The Chase viewers were left accusing the ITV quiz show of being “fixed” after the Chaser appeared to receive a string of questions they considered far easier than those faced by the contestants.
The episode saw Ariane, Eddie, Sophie and Peter attempt to build a substantial prize fund before facing Paul Sinha, known as The Sinnerman, in the final chase.
By the time the final began, the trio had built a £90,000 prize pot—but viewers were already suspicious about whether they would be allowed to take it home.
The three quizzers had the chance at taking home £30,000 each(Image: ITV)
Eddie gets the team off to a strong start
Eddie, from Essex, was the first contestant to face The Sinnerman.
He put together an impressive Cash Builder, answering enough questions correctly to earn £4,000. After a tense head-to-head against the Chaser, Eddie managed to make it back to his teammates and secured the first place in the Final Chase.
Sophie from Bristol was next.
She matched Eddie’s £4,000 Cash Builder total, but her run ended during a tense one-question shoot-out. After The Sinnerman caught her, Bradley Walsh delivered the words every contestant dreads:
“You have been caught and for you the chase is over.”
Sophie was eliminated, leaving the team with two players still to come.
Peter changed the tone of the game by taking the huge high offer of £83,000(Image: ITV)
Ariane takes the lower offer
Ariane then stepped up and showed off her strong general knowledge in the quick-fire Cash Builder.
She managed to accumulate an impressive £7,000 before facing The Sinnerman’s offers.
Rather than risk everything, Ariane accepted the lower offer of £3,000, hoping to secure her place in the Final Chase alongside Eddie.
Her decision paid off and she returned to the team.
That left Peter as the final contestant—and he had a much bigger decision to make.
Peter takes the £83,000 gamble
Peter earned £5,000 in his Cash Builder before being presented with a dramatic higher offer of £83,000.
He had already promised himself that he would take the high offer if the opportunity arose, and he stuck to his word.
Speaking to Bradley Walsh, Peter said: “My daughter would never forgive me, I always said I’d go high and I’m gonna go high.”
The decision earned plenty of praise from viewers watching at home.
One wrote: “Finally someone came to play the game.”
Another said: “Fair play for going high.”
Peter then delivered exactly what the team needed, successfully making it back to the others and pushing the total prize fund to an enormous £90,000.
With Eddie, Ariane and Peter now in the Final Chase, the team had a major payday within reach.
Viewers predict trouble before the final
The excitement was quickly mixed with suspicion among some viewers.
Before the Final Chase had even got underway, one person on X predicted: “[They] won’t be allowed to take £90k.”
The team managed to answer 17 questions correctly during their portion of the final.
But The Sinnerman proved too strong.
Paul Sinha caught the team with 34 seconds still remaining on the clock, ending their hopes of taking the £90,000 prize.
Fans accuse the show of giving the Chaser “easy” questions
The result prompted an angry reaction online, with some viewers claiming the questions given to The Sinnerman were noticeably easier than those faced by the contestants.
One viewer wrote: “Knew it! Knew the chaser would get easy questions. I knew all of them bar one! Always happens when money is high.”
Another asked: “How easy were the chasers questions.”
Others joined the debate, with comments including: “Easy questions for a chaser there” and “The Chase is such an unfair quiz.”
One viewer took a humorous approach to the criticism, contrasting what they believed were the difficulty levels of the questions given to each side.
They joked: “Contestant questions: Who was the Queen’s third dog’s sister younger cousin from Trinidad? Chaser questions: What’s 4+7? Joke #thechase.”
The comments reflected the frustration of some viewers who believed the difficulty of the questions had helped The Sinnerman close the gap and prevent the team from collecting their £90,000.
However, the contestants ultimately left without the prize money after the Chaser caught them with 34 seconds remaining.
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV1.