The Chase: Caldicot woman squares off against The Beast

Judith Davies, 64, appeared on the long-running show earlier this month alongside host Bradley Walsh and three other contestants in a bid to beat the expert Chaser over the table.

The “retired accounts manager from Monmouthshire” – as she introduced herself to teatime telly viewers – has spoken about her nail-biting application process and experience on the day of the shoot.

The wait... is on!

She applied in lockdown, out of boredom. The first step was an online form.

Next, the show’s production team fired 40 general knowledge questions at her over the phone. At this point, they told her she had made it to the next round “straight away” – but the wait had only just begun.

The first test of the application process was a 40-question quiz over the phone (Image: Judith Davies)

After passing the phone interview, it was time for the first camera test in the form of a group call on Zoom.

Ms Davies says she was one of around 10 applicants on the call, each of them hailing from South East Wales. Three of the show’s researchers ran the audition.

They each had to name things beginning with each letter of the alphabet. Ms Davies had to name jobs. Another applicant had kitchen objects.

Then, the group were split and faced with a “final chase” scenario, tackling the questions as a team.

Half of the applicants were ejected from the process. The other half – including Ms Davies – were told they had made the cut.

“Even though we were chosen, we were told there was still only a 90 per cent chance of getting on the show,” Ms Davies said.

She watched the show every evening, practising for her turn. For two years, the call never came, and Ms Davies started to think she was in the unlucky 10 per cent who would never put her practice to the test.

“We were away in London for the weekend, in a busy place, and I had a call which I couldn’t hear,” she told the Argus. “I thought it was double glazing or loft installations and asked them to call me when I was home. It was actually The Chase!”

Ms Davies (left) appeared on Friday's episode of The Chase (Image: Judith Davies)

She was notified two weeks before the filming took place and stayed at a hotel near the studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and was collected at 7am on the day - a whole year before the programme went to air.

They film three episodes in a day, Ms Davies explains, and she was in the first of the three.

Players are asked to pack a suitcase with five outfits so the production team can find the right balance for the cameras.

Producers have a formula for determining the order of players, the Monmouthshire mum revealed - but she never learned what it was!

“I didn’t mind being last," she said. "I thought if I get knocked out, I will still be on the telly quite a bit! If you are going to do this, you try and get your 10 seconds of fame.”

As the oldest player on the team, she particularly enjoyed getting to “connect” with her teammates and only had good things to say about the "really nice" Bradley Walsh.

“I wanted Shaun (the Dark Destroyer), just because I really like him," she admitted. "But I had a feeling it would be Mark because he was a maths teacher at Caldicot Comprehensive School when my children were there, and I mentioned that in my application.

“He was just like he is now – larger than life. He would enter other classrooms even though he wasn’t their teacher and give them quizzes.”

The Chase is available to watch on ITVX.