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Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I won thousands on The Chase – the casting process took THREE years and producers coached us on how to act
Bosses encouraged the contestants to act a certain way on the programme chasing a place I won thousands on The Chase – the casting process took THREE years and producers coached us on how to act Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A CONTESTANT on The Chase has revealed that it took him three whole years to complete the casting process for the quiz show. Steven Sneade, 69, from Liverpool, was one of the contestants on the programme but getting to the TV studios was a lengthy and complicated process. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Steven Sneade won against Paul Sinha on The Chase Credit: OLBG/PressBox PR 4 The show has seen a plethora of players over the years Credit: ITV He took part in the show in 2017 and faced-off against Chaser Paul Sinha back in 2017 and ended up walking away with £5,700. As The Chase reaches its 16th year on air this month, Steven spoke to OLBG about his time on the programme. In the interview, Steven said: 'It was three years from doing the online application to the show actually being broadcast. It was the very first programme I applied for. "I applied online and heard back about a telephone interview very quickly, it was only a couple of weeks. It was very speedy. "In the telephone interview they asked questions about my likes and dislikes, what I would do with my money, and various personal details. They asked if I watched the show. "Then I had to answer 20 general knowledge questions, but they couldn't tell you how many you got right. At the end of the call they invited me to the in person audition." Steven then went on to reveal how he had to face-off against 10 others in mock rounds of the show before undertaking a solo screen test. He continued: 'There were a lot of people at the in-person interview, so we were broken up into groups of 10. "We played a few little games to try and relax people, then we played a mock up of The Chase which went well. "We also had to do a minute piece to camera, just introducing ourselves and saying a few bits - we had to make ourselves stand out. And there was another general knowledge test, where we had to answer another 20 questions." The Chase fans left screaming as player gets 'ridiculously easy' question wrong - but would you know the answer- Steven went on to confirm that only two of the ten people in his group made it though to the next stage but it took a further TWO years for them to contact about moving forward with his application. Steven said: 'After about two years I got a call and the production person they were thinking about casting me, but they asked if I had been on any other shows. "I had been on Tipping Point, so they said they would be back in touch next year. "They don't want people being on those two programmes so close together - apparently they get a lot of backlash for having the same people on different shows.' After a further year had passed, Steven eventually managed to make it onto the show but admitted that show bosses gave the contestants tips on how to come across. He revealed they were shown examples of good and bad contestants on-screen with producers encouraging then to be lively and outlandish during filming. 4 The casting process took three years for Steven to get on the show Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk 4 It was worthwhile as he triumphed over Paul Credit: ITV Steven said: 'They showed you a video of someone who wasn't a very good contestant, and then they showed you one of someone who was very lively - and they said they would rather we were lively. "They gave us tips and tricks - like telling us they can edit bits out if we said something we shouldn't have." Steven's time on the show proved lucky as he was able to walk away with one third of the £17,000 prize he won with two of his teammates. He also received his winnings just a week after filming despite being warned that it could take up to three months. Steven confirmed: 'If you win you have to sign another contract as you're accepting money from them. "They told us not to give money to the contestants who didn't win money just because you feel sorry for them. They can't stop you, but I think they just don't want you to have that in mind. "They said [the money] could take three months, but I had it in a week.'
