Mike Hosking interviews The Chase star Shaun Wallace
It was just another day at the office for chaser Shaun Wallace, aka "The Dark Destroyer", who narrowly beat Mike Hosking in a Chase-style quiz this morning on Newstalk ZB.
The pair went head-to-head in two 60-second rounds.
The first round, which focused on New Zealand-based questions, saw the pair tie with an impressive score of seven points each.
Hosking made a strong start but was tripped up by a Kiwi classic, "what is the main ingredient in an Anzac biscuit?", as well as failing to name the year the Treaty of Waitangi was signed.
After faltering, things went from bad to worse for the talkback host, who also incorrectly answered three other questions.
However, the Dark Destroyer also got off to a rocky start, before finding his stride and matching Hosking's score - not bad work for a British-based quiz champion and barrister.
The second round of questions, heavily loaded towards cars, vacuums and wine - three of Mike Hosking's specialities, was more of a struggle for the Newstalk ZB host, who managed to answer only five questions correctly.
But in good news for Hosking, Wallace also struggled and was bested by two questions about British vacuum cleaner company Dyson.
However, he still managed to beat Hosking by a single point, answering the winning question in his last few seconds and bringing the final score to 13 to 12.
Earlier this week Wallace made surprise appearances at numerous Auckland quizzes.
The popular game show chaser stopped into The Horse & Trap for a surprise visit to give locals a run for their money in the Believe It Or Not Quiz event.
Quiz host Brent "Riggsy" Riggs was given a late tip off a famous star was coming to join in the fun, announcing to a stunned audience "I have a friend from England, he's looking to join up with a quiz team, who is interested?"
Suddenly, Wallace walked in.
Shaun Wallace co-hosted the event along with quizmaster Brent 'Riggsy' Riggs. Photo / The Horse & Trap / Facebook
"When he walked in, it was like Tom Jones walked into the room. It was more than crowd goes wild, it was more like cougars gone wild," Riggs told the Herald.
"They went nuts and I just handed over the microphone and said 'you're pretty good at answering the questions but how good are you at reading them'."
After getting through one round of questions, Wallace talked about what he was doing in New Zealand and a bit about his time on the popular game show The Chase.
The Dark Destroyer walked around taking photos and helping out different quiz teams during his appearance.
While the staunch Chase figure appears tough on camera, NZ quiz legend Riggs said he's a personable and extremely friendly guy.
"He came in and gave me a big hug while in his All Blacks shirt. When he talks he sounds exactly like he does on the show. He was really chatty to the contestants and he was really smiley compared to his manner on the show.
"He's just a really friendly guy and loved to jump in with a bit of banter as well."
Wallace starred for about 30 minutes before making his way to The Garrison for another surprise appearance.
