REVIEW: The Chase Extra, Series One

 REVIEW: The Chase Extra, Series One

The Chase has had many spin-offs as of late, from The Chasers' Road Trip to Beat The Chasers (currently airing its third series), but perhaps the most obscure of these is The Chase Extra. Currently available to watch on the ITV Hub, The Chase Extra sees each chaser from the popular daytime quiz hosting their own round of quiz questions. Below are my thoughts on all six episodes, which are available to review from a laptop, tablet or phone.

Episode One

This is probably the most barebones of the ITV Hub spin-offs so far. The format consists of a chaser - this week, Anne Hegerty - giving the viewer a series of quiz questions, before the answers are revealed later in the programme. This episode also presents one of Anne Hegerty's favourite moments from the history of The Chase, which concerns comedian Omid Djalili facing the Governess as a part of the show's frequent celebrity editions.

I didn't do too well at the quiz, so I guess I should 'report' to Anne Hegerty for 'a telling off', as she puts it for those of us who scored between zero and four, but I guess there's always next week to aim for a higher score!

Episode Two

This one was overall a better episode than the first instalment. Mark Labbett seems a more natural presenter than Anne Hegerty, although I still did not perform well in the quiz. It was interesting also hearing his tips on how to do well at quizzing; it kind of makes a lot of sense to hear that you should work out the quizmaster's interests in order to gage an idea of the kind of questions that may crop up, and then research into any recent developments regarding their passion. A handy nugget of advice for any considering joining a quiz team for sure.

Episode Three

This episode sees Jenny Ryan take over asking the questions, and she does a decent job. She seems a natural at presenting to the camera, and she also demonstrates some great guitar skills too.

I did slightly better at the quiz this week, although my score was still woeful, so I doubt I'll be applying to go on The Chase anytime soon!

Episode Four

Judging by this episode of The Chase Extra, I'm not sure Shaun Wallace should be turning his hand to stand-up comedy just yet. He's not a bad presenter however, as he does a decent job at delivering the questions. I did slightly better at the quiz than in the previous episode, but my score remains woefully poor. These are hard questions for the most part though, and I have no idea how the Chasers possess so much knowledge in their brains. They must spend hours studying.

Episode Five

This episode proves what myself and my Dad have said all along, that Paul Sinha is not a natural presenter. You can tell he's reading off an autocue, and it's quite distracting to watch. He did very well at naming seventy elements of the periodic table though.

I did a lot better with the quiz here, actually managing to somehow answer five of the questions right. I'm not quite Chaser level, but five right answers is pretty good going for me.

Episode Six

This episode features Darragh Ennis, and he seems even less of a natural at presenting than Paul SInh. To be fair he hasn't had a great deal of experience in front of the camera, being pretty new to the job of the Chaser, but he does tend to rush through the reading of the questions a bit, and doesn't have that same command in the voice that great presenters such as Ant and Dec or Bradley Walsh possess.

I did a lot better than normal here at the quiz, getting seven questions correct. For me, that's pretty surprising, because I'm usually pretty thick!

To have future posts delivered direct to your inbox, click the three lines at the top and register for email notifications via the 'Follow by Email' box.

What are your thoughts on  The Chase Extra? Let me know in the comments section.