Axios
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
Want a Celia Cruz bobblehead? Marlins announce giveaways
Marlins Opening Day is Thursday — and with a new season comes new food offerings and free swag at loanDepot Park. Why it matters: Throughout the season fans can enjoy the new Lineup Food Hall, lounge, themed nights and giveaways. What's new: Inside the food hall are three new dining options, plus a bar: Beisbowl serves make-your-own bowls; the Press Box, classic stadium bites plus a Cuban sandwich; and The Sweet Spot, for dessert. The Bullpen Bar & Grill is the new sports lounge. Want a free bobblehead or themed jersey? Here's the full bobblehead-giveaway lineup and a few themed games for the 2025 season:
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Love Island isn't as 'life-changing' for stars anymore, according to expert
After Love Island All Stars came to an end on Monday, one PR expert explained why appearing on the show isn't as "life-changing" as it used to be. Press Box entertainment and TV PR, Lynn Carratt, told Yahoo UK: "Appearing on Love Island used to be life-changing for many of its contestants, you could go from being relatively unknown to amassing hundreds of thousands and millions in some cases of social media followers and when leaving the villa it opened up a whole new world of brand deals and TV deals." Molly-Mae Hague is the most successful star to be born from Love Island, recently the centre of her own docuseries Molly-Mae: Behind It All. Other Love Island showbiz success stories include presenter Olivia Attwood as well as real-life married and TV couple Olivia and Alex Bowen. "Some of the Islanders become millionaires after the show," Carratt added, speaking on behalf of "Look at current All Stars Gabby Allen and Ekin-Su Culculoglu, who are already worth a reported £1.6m each. However, it has become more challenging to build your success after appearing on the show in recent years." Gabby Allen and Casey O'Gorman took home the £50,000 prize on Monday, although Allen said she didn't even know there was a prize for winning the ITV show which is hosted by Maya Jama. It was the least watched series of the show since 2016 but it ended with one million switching on for the final, according to ratings figures reported SuperTV. Lots has changed since Love Island first hit our screens on 2015, when the ITV dating show was first presented by late Caroline Flack. "More than 300 people have now appeared on the UK edition of the show — being an ex-Islander is no longes lucrative as it used to be," talent manager Carratt said. "At the shows peak in 2019, it attracted six million viewers compared to its one to two million these days. Also the dating genre of TV shows is becoming saturated with more competition from streaming services." Love Island has fierce competition in shows such as franchises Married At First Sight and Love Is Blind. Only recently ITV's 'Love Island for the older generation' spin-off My Mum, Your Dad, fronted by Davina McCall, has been axed after just two seasons. Another change that impacted the Love Island contestants' outreach post-show is the social media ban, according to the PR expert, which was implemented in 2023 as part of ITV's "continued commitment to duty of care". PR guru Carratt said: "A big change came in 2023 after bosses put on a social media ban on cast's families representing them while they are in the villa, it has had a massive impact on their outreach and therefore after appearing on Love Island their following wasn't on a par with the cast of previous seasons. But they didn't implement this on the All Stars this year." With Love Island All Stars, all of the contestants have appeared on the show before. Even that return comes with an element of risk, claimed the PR expert. She said: "This year, Ekin-Su, who came in as a bombshell, has the most significant public profile, with over four million followers on social media. However, after her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, she had much to do to win back the public. "She quickly paired up with Curtis but the pair have done little to win over the public. Although Ekin has brought the much-needed drama, odds show the pair were the least likely couple to win the show. "It's always a risky move to return to the Love Island villa. You can never be quite sure of the public's reaction to you. Reality stars return to the villa to regain their public profile. They'll be on TV daily, returning them to the public's consciousness." Despite the challenges now faced when heading out into the real world and the spotlight, Carratt said many of the islanders can make "in excess of one million" in brand deals after leaving the villa — especially highlighting the last All Stars series. "They already have a large following," she explained. "We saw how well Molly Smith did last year after winning alongside her new beau Tom Clare. She's gained millions of followers and bagged a number of lucrative brand deals in the process, making her one of the most successful Islanders to date." Looking at the prospect of this year's winners, the PR predicted Allen and O'Gorman could indeed "make in excess of £1 million in the next year". "Before reentering Love Island, Gabby was already a millionaire and was commanding thousands for a social media post to her one million followers which have grown by 100,000 since her stint in the villa," she said. "Casey's following was much lower than Gabby's but again has grown by almost 100,000 since her return to the villa and he is now almost at 400k. But could the pair now become a power couple? Like Olivia and Alex Bowen. "I could definitely see them hosting their own podcast together like Casey's former friend Will and his girlfriend Jesse. I could also see them doing joint brand deals together with the likes of ebay and holiday brands like Vibe by Jet 2. "Gabby I believe will be courted by fitness brands like lululemon and I can see the pair appearing on other reality TV shows — Gabby would be great on Celebrity SAS and I'd love to see Casey give Dancing on Ice a whirl."
