The Chase fans have labelled Monday's show a "fix" after contestants missed out on a whopping £27,000 jackpot.
Chaser Shaun Wallace beat the three remaining contestants in the final chase, despite the trio answering a total of 21 correct questions to bag their £27,000 cash. They were caught by the 61-year-old Chaser with seconds to spare after a blistering round that saw Shaun correctly answer 17 questions in a row.
It ended in disappointment for the final three Kyle, 31, Laura, 23, Mark, 50, who went head to head with the Dark Destroyer after teammate Eileen, 64, failed to make it to the final round. And host Bradley Walsh commiserated with the team at the end of the show, saying: "Caught with four seconds remaining. I've got to take away the £27,000 and tell you you have been caught and The Chase is over."
Read more: The Chase viewers accuse show of 'fix' as Shaun Wallace beats team to £27k jackpot
Shaun also congratulated them on their efforts, but wasn't wholly magnanimous in victory, saying: "They played very, very well, but I was superb there."
Bradley replied: "17 on the bounce. I've got to say it is some performance. It is indeed a tactical game and Eileen going was the crucial part of it. They should have told her to go low. They would all be taking home money, but they didn't."
But as the show ended, several The Chase viewers took to Twitter to label Chaser Shaun's questions "easy" and call the show a "fix". One said: "Absolute fix how easy the questions have been for him", as another wrote: "They've given Shaun the 'Junior Chase' questions!"
A third fan added: "Quite possibly the p*** easiest set of questions ever asked !!! I got 20 myself." While another posted: "How easy are these questions?" as another wrote: "Shaun getting easy questions!"
A fellow fan added: "Those questions were p*** easy in comparison". But not everyone agreed with one fan writing: "Before anyone claims "fix" - can we just remember that the team's last question was about antihistamines counteracting histamines."
Other ITV viewers congratulated Shaun on his impressive performance, with one writing: "Crikey Shaun was on fire," and another added: "21 must be a record chase for Shaun."
This comes as Beat The Chasers has welcomed a new Chaser to the show in the form of Issa 'The Supernerd' Schultz – as Anne 'The Governess' Hegerty was forced to quit the series, the Mirror reports.
The 38-year-old brain box is a main Chaser on the Australian version of The Chase and UK viewers will now get to know him as he has joined the cast of the main Beat The Chasers show. The Aussie is an eight-time winner of the Australian Quizzing Championships and has even had a crack at winning big money prizes on other shows including The Rich List and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Issa was welcomed on to the panel by fellow Chasers Mark 'The Beast' Labbett, Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan, Paul 'The Sinnerman' Sinha, Darragh 'The Menace' Ennis, and Shaun 'The Dark Destroyer' Wallace. Shaun took to social media to congratulate Issa on his new role, writing: "The Super Nerd was just super! Issa it was an absolute pleasure to work with you again. I hope that will happen sooner rather than later."
To which Issa replied: "So awesome sitting alongside you good sir! Your knowledge is sensational and you made me feel right at home. Looking forward to next time."
Anne herself took to social media to explain that she would sadly be absent from the series, as she has contracted Covid-19. She wrote: "The fantastic Issa will be stepping in for me and I'm looking forward to watching the series when it’s on air later this year. I feel fine, but I'm still positive! (in all respects)."
