Tim McCarthy won big on The Chase before passing away from illness a month before his episode aired.
A winner of television show The Chase has died before the episode of his victory got to air, and his widow has revealed they did not even get the chance to spend his $100,000 prizemoney together.
Tim McCarthy, 64, of Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom, died after a long-termillness in July. He was a father of three.
McCarthy and his wife had kept the win a secret, leaving the drama of McCarthy’s showdown with chaser Jenny Ryan, “The Vixen”, unknown to even his friends.
“We can’t wait to see what happened,” friend Stuart Keane told the BBC.
McCarthy’s family and friends met at his local pub to watch the episode last night (NZT). The BBC said there were roars of celebration when he beat the Chaser.
He made it through the cash-building round and first showdown against the Vixen, then got back for the final competition with the Chaser with one other competitor.
Dedicated viewers of the hit show who do not want details of his win spoiled before seeing the episode themselves should stop reading now.
McCarthy won £1000 ($2300) in the cash-building round.
The Vixen offered him a low offer of £100 and a high offer of £95,000.
McCarthy took his chances with the high offer.
Tim McCarthy, 64, of Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom, died after a long-term illness in July, the BBC said. Photo / The Chase
McCarthy then won by two steps ahead of the Vixen, bringing his and his teammate’s prize pot up to £100,000. Split between them, McCarthy took home £50,000.
“It was a very narrow victory, but he won,” widow Rachel McCarthy said.
“He liked to punch the air when he won on the horses, and this was a punch-the-air moment.”
McCarthy, a former teacher originally from Warrington, was the principal of Stockport Academy and a deputy head of Avondale High School in Stockport.
He had a physics degree from the University of Manchester. He graduated when he was 19 years old.
Competing on The Chase had been on McCarthy’s bucket list, his widow said. He was a massive fan and was “so excited when he was selected”, she said.
She said her late husband was “the most clever man I ever knew”, while his friend, Keane, said he was a “brilliant friend with a brilliant mind”.
McCarthy had planned to spend some of his prizemoney on a holiday.
