on the Skywalker Sound Stage at Elstree.

“We only encountered the actual Chasers (and the brilliant Bradley Walsh) when we were on the studio floor playing the game.

“They were all great but my abiding memory was looking up, during a break in recording, to see Shaun ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Wallace smiling down at me and giving me a big thumbs up!

“That really put me at ease.”

Tune in on Saturday to see how Alan gets on...