Paul Burnell
BBC News, Manchester
BBC
The victory was greeted with roars by scores of family and friends who packed The Colliers pub
Dozens of family and friends of a teacher who died just weeks before appearing on The Chase gathered to watch him triumph on the quiz show at his local pub.
Tim McCarthy, 64, fulfilled an ambition to compete in the ITV programme and went on to win in a nail-biting episode which was broadcast earlier, a month after his death from a long illness.
The victory was greeted with roars by scores of family and friends who packed The Colliers in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, to watch the show at 17:00 BST.
His widow Rachel McCarthy and three children were the only people who knew of his victory beforehand.
Mrs McCarthy said: “He liked to punch the air when he won on the horses and this was a punch-the-air moment.
“Tim was so scared they wouldn’t let him compete if they knew about his diagnosis. So he didn’t tell them.”
ITV
Tim McCarthy was a massive fan of the quiz
In the quiz, four contestants compete against a professional quizzer, known as the “Chaser”, who attempts to prevent them from winning a cash prize.
In the show’s finale, contestants who have not been eliminated must answer as many questions as they can against the clock and hope The Chaser will not beat their points total at the end of two minutes.
“It was a very narrow victory but he won,” said Mrs McCarthy.
“He was overjoyed when he won but we had to keep it secret – he beat The Chaser by a second with his fellow competitor.”
She added: “Sadly we never got to spend his £50,000 prize as his health deteriorated and we couldn’t even go on a holiday.”
Family handout
Mr McCarthy’s widow Rachel McCarthy and three children were the only people who knew of his victory
Warrington-born former headteacher Mr McCarthy, 64, was a “massive” fan of the ITV programme and recorded his episode in October but died on 19 July.
“He was so excited when he got accepted to go on the show,” said his wife.
“I watched it last night to prepare myself – it is a tough day but I posted on Facebook that I want it to be a celebration of his life.”