Burton Latimer's Terry takes down the chaser

A cross-stitch designer from Burton Latimer pocketed more than £5,000 after taking down a quiz champion on ITV's The Chase.

Terry West, 47, won £5,500 on the popular quiz show in an episode which aired on Monday last week (October 26).

He shared £22,000 with co-contestants Jane, Alex and Steve after they pipped Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan by just one point.

But he had to keep his cash bonus a secret from friends and family for almost a year - as the episode was filmed last November before its screening was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He told the Northants Telegraph: "The only person that knew was my wife.

"It would have been a lot easier to keep quiet if I had lost!"

Terry, who plays in two bands and enjoys ballroom dancing, likes watching quiz shows and first applied to be on The Chase almost two years ago before getting a phone interview out of the blue in 2019.

After getting through to the next stage he went to an audition in Cambridge and earned himself a place on the show, heading down to Elstree studios for filming.

He scored a respectable five in the quickfire round and ignored the lower offer of -£5,000 and the higher offer of £63,000, which he admitted he was "sort of tempted by".

And his decision to take the sensible option paid off as he made it through to the final round with two correct answers in a row as The Vixen was breathing down his neck, before his team won the final showdown.

Terry, who was jokingly coined Terry the Tango by the chaser, said: "You don't expect to win. Not many people do on the show."

When asked by show host Bradley Walsh how he would spend his money, he said he hoped to go to Blackpool to dance but his hopes were later dashed by the ongoing pandemic.

Instead, he's bought new guitar and bass amps, a car, done up his garden, paid off a bit of his mortgage and put some money aside for a trip away so he and wife Liz can celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary next year.

He was a popular man when the show aired, with dozens of messages of support left on social media for "Burton Latimer's Terry".

Terry said he was overwhelmed by the comments left on a local Facebook group and that he enjoyed "putting our little town on the map".

He added: "My phone was going absolutely nuts when it aired, it buzzed all the way through."

And you may soon catch Terry on another quiz show - as he's since applied to go on Tipping Point and Pointless with a friend.

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