Bradley Walsh has lifted the lid on an unexpected moment behind the scenes of Beat The Chasers, revealing that even the usually confident quiz masters were left apologising after making mistakes in front of their fellow Chasers.
The 59-year-old presenter, who fronts both The Chase and the upcoming spin-off, explained that the dynamic changes dramatically when Mark Labbett, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan and Shaun Wallace are forced to work together.
Unlike the daytime show, where the Chasers are normally competing against contestants, Beat The Chasers sees players take on two, three, four or all five Chasers at once.
Bradley Walsh: The Chase star has discussed spin-off Beat The Chasers (Image: ITV)
Bradley Walsh: The Chase star opened up about what happened backstage (Image: ITV)
And according to Bradley, the pressure was enough to leave some of the quiz experts visibly frustrated with themselves.
“They’ve got to be quick on the buzzer to not let the time go by,” he explained.
“They are jumping in and then as soon as they realise they’ve given a wrong answer it’s, ‘Agh!’”
Bradley said the reactions were particularly entertaining because the other Chasers would immediately realise what had happened.
“You could see it in their faces and you could see it in the other Chasers’ faces as well where they’re thinking, ‘Oh crikey, fancy saying that!’”
But it was what happened afterwards that really surprised him.
“At the end of it, the Chasers that had made the mistakes were so apologetic saying, ‘I’m so sorry I made a mistake’,” Bradley recalled.
“And I loved that because they’re normally not that humble.”
Bradley Walsh: The Chase presenter spoke of the apologetic Chasers (Image: ITV)
Bradley Walsh appears alongside all of The Chase stars (Image: ITV)
Despite the occasional mistake, Bradley had plenty of praise for the team, singling out Paul Sinha as one of the standout performers.
“Paul Sinha comes to the fore because of his standup comic timing, his quick ability and the fact that he’s the reigning British Quizzing Champion don’t forget,” he said.
“He is immense on this show. He’s so, so funny and so, so quick.”
Bradley also insisted there were no major arguments between the Chasers during filming, although he admitted he couldn’t resist making the most of their competitive nature.
“I did take every opportunity to wind them up in the most unceremonious fashion and in front of the audience,” he said.
And the presenter particularly enjoyed seeing the normally formidable Chasers lose some of their confidence.
“Their pride is hurt a little bit. That’s the bit I loved!”
Bradley also revealed that the studio audience became an important part of the action, with viewers regularly offering contestants advice about which Chasers to take on.
“I was turning around and saying, ‘What do you think?’ and they’re saying to the contestant, ‘Only take on three players’, or ‘Only do this’, or ‘Do that’,” he said.
“It was a very interesting dynamic.”
Beat The Chasers will see contestants answer five multiple-choice questions in the Cash Builder, with the chance to bank up to £5,000. However, getting the first question wrong means elimination.
Those who survive can then choose to face between two and all five Chasers, with bigger potential winnings available but a smaller time advantage.
The new five-part series launches next week, promising a very different dynamic from the regular The Chase — and, if Bradley is right, plenty of moments when even the Chasers find themselves wishing they could take an answer back.