Fans of The Chase were left heartbroken as a contestant was eliminated following an intense one-on-one round.
Tuesday’s (March 4) offering saw four new hopefuls ready to face off against Jenny Ryan, but they had a very rocky start at The Vixen picked them off one by one.
It was all then down to Maria, a sales director from Letchworth, Hertfordshire, who found herself as the last contestant standing, with only Jenny to beat.
Answering five questions correctly in the cash builder, she had the chance to contribute £10,000 to the team’s pot, adding to teammate Jolene’s earlier win of £5,000.
Jenny presented Maria with a tempting decision by offering her a lower amount of -£1,000 and an alluring higher amount of £65,000. Despite Jolene’s suggestion to choose the middle option, Maria chose to play for the high stakes.
The final moments of the head-to-head brought viewers to the edge of their seats as Maria remained just one step ahead of Jenny with one question remaining, reports the Express.
The question asked was: “In 2019, researchers discovered the first genetic evidence that insects feel what?” The options presented were ‘Pain’, ‘Love’, or ‘Remorse’.
Maria guessed ‘Love’, thinking the actual answer, ‘Pain’, was “too obvious”. However, when Jenny opted for ‘Pain’ and subsequently knocked Maria out, she offered a stinging critique: “You overthought that because you saw 2019 and thought, ‘Surely by then we already knew’. I see where you were going but also, going with the obvious answer at this point – ouch.”
Viewers were dismayed as Maria’s gamble did not pay off, and she exited the game, leaving Jenny with the last word. Host Bradley Walsh was visibly distraught as he said goodbye to contestant Maria, and he wasn’t alone in his disappointment.
Fans quickly took to social media to express their sadness over her departure.
One fan expressed their sorrow with a message that read: “Goodbye Maria,” accompanied by several broken heart emojis. Another sympathised, commenting: “Oh, bad luck. Lovely lass, so close.”
A third person remarked on the narrow miss, saying: “So close yet so far,” while another lamented: “Oh no she panicked, shame.”
Maria’s exit left Jolene to face The Chase alone after Ben and Alfie had already been eliminated. Jolene, a law graduate, managed to answer 12 questions correctly in the final round, playing for £5,000.
Despite her valiant effort, The Vixen proved too formidable an opponent, catching up to Jolene’s score with 53 seconds to spare.
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV1. All episodes and series are available on ITVX.