Shaun Wallace is rarely caught off guard on The Chase, but the Dark Destroyer surprised viewers when he failed to press his buzzer in time during one of the show’s questions.
The unusual moment came as the final contestant, John, faced Shaun in the head-to-head round. After John had correctly answered two questions in the Cash Builder, host Bradley Walsh posed a question about the source of a major river.
Shaun Runs Out of Time
Shaun Wallace makes epic The Chase blunder ‘First time in ten years I’ve done that!’ (Image: ITV)
Bradley asked: “The source of which of these rivers is located in the Himalayas?”
The three possible answers were:
A. Mekong
B. Euphrates
C. Ganges
John and Shaun had around ten seconds to lock in their answers.
But, in an unusually costly lapse, Shaun failed to press his buzzer before the time ran out and therefore did not give an answer.
“Chaser out of time!” Bradley announced.
John selected the Mekong, but the correct answer was the Ganges.
The Chase: Today’s team (Image: ITV)
The Chase: The question (Image: ITV)
Bradley then asked Shaun what answer he would have chosen.
“Ganges,” Shaun replied.
“I knew you were going to say that,” Bradley told him.
Shaun could only laugh at the unusual situation.
“First time in ten years I’ve done that!” he admitted.
The Chase: Shaun didn’t buzz in (Image: ITV)
Viewers Couldn’t Believe What They Had Seen
The moment immediately caught the attention of The Chase viewers, with some taking to Twitter to comment on the Chaser’s rare mistake.
One viewer joked: “I’ve never seen a Chaser run out of time…of course it’s Shaun.”
Another was equally surprised, writing: “Okay, who’s in the Chaser’s seat, and what have they done with Shaun Wallace?”
A third viewer questioned the unexpected mistake: “Shaun out of time on an easy question ?!?! Fix ….#TheChase.”
Others simply wondered what had happened, with one asking: “WTF happened there, Shaun???”
Despite the flood of reactions, the missed buzzer did not ultimately cost Shaun the game.
Shaun Still Gets the Job Done
Shaun went on to eliminate John from the quiz show, leaving Alastair and Mari to face him in the Final Chase.
The pair managed to answer 16 questions, but Shaun still had a substantial advantage.
Even after one pushback, the Dark Destroyer eventually caught them with 56 seconds remaining, securing another victory.
The brief buzzer blunder may have given viewers an unusual glimpse of Shaun under pressure, but it ultimately had little impact on the outcome of the game.
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV.