The Chase - TV review

There's nothing better than tuning into a good old-fashioned teatime question and answer quiz show with the family after a hard day at work and school.

Everyone can get involved, guessing the answers and marvelling at the intelligence, or otherwise, of the under-pressure contestants.

TV producers, however, face the unenviable task of coming up with ever-new ways of repackaging the shows to keep them fresh and dynamic.

The Chase has now been on TV for a while but it has put a new spin on the Q&A format, and it has become a firm favourite in our household.

The show, for those who don't know, pits everyday contestants against one of a number of freakishly knowledgeable Chasers.

A team of four contestants tries to amass as much money as possible by answering quick-fire questions in a 60-second round. The money earned will go towards the team kitty, but there is one person standing in their way – a quiz genius known as the Chaser.

The Chaser's job is to catch each contestant and make sure the players are not able to put the money into the kitty, which the team must collectively play for in The Final Chase.

The Chaser is answering the same questions and if the contestant gets any wrong, and the Chaser catches up with them on the game board, they're out of the show.

These Chasers boast some of the best quiz brains in Britain and have an encyclopaedic knowledge of almost everything. If I knew where the producers found them, they would be my first choice of companion for any pub quiz, and definitely a phone-a-friend on a certain other Q&A quiz show.

Their physical stature seems to match the size of their brains – they are larger than life in almost every respect.

Last night's episode saw the newest Chaser – Paul Sinha – set out to thwart a team of hopefuls made up of Ian, a veterinary surgeon from Staffordshire, Gwerfyl, from the Vale of Glamorgan, Dan, from Stoke, and Deborah, of Watford.

Sinha, nicknamed The Sinnerman, is a comedian and broadcaster.

He gives first contestant Ian a sarcastic welcome, suggesting as a vet he has eaten most of his patients. But this is laughed off by Ian who stands his ground and proves a worthy match for his opponent.

Gwerfyl also is more than a match for the Chaser with her huge general knowledge and the prize money soon grows.

But the second half of the Staffordshire contingent, Dan, is given short shrift and a couple of wrong answers mean he is the first to be sent packing by The Sinnerman.

Eventually the prize fund stands at £16,000 and the contestants prepare for The Final Chase.

They answer an impressive 19 questions, meaning the Chaser has to match that achievement within two minutes to knock them out. After a couple of wrong answers (does anyone over the age of 10 really know who played Alex in the Wizards of Waverley Place?), the Chaser gets worried, but he makes it comfortably with 10 seconds to spare, leaving the contestants with nothing.

Sinha is an entertaining Chaser with a few sarcastic jokes thrown in for good measure.

But it is the gentle, albeit cheesy, humour of eternally upbeat host Bradley Walsh that really makes this show a family favourite.

Sally-Anne Youll