"Congratulations, you just beat the Chasers and have won!" exclaims Bradley Walsh.

It's a moment many of us practice from the comfort of our living rooms, as we shout our answers at the TV.

But for Cowbridge resident Michael Freebury that moment became reality, when he appeared on Beat the Chasers last Sunday and won £50,000.

"It never gets old. It was absolutely amazing," Mike told Nub News.

Mike says he applied for the show on a dare: "We watch it at home as a family and get some of the questions right. So, I just thought I'd give it a go.

"My (now) fiancé and children poked and prodded me to do it. I've never applied to anything like this in my life, and I've never won anything like this in my life!

"I never really thought it would come to anything if I'm honest with you," he said.

Filming took place on 29 November, after an audition six weeks prior and exchanging emails with ITV.

"The whole scenario was quite quick," said Mike.

"Because of Covid, everything was done completely at arm's length, from the audition panel to filming and I had a Covid test the day before."

Asked if he felt the pressure of taking on the Chasers by himself instead of in a team of four like in the traditional format, Mike said that adrenaline took over.

"I've always thought that if I did something on my own, I wouldn't have anyone else to blame," he said.

"My feeling beforehand was as long as I answer more questions than them, quicker than them, I can win.

"It wasn't until I watched it back, I saw I was behind in part of it. I didn't remember any of the questions; it was all a blur.

"Watching it on Sunday was as interesting for me as it was for my family and friends!"

"I positioned myself so I could see my clock but I couldn't see the Chasers' clock.

"I looked twice: about half way through and then at the end and I saw they had a few seconds left. It was only then that it dawned on me I was actually going to win something.

"If I had looked at the clock it would have thrown me off, so I tried not to," he said.

Mike took on four Chasers: Shaun Wallace, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan and Anne Hegerty, with 41 seconds on the Chasers' clock, and 60 on his. He stormed home with 8 seconds to spare.

"Looking back, I was lucky I got some easy questions, like 'what sort of storm is a blizzard?'" said Mike.

"I maybe took a bit too long with some of those answers, but luckily I got most of them right and the end result was the end result.

"It just seemed like it was too much of a gamble to play all five of them, and £50,000 is an incredible amount.

"I went there with nothing, so to have taken anything back was an absolute bonus.

"Some people have said to me I should have taken the higher offer, but I don't look back and want to change anything," he said.

Since returning with his prize, Mike has since proposed to his partner Nicola. The couple have lived here for about a year, but Nicola grew up in Cowbridge.

"I popped the question and she said yes!" he said.

"We're in the process of getting work done on the house, working around Covid restrictions, to convert the garage to another room. Then of course there's the wedding!"