Video: Bermudian Wins On UK Game Show
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Bermudian Sarah Kempe Cooper recently appeared as a contestant on the popular British television quiz show The Chase, where she went head-to-head in a thrilling battle of wits alongside a team of fellow contestants.
Competing alongside a team of four, Ms Cooper successfully tested her general knowledge against a “chaser,” a professional quiz expert whose mission is to stop contestants from winning a cash prize.
In Ms Cooper’s case, the formidable “chaser” was none other than Darragh Ennis; however, she and her team-mates rose to the challenge, answering enough tricky questions to stay ahead of the “The Menace” and secure a cash pot of $22,500 [£17,000].
Ms Cooper said she intends to spend her share, roughly $5,500, on a vacation to Argentina.
With a regular audience of three to five million viewers, The Chase is one of the UK’s most successful and longest-running game shows.
Ms Cooper’s episode aired last month, although the actual filming took place in March last year at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, London.
Reflecting on her experience, Ms Cooper, who lives in Greater Manchester, believes her Bermudian roots helped her stand out during the rigorous audition process.
“My husband and I are huge fans of the show, and it was actually him who applied for me before the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ms Cooper, 56, told Bernews.
“Out of the blue, I got a phone call during lockdown. Someone from the show fired questions at me on the spot, and later, I had a Zoom audition with around 20 other hopefuls. In the end, they narrowed it down to just four of us.”
Ms Cooper, who moved to Greater Manchester in her mid-20s, described her experience on the show as “wonderful” but believes she might have been a slightly overexuberant in following the instructions to be cheery and supportive.
“We were encouraged to cheer each other on and stay positive,” she said. “That part comes naturally to Bermudians, but I think I might have been a bit too enthusiastic!”
Host Bradley Walsh, known for comedic interplay with the contestants, could not help but express his surprise at Ms Cooper’s decision to leave the island.
“Bradley kept saying, ‘How could you leave Bermuda and come to Manchester?’” she said.
“I told him I spent the first half of my life climbing palm trees and the second half in the rain! Unfortunately, much of the Bermuda-related conversation was edited out of the final broadcast.”
Despite her nerves, Ms Cooper credits the show’s crew for helping calm everyone.
“I was quite nervous, we all were, but the team did a great job of relaxing us,” she said. “It was just a lovely experience.”
As a former maths teacher and tutor, Ms Cooper calculated that her team only had about a per cent chance of beating the “chaser” based on previous episodes of the long-running show.
“We had a strong score, and it came down to the wire – we won by just one point!” said Ms Cooper, who was brought up in Paget.
“Darragh was very complimentary of our team after the match.”
After the show, Ms Cooper was encouraged by the producers to apply for more game shows, hinting that prior contestants have a better chance of being selected again.
“I’m not sure I could handle those nerves again, though!” she added.
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Well done!