A singer and entertainer from Cumbria has made a lasting impression on one of the country’s most popular television quiz shows.

Mick Locke, who is known by his stage name Micky Diamond, walked away from ITV’s The Chase with the record for the highest ever offer from a “chaser” – a cool £100,000.

The 50-year-old, who lives in Dalton Avenue, Raffles, Carlisle, appeared on the show on Friday night in front of millions of viewers.

He was the only one of the four contestants who managed to beat the “chaser” in the head-to-head section and got to chose which pot of prize money he played for.

“I thought there was no point in going for a grand or the £500, I knew there was only one way to go from there... the £100,000,” he said.

Micky also admitted that he rode his luck a little bit on the record-breaking attempt, adding: “I got through on guesswork and instinct really rather than strategy and I kept getting them right.”

An example of his guesswork was when answering the question “which celebrated Renaissance artist was 88 when he died?” Micky correctly responded Michelangelo.

After breathing a sigh of relief when it turned out to be right, he admitted to host Bradley Walsh he’d only chosen it because Michelangelo was the name of a restaurant in Carlisle he liked.

“I’ve made history,” a jubilant Micky said.

The quiz show pits contestants against a professional quizzer, known as the “chaser”.

The “chaser” attempts to prevent them from winning a cash prize by catching them up by answering more questions correctly than the contestant.

During the show a team of four contestants individually attempt to amass as much money as possible, which is later added to a prize fund if the contestant survives their individual game.

The “chaser’s” job is to catch each contestant during their individual chase, eliminating that person from the game and preventing the money from being added to the fund. Anyone who survives plays for a split of the collective fund.


Mick Locke Ultimately Micky didn’t win the £100,000 as he was beaten by the “chaser” in the final play-off with one minute to spare.

“I was coming home on the train and I was sweating so much and I thought I was having a heart attack,” he said. “The nerves and adrenaline had just hit me. I thought I was going to have to ask someone for some help.”

Before the show ended, funnyman Walsh turned to Micky and said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing alongside you.”

Adding that although Micky had gone home empty-handed, he had also achieved “hero” status.

“Bradley was a very genuine guy and he was as excited as me the whole way through,” Micky added.

Although the Carlisle entertainer, who’s played thousands of gigs across the north of England, went off with a smile there was a more poignant reason why he’d entered the show.

His daughter Jasmine has just turned 18 and Micky hasn’t seen her since she was 10 after she emigrated to New Zealand with her mother. He was hoping to use any prize money to fund a trip to see her.

Despite the disappointment of not winning the cash, Micky said: “It was one of the best days I’ve had in my life.”