A secret Chase-watching handshake is what we need

Idon’t know about you, but about 5pm every day, our TV gets switched on. As the toddlers do their expressive, after-bath nudie dances in the lounge, you will find me fumbling for the remote to ensure TVNZ 1 is on and my secret obsession then becomes the backdrop to my parenting witching hour.

Unless you don’t have a TV or watch On Demand shows (and that’s cool, whatever, your choice… I’m just not sure we can be friends), you may not be aware of this wonderful programme.

You might even still be one of those people who think that ‘‘Channel One’’ is for ‘‘old’’ people, but I’m here to tell you you’re missing out.

The Chase is amazing. Based in the United Kingdom, it features a quirky host, Bradley Walsh, and five ‘‘chasers’’ – wildly intelligent quiz champs whose general knowledge is next level.

A team of four contestants take on one of the chasers in rounds of quiz questions that amass them money that then gets shared between the remaining winning contestants if they defeat the chaser.

Sure, when I write it like that, it sounds like a dodgy Friday night at a local pub, and not the least bit interesting.

And to be fair, I can’t remember the last time I went out on the town, so my standard level of what could be considered entertainment may be severely lowered.

But in any case, I don’t think I am alone in my now not-sosecret obsession, as I’ve started to notice if I flick it on while other people are here, they give me a wee look and say ‘‘Oh, you watch this too?’’ and when I display my enthusiasm for the show, it gives them the green light to open up about who their favourite chaser is, their favourite memory, and thoughts on the host or structure of the show.

It is addictive. It is educational, competitive, entertaining, funny and useful. What more could one want in a TV show?

We Chaser fans totally need a secret Chaser-watching handshake.

And we could have taught one of the best chasers, Anne ‘‘The Governess’’ Hegerty, when she visited New Zealand recently. When I saw that Hilary Barry got to interview her, I fan-girled so hard that it even took me by surprise.

‘‘The Governess is in New Zealand’’ I excitedly told my husband, also a secret Chase fan, as he looked at me like I had gone full obsessed.

Everyone knows Kiwis love it when celebs come to our shores and we’re all desperate to know their thoughts on our country. Hearing that she loves the country from such an incredible brain like Anne’s somehow seems to make it more legit than if it was just another pop star.

And I loved knowing that she was genuinely surprised at how loved The Chase is.

The ratings back up what I’m saying too; Kiwis are lapping up the show.

So I’m here to tell you, as I out myself as a fan, that you too need not live behind the secrecy of your TV watching habits.

It’s OK to be in your 30s and

When I saw that Hilary Barry got to interview Anne Hegerty, I fan-girled so hard that it even took me by surprise.

share the same viewing habits as your mother.

My secret TV watching obsessions are not just limited to high-rating game shows.

Actually, I take that back. As much as I want to think of The Bachelor as an honest attempt at finding true love, I guess it is, I will reluctantly admit, a game show.

I was amused to see a story on Stuff this week about how the latest series of The Bachelor Australia, in its sixth reincarnation, is being watched by record number of males compared to previous seasons.

Having also been swallowed into the black hole of this show, and loving every second, I can see why and much of it is likely to be linked to likeable larrikin Bachelor Nick ‘‘Honey Badger’’ Cummins and his Ocker approach to life and dating.

Reading back over this column, I realise how sad this makes me sound.

I have always loved television, and balk at any report about how ‘‘dangerous’’ it is for young brains.

Granted, I don’t agree with kids being plonked in front of it as a substitute babysitter or parent, but some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from life have come from TV – from educational shows as a kid to my lifelong passion of current events sparked through watching the news at 6pm every night.

Television is an incredible medium.

In fact, I’ve learned more about King Henry VIII and his various wives from The Chase than I ever did in my schooling.

And the Honey Badger continues to teach me uses for the English language that baffle and entertain me.