EXCLUSIVE: The Chase winner Tom Oakley recently won an episode of the ITV quiz show and has shared some of the show's most surprising secrets after beating The Beast
09:00, 22 Dec 2024Updated 09:11, 22 Dec 2024
The Chase's 'hottest-ever' hunk has opened up about the ITV show's behind-the-scenes secret
The 30-year-old actor from Twickenham was one of this week's champs after he beat The Beast in the final round with two other contestants. Tom appeared to be very popular with viewers after many fans took to social media during the episode to fawn over the aspiring actor. He has since been dubbed the "hottest-ever" contestant in the history of the show.
Tom revealed he had left the army recently before filming for the show to carve out a career in acting and he is hoping to be back on screens soon. After finding his five-minutes of fame of the show, Tom spoke to us about what really went on off-camera.
When speaking exclusively to the Daily Star, he shared some surprising elements that fans would be surprised to know.
Filming facts
First things first, Tom said that despite his episode going out on Tuesday (December 16), he actually filmed it back in March 2023. Tom told us: "Yeah it was actually filmed almost two years ago - I didn't realise it would take that long.
"After we won, we got put in a green room and were told 'You're not allowed to tell anyone that you've won the chase, and you're not allowed to tell anyone that you've but which chaser you had.'
"And I thought, 'Oh, that'll be fine, because it will probably be aired within the next few weeks, and I don't need to keep it schtum for long'. But it had been almost two years, and I've had some relatives and friends who knew that I took part in The Chase, and I think they're suspicious that I did well because I seemed cheerful after.
"There's one friend in particular; every single time I see them, they're like, 'Yeah, shut up. Tell me which chaser you had and tell me if you won'.
"Now that it's finally there, I can actually have a more healthy relationship with The Chase super fans that I'm friends with. I can't believe it took so long."
Losing chair
Tom revealed that he felt "very bad" for his fellow contestant, Sam, who was eliminated during her individual round but was made to watch the rest of the show on a "plastic chair".
The TV star recalled: "I felt very bad for the lady, Sam, who got caught out by the chaser, because when she got taken away, she was just kind of sat with the producers on a plastic chair, watching us. So they don't even take them away somewhere else, so they're kind of just watching for the rest of it."
'A win is a win'
Tom also revealed that even if Sam didn't come away with a share of their £9,000 prize fund, she wouldn't have left empty-handed. He added: "I remember there being lots of sweets, in every room we went to there was there was a box of celebrations, so we had a lot of chocolate that day. We were also given our Chase water bottles. And the producers said, 'Even if you don't win anything today, you've got a water bottle'. So, even if you haven't won any money, at least you've got your little bottle. A win is a win!"
Final countdown
Another surprising element from the show that Tom revealed is that the contestants couldn't see the countdown clock in the final round, so he had no idea how close away from victory they were until the buzzer went off.
Tom explained: "In the final chase, you can't see the clock, which is on screen when you're at home. You can see the clock kind of counting down, but when you're in the studio, you can't see it. So I was convinced there was, like, 30 seconds still to go when The Beast was on his final question."
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