The Chase viewers were given a surprise when they tuned in expecting Bradley Walsh, only to discover comedian Joe Pasquale had apparently taken over as host.
Before anyone could seriously wonder whether Bradley had been replaced, however, the presenter quickly made his return — and made sure his unexpected stand-in was shown the door.
The bizarre opening was part of The Chase Bloopers, a spin-off episode looking back at some of the funniest moments from the popular ITV quiz show.
Joe Pasquale hosted The Chase this evening(Image: ITV)
Joe Pasquale takes a swipe at Bradley Walsh
Pasquale wasted no time poking fun at the show’s regular presenter as he appeared to take control of the programme.
Pretending to be Bradley, he introduced himself as “TV’s luckiest man” and joked about having to ask questions he could barely read or understand.
But the joke was short-lived.
Joe Pasquale hosted The Chase this evening(Image: ITV)
Bradley was heard shouting “cut” before demanding that security remove his replacement. Pasquale promptly ran away, leaving the spoof to serve as the opening gag for the bloopers special.
Bradley then appeared in the control room, joking about his supposed role behind the scenes.
“Yes, it’s me, the real Brad,” he said, before adding that he was not actually the director and was only allowed to sit in the chair if he promised not to touch anything.
The sequence was clearly intended as a playful parody rather than any genuine change to the programme’s hosting line-up.
Joe ran off set after being chased by Bradley(Image: ITV)
The Chase fans had recently praised a remarkable contestant
The light-hearted spoof came after another memorable moment involving one of the show’s contestants and Chaser Paul Sinha.
In a previous episode, 65-year-old Lindsay, a former GP from Scotland, put in a remarkable performance during the final stage of the game.
After being guided into the Final Chase by Bradley Walsh, Lindsay answered almost every question correctly and played a major role in securing money and points for his team.
His performance impressed viewers, with fans taking to Twitter to praise him as one of the strongest contestants to appear on the programme.
One viewer described Lindsay as “an absolute machine” and called him one of the best contestants the show had ever seen.
Another said it had effectively become “The Chase versus Lindsay” after watching him dominate the game.
Paul Sinha admits he was impressed
Even Paul Sinha was taken aback by Lindsay’s performance.
After watching the contestant’s impressive run, the Chaser told him that, regardless of the eventual outcome, he considered Lindsay “undoubtedly” one of the best Final Chase players he had ever faced.
The praise highlighted just how difficult a challenge the contestant had presented.
While Lindsay’s performance provided one of the more serious highlights from the quiz show, Bradley’s temporary “replacement” offered viewers something completely different — a deliberately exaggerated joke about what The Chase might look like without its familiar host.
For fans who enjoy Bradley Walsh’s presence on the programme, the message of the spoof was ultimately reassuring: this was only a joke, and the real Bradley was back in charge.