Roman Kemp and Sarah Greene ponder The Finish Line

The Finish Line, that will air on BBC One this summer, sees contestants compete in quiz-fuelled races across a unique racetrack set.

Knowledge equals speed in this exciting, in each episode, as five contestants battle across a series of qualifiers and head-to-head races for the chance to win a cash prize. The aim of the game is simple – make it to the finish line before your rivals.

Filmed earlier this year in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the series is hosted by Roman Kemp (Capital Radio, Celebrity Gogglebox) and Sarah Greene (Going Live!, Blue Peter, Together).

What’s the premise of The Finish Line?

Roman: “So, it’s a race, essentially – a race to that finish line. It couldn’t be more simple than that. Each contestant has to go through a qualifying round, pretty similar to a qualifying lap that they would do in F1. When they do this it’ll either put them into lane one, two, three, four, or five. And that means they’ll either receive the first or the last question.

“Now, get that question right, and your podium starts moving and you’re on your way to the finish line. But the second you get a question wrong and your podium will stop. And at that point you’re going to hope that the next person gets their question wrong so that their podium stops, and your turn comes round quicker. So, it’s a race of knowledge, but with some serious pace, and if you can’t keep up, then you’re out.”

Sarah: “I’d say it’s deceptively difficult! It’s got three qualifying rounds: three races, a head-to-head and a final. And if you are the person in the final and you beat the track, you win £5,000. That’s it in a nutshell. But of course, within all of that, there are all sorts of subtleties.

“Essentially, I think that your success as a contestant is going to be how well you respond to the studio atmosphere and whether or not you can go ahead and completely enjoy it, which is my hope for people, because if they enjoy it, they relax, and they will be able to respond to the questions quickly.

There’s been iconic quiz masters over the years like Chris Tarrant, Anne Robinson and Bruce Forsyth, were you nervous to step into that arena?

Roman: “Yes and no. I think Chris Tarrant [I was nervous to step into the shoes of], who got his fame through doing quizzes on the radio and things like that. On the radio show I do Mega-Hard Super Quiz, and that’s a five-minute bit of escapism for everyone listening. And it’s a show-off to your mate down the pub. “Oh, I’ve got every single question right.” “Oh, I would’ve won the money.” People that come on, they’re the ones that try to put their brain where their mouth is, obviously!

“When it comes to competition, especially with members of the general public and when it’s for money that really could help someone, it’s so important to be able to capture that. It’s just so much fun.”

Do you have to be a quiz boffin to be able to take part?

Sarah: “I think there’s a measure of that which helps, certainly. And the whole world of quizzes really is huge. And it’s grown a lot I think over, probably, the past 10 or so years with the success of various quiz shows on TV and on radio. I think during lockdown, everybody’s quiz knowledge was tested.

“Well, I don’t know about your family, but we were hooking up with friends and family in different parts of the country to have quizzes on Zoom. So everyone started swotting up on their quiz knowledge. I think that certainly shows. Having said all that, of course, it still comes down to whether or not you happen to know that question. Yes, your quiz knowledge is going to help you, but it could be that it’s something that you’ve never heard before because our question-setters are second to none!”

You’ve done so much in your career, what is it you’re looking for when you consider new projects to take on?

Sarah: “I have worked in practically every single genre of television except for sport and religion! And I’m saying never say never. But let me tell you, both my religious knowledge and my sport knowledge grew immensely on this particular programme, especially the sport side of things. But I hadn’t done, as they call it, a quiz show before. And so, this was the ideal thing.

“I’d been on the other side, on the answering side and I’d had an absolute ball. It was terrifying being on The Chase. Absolutely terrifying. But I had loved the whole atmosphere of the studio because Bradley made it like a party. I loved being on Richard Osman’s House of Games, a touch more difficult and a lot harder work because you’re recording a whole week’s worth of stuff in one day and your brain is absolutely bursting by the end of it, and you’re up against some very sharp people, because no group of people on this planet are sharper at this type of a show than stand-up comedians. They are so fast, especially on the buzzer, even if they don’t know the answer!

“So I think that really whetted my appetite. And so when I was asked if I would like to be on this show, and I looked at the pedigree of it – you’ve got the man who invented The Cube, is the person who invented the format; and the company who is behind The Chase, is one of the companies behind this – I thought, “Well, we’ve got to have a look at this.” And when I saw the most basic description of the format I just thought, “This is addictive, I want to know more about this.” And so I was sold on it. I was absolutely thrilled to bits. And Roman, of course, was the other icing on the cake.”

Have you had any funny moments during filming where you’re like, “I can’t believe that just happened!”

Roman: “Sarah loves an innuendo. And there’s no limit to how dirty that innuendo is! I don’t know if it’s intentional or unintentional, but my word! People thought I would be the one for that. She’s the best. And she was referred to as Her Majesty the whole time. It was lovely.”

Sarah: “Oh, yes. Well, don’t we all? [love innuendo] I’m just there being naughty on the sidelines, kind of trying to put him off and make him laugh. Absolutely! And I think also, people click into that too. And if they can join in with that, not just in the studio, but at home too, they feel part of that. It feels more inclusive then.”

Would you want to do a celebrity version and who would you want on as guests?

Roman: “I would absolutely want to do a celebrity version. I’d love to see Hannah Waddingham, Peter Kay, Miriam Margolyes, Bradley Walsh and Shirlie Kemp, Roman’s Mum, I’m thinking this mix might work well. And how about a drag queen special featuring Hope Springs, Scaredy Kat, Lavinia Co-op, Lady Portia Di’Monte and Ru Paul?

“There definitely have to be a drag queen on there! Who else would I have? I think we’d have to have a politician in there, it’s who I want to give the worst time to! And that doesn’t narrow it down very much, because you’d want someone who’d be fun as well and would take themselves just seriously enough to look ridiculous. I’d put a James Bond in there. I think we’d have to have a James Bond. We could even have a special for Comic Relief or Children In Need, that would be amazing.”