ELY pub the Minster Tavern is set to welcome a celebrity quiz-master, Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett from ITV’s The Chase to host a special quiz night this month.

Cambs Times: THIS IMAGE IS STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 TUESDAY 18TH MAY 2010.; FROM ITV; THE CHASE coming soon to ITV1; Picture Shows: (L-R) Mark Labbett and Bradley Walsh; Picture Caption: The Chase isn't just a quiz, it's a race, where the players must ensure they; stay one step ahead of the chaser, one of the finest quiz brains in the country. Contestants will face tough quick-fire questions to build up their prize money, but if they allow the chaser to catch up to them, they are out of the game. Working as a teamTHIS IMAGE IS STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 TUESDAY 18TH MAY 2010.; FROM ITV; THE CHASE coming soon to ITV1; Picture Shows: (L-R) Mark Labbett and Bradley Walsh; Picture Caption: The Chase isn't just a quiz, it's a race, where the players must ensure they; stay one step ahead of the chaser, one of the finest quiz brains in the country. Contestants will face tough quick-fire questions to build up their prize money, but if they allow the chaser to catch up to them, they are out of the game. Working as a team (Image: Ken McKay)

Mark will join customers on February 21 as part of a week of celebrations following the refurbishment at the pub.

Located in Minster Place, opposite the cathedral, the pub closed on Monday for a nine day makeover, and is set to open again on Wednesday.

Though owners Stonegate Pub Company said there would be no significant structural changes made to the historic building, some features are to be enhanced including the inglenook fireplace.

Three new jobs will be created at the pub as a result of the refurbishment.

New carpets will be installed and there will be a change of décor whilst wooden flooring will be re-varnished as well as the bar itself. A total refurbishment of the toilets is to take place and a new smoking corridor complete with seating and awning is planned.

General manager, Andy Pipe, who moved to Ely from Formby in Merseyside with his girlfriend last year, hosted a family fun day during the Olympics and a sell-out charity ball prior to Christmas, where the pub raised £550 for Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Children’s Charity.

He said: “For anyone who hasn’t visited the Minster Tavern before it’s a beautiful quaint pub, a chocolate box picture, so we have been conscious not to spoil its qualities by making too many drastic changes.

“We do, however, plan to enhance some of its great features and certainly an open fire will give it even more of a cosy appeal. The idea is to give the pub a fresh new lease of life yet retain its unique charm.”

Thursday’s regular quiz night, which already attracts customers from quite a distance around Cambridgeshire is expected to be especially popular on February 21 as Mark Labbett takes the reins as quiz-master.

The opening week celebrations continue the following night with a red carpet, DJ-led party during which customers will be welcomed by Andy and his team with a glass of bubbly.