How to Apply for The Chase: Who Can Enter, Where the Form Lives and Five Other UK Quizzes

Last confirmed: Tuesday 13 October 2026 — application windows open and close without warning, so treat this box as a snapshot. As of that check, The Chase's application page still said applications are closed and points people to ITV Be On TV for the next call. Pointless's apply page now says applications are closed for maintenance and will open again soon, with no new date given, so count it as shut for now. Countdown's form is still listed on Channel 4's take-part page. Checked against the Cast It Reach page for The Chase, pointlessapplications.com and channel4.com.

The gist: You apply for The Chase through ITV's casting pages, not through the show itself, and you need to be 18 or over and living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. When the form is shut, the page tells you to watch ITV Be On TV for the next series.

The other big daytime and Monday-night quizzes each do it differently. Pointless wants pairs, Countdown takes a form by email, University Challenge goes through your university and Only Connect wants teams of three.

Where do you apply for The Chase?

ITV runs The Chase's casting through a form hosted on Cast It Reach, and it advertises every open call on its Be On TV pages. That's the only route. Fan sites and old Facebook posts sometimes still share links to forms from years ago, and those go nowhere now.

The page is live even between series. Right now it reads that applications "are now closed" and asks people to keep an eye on ITV Be On TV. It also gives an email for anyone who's applied before and wants their details deleted, which tells you ITV keeps earlier applications on file.

If you just want to watch rather than play, our guide to The Chase's times, ITVX and the days it's moved covers the 5pm slot on ITV1.

Who can apply to be on The Chase?

Two rules come up every time ITV has quoted its terms. You must be at least 18, and you must be a legal resident of, and currently live in, the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. There's no upper age limit in those terms.

The form itself asks for the basics: name, address, phone number, where you're from and what you do for a living. Expect more after that if you're picked for an audition. The show plays four strangers as a team, so you apply on your own, not as a group.

When do The Chase applications open again?

ITV doesn't publish a calendar for it, and we won't guess one. What we can say is where the next call will show up: ITV Be On TV first, and then the entertainment sites that repost casting calls within a day or so.

Spin-offs recruit separately. Applications for The Chase Around the World, a travel-and-puzzles series for pairs, opened in December 2025. That form asked for a valid passport as well as UK residency, with auditions planned from January to March 2026 and filming between 27 April and 22 May 2026.

How do other UK quiz shows find contestants?

We lined up the six weekday and Monday-night quizzes we cover. The pattern is simple: the ITV shows go through ITV casting, the BBC shows each have their own route, and Channel 4 keeps Countdown's form on its own site.

How do you apply for Pointless?

Pointless has its own site, pointlessapplications.com, and you apply as a pair. The most recent call gave a closing time of 23:59 on Wednesday 23 September 2026, and the page now says applications are closed for maintenance and will open again soon.

Past calls have barred anyone who works, or has worked, for Endemol Shine UK or the BBC. Series 36 brought in a rota of celebrity co-hosts, and our Pointless times and iPlayer guide has the teatime slot.

How do you get on Countdown?

Countdown is the easiest one to start, because the form doesn't wait for a casting call. Channel 4 lists it on its take-part page all year: you fill in the contestant application and email it to countdown@channel4.com with a recent photo of yourself.

Each episode is two players over 15 rounds of letters and numbers, and the winner comes back the next day. Our Countdown times guide has the early-afternoon slot on Channel 4 if you want to practise against the clock.

Can you apply for University Challenge or Only Connect?

University Challenge doesn't take applications from the public at all. Universities and students' unions run their own trials, then put forward a team of four with a named captain and a reserve. The Guild of Students at University College Birmingham, for one, ran a buzzer try-out in November 2025.

That guild's page also shows how far ahead it runs. The 2026–27 series, which began on BBC Two on 13 July 2026, was recorded at dock10 in MediaCityUK, Salford, in three blocks between 24 February and 23 April 2026. Our University Challenge guide follows this year's draw.

Only Connect takes teams of three, but it also accepts duos or single players looking for teammates. Past calls asked for applicants aged 18 or over and living in the UK or the Channel Islands. Our Only Connect times guide covers the Monday slot and Series 22's 34 episodes.

What about Tipping Point?

Tipping Point recruits through ITV's casting pages too. TV Zone reported in June that ITV had renewed it and that it was going back into the studio to record another batch for ITV1 and ITVX.

We haven't seen a new form for it, so we're not listing a deadline. The Tipping Point guide has the 4pm slot and what the Lucky Stars specials are.

Questions readers ask

How do I know if applications are open right now, not just when this was checked?
Application windows for these shows open and close with no announced calendar. The fastest same-day check is the show's own page — ITV Be On TV for The Chase and Tipping Point, pointlessapplications.com for Pointless, Channel 4's take-part page for Countdown — rather than this snapshot or a fan site.

Do you get paid to be on The Chase?
You win whatever your team takes home from the Final Chase, split between the players who made it there. ITV's call describes the prize as a cash pot "worth thousands of pounds".

Can I apply for The Chase from outside the UK?
No. The terms ITV has published ask you to live in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and to be a legal resident there.

Which quiz shows are on each weekday?
Our day-by-day list of UK quiz shows has the full week, and the weekly quiz schedule flags any changes. The rest of our guides sit in the UK Quiz Guide, and if you move on to the soaps at 7pm, our sister site has which soaps are on which nights.

Sources

• Cast It Reach: The Chase applications (closed, next call via ITV Be On TV, removal email)
• TellyMix: The Chase applications (18+, UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man; ITV's description of the prize)
• TV Guide: The Chase Around the World applications (pairs, passport, auditions and filming dates)
• Pointless Applications (last closing date 23 September 2026; page now says closed, will open again soon)
• Channel 4: Take part in Countdown (application form, countdown@channel4.com)
• UCB Guild of Students: University Challenge 2026/27 (team make-up, recording blocks at dock10)
• TellyMix: Only Connect applications (trios, duos and solo players; 18+, UK or Channel Islands)
• TV Zone: Tipping Point renewed (new recording block for ITV1 and ITVX)

By the UK Quiz On Air desk · Updated 13 October, 10.26am BST