Viewers of The Chase were left furious just minutes into Thursday’s episode, after two contestants chose to accept low cash offers. Fans described the decision as “unacceptable”, with some even switching off the ITV quiz show in protest.
Bradley Walsh welcomed four new contestants to the show, who were competing against Chaser Paul Sinha. However, tensions quickly rose when the first contestant, Carol, decided to play for the low offer of £1,000 rather than the £4,000 she had earned in the cash builder round.
Explaining her decision to Bradley, Carol, 60, said: “I’m going to go for the one. I want to enjoy the whole experience, I want the best chance of getting back there.” She managed to reach the final chase without answering a question incorrectly.
Second low offer intensifies viewers’ anger
Viewers’ frustrations escalated further when the second contestant, Fuad, also chose the low offer. Fuad, a 30-year-old primary school teacher, had earned only £2,000 in his cash builder.
Paul gave Fuad the option to play for a high offer of £50,000 or a low offer of just £500. Fuad chose the £500, telling Bradley: “It’s quite a tough decision but I really want to get back to my team.”
Paul sarcastically commented: “What an exciting team this is turning out to be,” clearly unimpressed by the team’s cautious approach. Fuad successfully joined Carol in the final chase, bringing their total prize fund to only £1,500.
Social media backlash
© ITVFans quickly took to social media to vent their anger over the contestants’ decisions. One viewer tweeted: “No!! £1,000 LOW OFFER TAKEN BY SEAT 1!!! Why are ITV still casting useless players who opt for the stupid meaningless Low Offer! Come on now! This has been happening episode by episode recently! When is this nonsense going to stop? This is completely unacceptable!”
Another viewer stated bluntly: “Right that’s it, I’m turning off.”
A third viewer agreed, writing: “No!!! I actually cannot believe this! £500 LOW OFFER!!! That’s two in a row! Why do these useless people do this? Just why? Please stop casting these people who take the low offers ITV! This is too much for everyone to handle! Please make it stop! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!”
Final contestants bring drama
© ITVThe third contestant, Victoria, attempted to raise the prize fund by sticking with her impressive £7,000 cash builder amount. Unfortunately, the 45-year-old was caught by Paul before she could reach the final.
Anthony, the final contestant, answered only two questions correctly in his cash builder. Paul tempted the 28-year-old assistant project manager with a high offer of £90,000 and an insulting low offer of minus £1,497.
Anthony boldly chose the £90,000, bringing some excitement back to the show. After a nail-biting round, Anthony successfully reached the final chase, with Bradley declaring: “You have saved ITV.”
In the final chase, the trio—Carol, Fuad, and Anthony—played for a total of £91,500. They managed to set a score of 16, described by Paul as a “brilliant” performance.
However, Paul caught the team with 18 seconds remaining, leaving them empty-handed. Despite Anthony’s impressive comeback, viewers remained irritated by the team’s earlier decisions.
The Chase airs weekdays on ITV.
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