A Newcastle student went on The Chase and is now best mates with The Chaser

Earlier this month, Newcastle University Medical student William Sparkes made his TV debut on The Chase. The show is a guilty pleasure for many students and a trusty form of daytime entertainment on the days when getting up for uni is just too tough.

When asked why he applied, William told The Newcastle Tab that it was "all just for a bit of a joke" and while refusing to admit whether or not alcohol had been involved in the idea, he did let on that he had applied on a Friday after 5pm – take from that what you will. He then told us that he couldn't actually remember what he wrote in the application, so a relatively reliable conclusion can be drawn.

After various mini-tests and an audition, William was told he had been accepted onto The Chase, and then had to wait ten months before the filming process began. He told us that he found this all quite stress free, and that only occasionally did multiple takes need to be taken – Newcastle's next TV star in the making? He did tell us however that he had been more preoccupied with worry about getting "rinsed" on social media for his Southern accent (and rightly so).

Despite this, he did find himself very popular with other social media users, and even gained a few new admirers.

Unfortunately, William's medicine studies were not enough for him to beat The Chaser, but this was just the beginning for him…

A few days later he found himself in Bijoux?? With the Chaser!! Drinking trebs?!

Chaser 'The Sinnerman' (left) stood next to William

The most we could get out of him was that the Sinnerman was "nice", however he spilled that they still speak to eachother at times; it turns out that the Sinnerman is a qualified doctor so they have plenty in common. They even have some Chase related banter (we feel so left out) about how they were both caught out at some point in the episode.

So there you have it. For those of you who apply non-stop to First Dates, keep going – you never know you could end up with Francesco Ciccarelli or Laura Tott.