Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Frank tames The Beast to become telly quiz show’s all-time greatest
Share of £11,000 for champ Bradley said it was the performance of the century and the floor manager said I was now a Chase legend
An Airdrie grandad has been hailed as The Chase’s “best player ever” after answering 20 questions on the hit TV quiz show to collect a share of £11,000.
Retired teacher Frank Livingstone stunned millions of viewers with a blistering round that host Bradley Walsh described as “the performance of the century”.
But he had to keep quiet about his win for a staggering two years, as the show wasn’t aired on STV until Friday.
Frank, 63, answered seven questions correctly in the first round then decided to go for £7000 despite chaser Mark “The Beast” Labett making him a higher offer of £21,000.
He made the final with one other contestant, who answered no questions as Frank buzzed for 20 to win them £5500 each.
Stunned host Walsh said it was the best individual performance he had ever seen.
Dad- of- two Frank,
Frank Livingstone
a former teacher at St Philip’s School in Plains, applied for The Chase after retiring three years ago and travelled to Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire.
He said: “It was an absolutely f a nt a s t i c experience.
“As you travel up and down in 24 hours it was a bit tiring but overall I had the time of my life.
“They are quite strict about keeping you away from the Chasers before filming but I spent a fair bit of time with Bradley, who is an absolute legend. He’s exactly as he comes across on screen.
“I’d said that I wanted to go up against The Beast because he’s a bad loser. He was very competitive and likes to stare you down.
“In the final round, the other guy Adam didn’t answer any questions and I was hardly going to stop and ask him if he wanted to answer the next one.
“I was in a kind of zone. “Afterwards, Bradley said it was the performance of the century and the floor manager said I was now a Chase legend because nobody had ever done that before.”
Frank, who is quizmaster and part-time DJ at his home town’s West End Bar, found it tough to keep the outcome of his awesome performance secret ahead of the episode’s broadcast.
He said: “It was murder keeping it all quiet!
“Every day people were asking me, ‘ when are you on The Chase?’, and, ‘did you take the lower offer and how much did you win?’
“I spent all of that time wondering if I’d dreamt it because it took that long for the episode to be shown.
“It was a long two years! “The money helped with various things and I bought a car, although that was something I was planning on getting anyway.”
This wasn’t the first television appearance for Frank, who has run Glenavon Thistle amateur football club in Airdrie since 1980,
He has appeared in River City, Outlander and Shetland as part of his work as a TV extra.
Frank said: “I’ve always loved quizzes and they are a passion and hobby for me.
“I’m hoping my appearance on The Chase might open some doors for me, in terms of more TV work.
“I am planning to apply for more TV quiz shows and would be delighted to feature on others going forward.”