A FORMER Bradford councillor will be hoping to not get caught next week, when he is due to appear on popular TV quiz show The Chase.

Howard Middleton, who served as a councillor in Bolton & Undercliffe up until his retirement from public office in 2015, is due to appear on the game show on ITV on Wednesday, February 7.

Mr Middleton, 56, said it had been a long wait for his episode to appear on television – so long that he had celebrated a birthday since it was recorded.

While he could share some stories of his experience in the studio, Mr Middleton had to remain tight-lipped about many details – such as how well he did, and whether he and his team beat the Chaser, whose identity he must keep secret.

It has been a long drawn-out process for Mr Middleton, who auditioned for the programme in May 2016, and was called to record the show in March 2017. Now, 11 months later, his episode is finally being screened.

Mr Middleton decided to apply after being encouraged by friends.

He said: “It’s one of those things that you watch, and people said I should go on it so I thought I may as well apply.

“I auditioned back in 2016 and then last year got the call saying it was my turn and I had two or three weeks’ notice.

“I think it’s a bucket list-type thing for some people, they have got about 700 to 800 people on a waiting list.

“It was a really interesting and enjoyable day, you were made to feel very welcome but it was quite a long day, it took four or five hours to record.”

He added that host Bradley Walsh made everyone feel at ease during recording.

“Bradley was as nice as everyone says he is,” he said.

Mr Middleton also revealed a few insights into what it was like to go against the Chaser.

“You see people put their glasses on, and that’s because the screen with the questions on is really small, and the buttons are on a pad the size of an old matchbox, so I could see why some people, even the Chaser, sometimes press the wrong button.

“Luckily I managed not to make that mistake!”

He also said that while the questions seemed to be a bit harder than normal for his episode, the producers did try to tailor some questions to contestants: “They knew I studied history at Oxford University so some of the questions got a little bit easier for me.”

Tune in to The Chase on ITV at 5pm on Wednesday, February 7, to see if Howard Middleton can beat the Chaser.