The Chase contestants make show history by winning the biggest jackpot ever on ITV show
HISTORY was made on The Chase tonight as the contestants won the biggest jackpot prize ever.
It was a nail biting finish as two aspiring quizzers reached the final round to face off against Paul Sinha aka The Sinnerman.
Bradley Walsh, 64, was on hand once again as the face of the series to deliver the tough questions.
Four contestants were whittled down to two as Karen and Ian both built up an incredible cash prize in the first round.
A whopping £100,000 was at stake, meaning each player would take home £50,000 each if they won – the largest prize in the history of The Chase.
However, the pair only managed to get 16 questions correct in the final round, meaning that a few pushbacks would be needed.
“It’s been a winning score before, we hit the post of a couple, so we’ve just got to pray now that we get some pushbacks,” explained Bradley to the nervous contestants.
The ITV host added: “I’d say we’re three light at least.”
As the round progressed, there were multiple opportunities to push the Sinnerman back, but only two were executed.
With 14 seconds on the clock, Bradley asked his last question to the quiz expert.
However, the chaser answered the last question over a trading term incorrectly, meaning Bradley’s team had one final chance at victory.
Things were looking promising for Paul, 54, as he had eight seconds to spare and only one more question to answer.
Clearly stressed and flustered, he failed to give the correct answer when asked about Lesley Manville‘s part in a mystery BBC sitcom.
In a fit of frustration, he hunched over the desk with his head hung in his hands as the answer came to him.
The team also answered incorrectly as they misidentified EastEnders as a comedy, but with just one second on the clock by then, it was too late.
Bradley stuck with formalities and he even asked the last question, facing a loud interruption by Paul, who shouted the word “green!”
The Chase: Current lineup of Chasers on the ITV show
The Chase first premiered on ITV back in 2009 and has become a firm favourite among viewers since then. The roster of professional quizzers ('chasers') has grown significantly since the show's launch.
- Mark Labbett (2009 – present): Known as ‘The Beast’, Mark is a former Maths teacher and previously won £32,000 on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Mark has also reprised his role as a Chaser in the US and Australian versions of the show.
- Shaun Wallace (2009 – present): Shaun, a barrister and former Mastermind champion, goes by the ‘Dark Destroyer’. Shaun has appeared on the Australian version of The Chase. In 2008, he finished as runner-up to Barry Simmons in Are You an Egghead?, a contest to find a new member of the then-BBC quiz team.
- Anne Hegerty (2010 – present): A former contestant on Mastermind, Fifteen To One and Are You an Egghead?, Anne goes by ‘The Governess’. Since joining The Chase, she appeared on I’m A Celebrity… in 2018.
- Paul Sinha (2011-present): Comedian and qualified doctor Paul joined the Chaser line-up in 2011, taking the nickname ‘The Sinnerman’. He has appeared on The Weakest Link, University Challenge and Brain of Britain. In 2018, Paul starred in series 8 of popular game show Taskmaster.
- Jenny Ryan (2015 – present): Known as ‘The Vixen’, Jenny was previously in a winning team on Only Connect. She also appeared in Mastermind, The Weakest Link and Fifteen To One before joining The Chase in 2015.
- Darragh Ennis (2020 – present): A postdoctoral researcher, Darragh joined The Chase in 2020 as ‘The Menace’. He is the first former contestant to join the line-up, having been part of a winning team against Paul Sinha in 2017.
But it was not to be as the studio music blared and the victorious contestants shared a huge hug with each other.
“That was close,” remarked Bradley as a visibly shocked Ian had tears in his eyes.
“Six attempts to push back, only two of them executed out of those six, chaser needed [just] one.”
The presenter turned to the expert and asked him why he shouted out the seemingly random word.
With a defeated expression, he shot back: “Yeah, what colour [was] something? I dunno!”
The Chase airs every weeknight at 5pm on ITV1.