Travel agent beats the Dark Destroyer
Manchester travel agent Matthew Ruth was on daytime quiz show The Chase on ITV tonight – and won £5,600.
The Midcounties Co-op Travel personal travel agent was up against the Dark Destroyer Shaun Wallace as part of a team of three.
He managed to answer tough questions about Huguenots (a group of French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries) and macadaemia nuts (which apparently come from Australia) to win £8,000 for the pot.
Ruth, an agent of 20 years, spent the prize money on a new garden office.
He said his travel profession has definitely helped him with the geography questions.
Working from home, meanwhile, has given him the flexibility to watch daytime quiz shows.
‘We watch The Chase every night and we love it," he said.
Ruth, 49, has already appeared on other game shows, including Going for Gold and Tipping Point, but didn’t win anything.
"I was rubbish in those, but this time it was a bit of a Slumdog Millionaire moment when I just seemed to know the answers," he said.
"I don’t know how I knew about the Huguenots. It must have been that one day at school when I stopped looking out of the window and paid attention!"
Ruth’s customers and colleagues at Midcounties were all excited about his telly appearance.
"They couldn’t wait to see me. They’ve all been talking about it," he said.
"It’s been a great year for me all in all. I’ve managed to generate a million in sales for Midcounties, in just two years, and I also went on a Chill VIP trip on the Rocky Mountaineer in Canada. And now that The Chase has been aired, I can apply for the next show."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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