Zoom quiz tips: The Chase's Beast on how to make them fun again

You're over them, right? You've said, "Oh I've got something else on" to get out of them, right?

But Saturday nights don't seem likely to get more interesting any time soon - and you might just been running out of excuses.

It's lockdown three, and Zoom quizzes are still a thing.

But there's one happening every month that, actually, you'd probably fancy being part of.

And it includes some of the cleverest people on TV - the Chasers.

Mark Labbett - AKA The Beast - explains to Radio 1 Newsbeat: "We have a monthly Zoom quiz, which is strictly for training and bragging rights."

He's been one of the faces of teatime TV since 2009 and admits that the regular Chasers quiz is good to keep the knowledge topped up.

"Sometimes it's random questions. It's interesting that the older Chasers ask for up-to-date questions on the 21st century, especially entertainment, music and TV. That's a comparative area of weakness.

"The younger Chasers want questions on the 1970s and 80s to improve those areas. Being a professional is about working on your weaknesses."

You're probably wondering which Chaser would win a quiz of Chasers. Paul Sinha (The Sinnerman) is the most consistent apparently.

If you are being forced back into the Zoom quizzes in the third lockdown then The Beast does have some tips to get you into first place (they're bound to be more bearable if you win, right?)

Mark says: "Listen carefully to the question and make sure you're answering the question you've actually been asked."

And if you're avoiding a Zoom quiz because of the family know-it-all?

"There's a psychological condition called the Dunning-Kruger effect, which basically means a lot of people think they're smarter than they really are.

"We call those people inhabitants of 'mount stupid' and they're always good to see because you know that they're about to get crushed."

We've all got that uncle.

The Chase is now so established that it's got spin-off shows. Beat The Chasers has just finished a second run on ITV.

There's now another programme which puts Mark, Anne Hegerty (The Governess) and Shaun Wallace (The Dark Destroyer) together on a bus.

Starting Thursday night on ITV, it's called The Chasers Road Trip.

"The idea is they send three fairly clever people around Japan and America looking into various aspects of intelligence," says Mark.

"We looked at animal intelligence and robotic intelligence and how children develop intelligence.

"They found one thing we all have in common. We are all better at getting deep sleep than the average person."

If you've tuned in and always thought you could be a Chaser, then according to Mark, it's a special skill as well as a lot of time.

"You've got to have what we call a sticky memory, that ability to just absorb and regurgitate facts, almost without trying and then add to that a lot of training.

"The new Chaser, Darragh [Ennis], has put a good two or three years solid work in picking up all the kind of stuff he needs to.

"It's about hiding, masking or closing your weakness and that involves a lot of work."

Here's a question if you think you're good enough for the Chase.

Why is Mark Labbett nicknamed The Beast on ITV's The Chase?

A) Bradley Walsh started it

B) He's 6ft7

C) His surname sounds like "The Beast" in French

D) It's to do with a 1990s film

(Answer: C)

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