The Chase Celebrity Special

Bradley Walsh (Host)

Born: June 04, 1960 in Watford

Best Known For: Coronation Street and Law & Order: UK

Early-life: Bradley John Walsh was born in Watford on June 4, 1960. He wanted to be a footballer and was playing for a county league team when he was offered a contract with Brentford FC. Sadly, his sporting career was brought to an abrupt end when he broke both his ankles. He then considered joining the police, but was told he was too short, so he followed his father into engineering. He eventually decided to try stand-up comedy, and made his first steps towards turning professional when he became an entertainer at a holiday camp near Morecambe.

Career: Walsh's big TV break came in 1993, when he appeared on the Royal Variety Show. It led to a stint presenting the National Lottery, and he also hosted the game shows Wheel of Fortune and Win, Lose or Draw. After fearing his brand of light entertainment was becoming dated he moved into acting, taking parts in the TV version of Lock, Stock, the soap Night and Day and movie Mike Bassett: England Manager before Coronation Street's bosses created the role of Danny Baldwin for him in 2004. He stayed in Weatherfield for two years before leaving to pursue other projects. He's since appeared in Torn, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Law and Order: UK and SunTrap. He moved back into presenting in 2009 with ITV quiz show The Chase, and is a team captain on Play to the Whistle.

Quote: 'Professionally I saw the end of light entertainment galloping towards me. Oddly enough, it's coming back now thanks to all the reality shows.'

Trivia: Walsh is a supporter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Matt Allwright (Contestant)

Born: April 14, 1970 in Berkshire

Best Known For: Watchdog and Rogue Traders.

Early-life: Allwright was born on 14 April, 1970, and educated at two independent schools in Berkshire, followed by the University of Manchester, where he gained a degree in English. After teaching in Japan for three years, he qualified as a broadcast journalist, starting out as a presenter and producer in BBC newsrooms. In 1997 the call came from BBC1's flagship consumer programmes Watchdog and Weekend Watchdog.

Career: He stayed there for 4 years, working his way up from presenting weekly outside broadcasts to anchoring Weekend Watchdog live in studio. In 2001 Matt started working on BBC1's Rogue Traders - now in its eleventh year. Other BBC1 projects have included the Attenborough-fronted Climate Change: Britain in Peril (2007), Britain Underwater (2008), Just the Two of Us (2007), Food Poker (2007), Homes Live (2007) and Christmas on the Frontline (2008) for which Matt travelled to meet the forces in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. Matt is currently presenting Watchdog with his old sparring partner Anne Robinson.

Quote: On returning to Watchdog: 'It's a bit like moving back in with your parents. You know your bed and board is sorted for a while, but don't kid yourself there aren't rules.'

Trivia: Away from television presenting Allwright enjoys putting pen to paper, and was nominated for PPA columnist of the year in 2013.

Stacey Solomon (Contestant)

Born: October 04, 1989 in Dagenham

Best Known For: Being an X Factor finalist and a TV presenter.

Early-life: Stacey Chanelle Charlene Solomon was born in Dagenham on October 4, 1989 to David and Fiona. Her parents divorced when she was nine. Stacey came to prominence in 2009 when she auditioned for the sixth series of The X Factor. She made it into the live part of the competition and ended up finishing third, behind Olly Murs and Joe McElderry.

Career: Solomon released her debut single, Driving Home for Christmas, in 2011 and it reached number 27 in the charts. Away from singing, Solomon won the tenth series of I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!, presented Sing If You Can on ITV and appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Mastermind, with The Inbetweeners as her chosen specialist subject. In early 2015, she participated in Channel 4 reality series The Jump.

Quote: 'You have to stay confident and remember nobody's perfect. It's about getting on with what life throws at you. It's certainly too short to waste it being miserable or taking yourself too seriously.'

Trivia: She turned down the chance to appear on The Only Way Is Essex.

Louise Minchin (Contestant)

Keith Allen (Contestant)

Born: June 02, 1953 in Gorseinon, near Swansea

Best Known For: Being the bad boy of TV.

Early-life: Despite his allegiance to the England football team, Keith Howell Charles Allen was born in Swansea, South Wales, in 1953. He supports Fulham FC. His brother Kevin is an actor, director and comedian. On leaving school, Keith had a variety of jobs, including coal mining (although he only completed three shifts), running the shooting gallery at a funfair and working in a chicken factory. His big showbusiness break came when he went down a storm at the Comedy Store in 1979.

Career: Allen was in a number of Comic Strip Presents... programmes during the 1980s. He also appeared in an episode of The Young Ones and made his film debut in Crystal Gazing, which he co-wrote. Among his highest profile projects are Scandal, A Very British Coup, Carry On Columbus, The Young Americans, Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Martin Chuzzlewit, De-Lovely, 24 Hour Party People and The Others. Allen featured in BBC reality show Art School, released football-themed single Vindaloo as part of the band Fat Les, has conducted often-controversial interviews for Channel 4, and was most recently seen playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood. More recently, he has starred in The Body Farm, By Any Means, and My Mad Fat Diary.

Quote: 'I'm similar to Marmite in many respects. People either love me or hate me.'

Trivia: He supports Fulham FC.

Michael Kelpie (Executive producer)

Martin Scott (Executive producer)

Helen Tumbridge (Series producer)

04:00 am - 05:00 am, Monday, March 30 on Challenge (48)

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Season 6, Episode 8

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