One of the stars of ITV’s The Chase sensationally paused the game in a nail-biting finale to make a remarkable gesture and a frank admission.
Mark “The Beast” Labbett was on course to beat three contestants when he made a series of costly errors and gave Keith, Vikki and Rob the advantage on Wednesday’s (March 12) episode.
As the game neared the end, The Beast halted it and applauded the team for beating him as they walked away with £6,000 each.
Earlier, host Bradley Walsh introduced the trio, as well as fourth contestant Lynwen, as they took on one of Britain’s top quizzers for a chance at a huge cash prize.
Lynwen was the first to face The Beast, having amassed £6,000 in the Cash Builder round. However, her stint on the show was cut short when she was caught.
Rob was next, securing £7,000 in the initial rapid-fire round. His performance was more successful, as he returned to the team and added his winnings to the prize pot.
Vikki was hoping to emulate Rob’s success as she squared off against The Beast. After a thrilling game, she successfully joined Rob in the next round, boosting the prize pot to £12,000, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Finally, it was Keith’s turn to challenge The Beast, who also returned to the team with an extra £6,000 for the final chase.
The team them racked up an impressive score of 23, to which Bradley quipped: “That’s alright – not too bad,” before adding: “That’s absolutely brilliant.”
Mark, however, was not so confident, saying: “Did you know 23 is caught once every five years? There’s no excuse for me, I better take this seriously. Bradley, you better keep up.”
In the end, he found it difficult to keep up with the team, notably slipping up on the question “Which pop star from Wales was born Gaynor Hopkins?” The correct answer was Bonnie Tyler.
With time running out, Mark clapped at the team while Vikki, Rob and Keith celebrated their victory. Bradley commended them on their “great performance”.
It was then that The Beast made his frank admission: “I had to play perfectly to win. I didn’t quite. You won it rather than I lost it, so absolutely well played.”
The episode sparked a flurry of reactions from viewers on social media. One fan exclaimed: “Well done today’s team, amazing performance.”
Others joined in the praise, with comments like: “That was a quality game loved that”, “That’s what I come for” and “Well done. They deserved that win.”
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV1; catch up on all episodes online on ITVX