The Beast Mark Labbett has sparked a furious reaction from The Chase viewers after appearing to give his final correct answer as the clock reached zero.
Contestants Patricia, Marian and Graham were left devastated after losing their £30,000 prize when Labbett successfully answered one last question in the dramatic final seconds.
With only six seconds remaining, The Beast needed to answer two more questions correctly to catch the team and win the final.
But as host Bradley Walsh began reading what appeared to be the final question, Labbett interrupted before Walsh had finished speaking.
He immediately gave his answer — “Switzerland” — and was ruled correct just as the clock ran out.
The decision left the three contestants with nothing, despite having fought to protect their £30,000 prize.
The Beast answered his final question correctly – but fans argued he was out of time
‘You didn’t deserve to lose’
After the tense finish, Labbett appeared sympathetic towards the defeated team and acknowledged just how close the game had been.
“You didn’t deserve to lose,” he told Patricia, Marian and Graham.
“I’m really sorry guys, you were superb.”
But while The Beast apologised to the contestants, viewers at home were far less forgiving about the outcome.
The contestants lost their £30,000
Many took to social media to question whether the answer should have counted, arguing that the clock had already reached zero before the response was completed.
One furious viewer accused ITV of putting itself “in hot water” by refusing to award the £30,000 to the team, insisting that the clock had run down before Labbett gave his answer.
Another viewer questioned why the rules appeared to be different for the chaser, arguing that contestants were not normally given an answer if they had failed to complete it before time expired.
The controversial ending quickly led to accusations that the programme had been “fixed”, although the angry posts reflected viewers’ reactions rather than establishing that the show had actually been rigged.
The Beast apologised to the hopefuls
Another ‘fix’ accusation hits The Chase
The explosive ending came just days after the ITV quiz show had faced another wave of criticism from viewers.
Earlier that week, fans had accused producers of giving chaser Anne Hegerty unusually easy questions during another final.
Contestants Sarah-Jane and Marjorie had put in a strong performance, answering 18 questions correctly to set the chaser a formidable target.
Viewers accused the show of being ‘fixed’ earlier this week too
However, Hegerty quickly began closing the gap with her own questions.
Before the clock ran out, she had matched the pair’s total, meaning Sarah-Jane and Marjorie would leave without their prize.
Some viewers claimed the questions given to Hegerty appeared noticeably easier than those faced by the contestants and argued that this had given her an unfair advantage.
The latest controversy involving The Beast therefore became another flashpoint for fans already questioning the show’s final rounds.
For Patricia, Marian and Graham, however, the frustration was particularly sharp: they had £30,000 within reach, only to see the result decided by a final answer given at the very moment the clock expired.