Viewers of The Chase were up in arms on Tuesday, with many claiming to “switch off”.
Tuesday’s episode (January 7) of the quiz programme saw four contestants pit their wits against Mark Labbett in a bid to win some money.
First up to challenge The Beast was Stephen, a civil servant hailing from Lincolnshire. The 40-year-old demonstrated his impressive knowledge in the cash builder round, correctly answering nine impressive questions.
With £9,000 in hand, Stephen was in an ideal position as he awaited Mark’s offers. Despite showing his intellectual prowess, Stephen opted for Mark’s lower offer of £3,000.
After Stephen successfully returned to the team, it was Chynna’s turn to contribute to the prize fund. The 31-year-old had no trouble following in her teammate’s footsteps, correctly answering eight questions in the cash builder round, reports the Express.
However, like her teammate, Chynna chose the low offer of £2,000. This brought the team’s total to £5,000, with host Bradley Walsh noting they could have had £17,000 instead.
Next up was Rob, an ambulance dispatch officer from Newcastle. The 28-year-old correctly answered six questions in the cash builder and, refusing to take a minus offer, stuck with this amount in the head-to-head with Mark.
Unfortunately, Rob was caught before making it back to the final chase. Carol was the last contestant to challenge The Beast.
She approached the table with £3,000, but like her teammates, she decided to take the low offer.
The trio’s decision to each play for just £1,000 in the final chase of The Chase prompted viewers to vent their outrage. Fans were quick to take to social media to vent their frustration.
One irate viewer said: “Oh my God! This team! First two get £8and9k and go low, and the woman at the end is bound to go low because she’s telling everyone else to. What a waste! They could have been playing for £90k and they’re playing for £5k! What’s the point of coming on?” (sic)
Another chimed in with similar disdain: “What’s the point? The amount of money back won’t be worth winning. Annoying team with silly low offers!”
Yet another fan quickly turned off their TV, saying: “Just switched it on…immediately switched it off.”
Disappointed with the game’s outcome, one viewer declared, “I’m not even going to watch the final. I’m fu***ing off to Pointless. Thanks a lot, team.”
Another fan made a fiercely critical comment: “The very deliberate switch to getting Bradley and The Chasers to nonstop say ‘it’s tactical/smart/brave actually’ to go low has totally killed the programme. It has a totally different vibe from even a few years ago.”
And someone else voiced their confusion over the strategy: “Why bother applying for the chase if you’re not gonna aim for a decent amount of money. Nobody cares that you’re a know it all if you have f all in the pot.” (sic)
Despite answering 12 questions correctly in the final chase, the team’s efforts fell short as Mark caught up with them with merely six seconds to spare.
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV.