A former contestant on The Chase has unveiled hidden details of filming the beloved ITV series.

ITV’s hit game show The Chase has seen thousands of people stand behind the panel and take on the chasers in hopes of taking home a life-changing cash prize. This was the same for fertility therapist Nicola Crawley, who joined the show as a contestant in 2023.

Her general knowledge skills sailed her through to the next round as she impressed the other players during the cash builder round and brought back £5,000 to the table. In addition to preparing for the questions posed by host Bradley Walsh, Nicola was warned about the aftermath of her TV appearance. She revealed the producers demanded she stay away from social media for a few days after the episode aired due to the criticism from its notoriously harsh viewers.

The Chase

The Chase’ Bradley Walsh (Image: ITV)

Nicola lifted the lid via FruitySlots.com and shared: “Production staff advised us to stay off social media for a few days after our episode aired.

“They warned us about trolls and how they can be quite personal.” However, she admitted: “I did look online because I was curious and actually only saw positive comments.”

Offering more insight into the show’s backstage, the 50-year-old shared that the day starts around 8am when players are taken to the green room by producers who ask trial questions to get used to the format.

Nicola explained: “We were told to bring five outfits and they inspected them to make sure no one clashed or was wearing anything with a logo or something offensive.

Paul Sinha

Nicola lost against Paul Sinha (Image: ITV)“We had to do our hair and make-up before, but we got it touched up again. We started filming at 10am and were done by midday.”

Despite an impressive cash-builder round, Nicola was eventually eliminated after being chased out of the game by Paul Sinha, also known as The Sinnerman.

She recalled: “I did really well in the cash builder round and got eight of the questions right. But then I went to the table with £8000 and was playing against Paul Sinha.

“I really struggled in that round and only answered about two questions right. I wasn’t invited back for the final round but I had a great time overall.”