The Chase viewers were left furious after a tense Final Chase descended into accusations that host Bradley Walsh was giving the Chaser an unfair advantage.
Three contestants made it to the final round of Tuesday’s The Chase on ITVCredit: ITV
Three contestants — Nwamaka, Joe and Alicia — had successfully made it through to the final round of the ITV quiz show, where they faced Jenny “The Vixen” Ryan with £59,000 at stake.
But rather than celebrating the trio’s achievement, viewers quickly became frustrated as the Final Chase unfolded.
Some fans claimed Walsh was reading the questions to the contestants more slowly than he did for the Chaser, suggesting that the difference in pace was effectively giving Jenny extra time to answer.
The criticism became particularly intense when The Vixen eventually finished the chase comfortably, answering 19 questions with 15 seconds still remaining.
One unhappy viewer took to Twitter to question how many questions the Chaser was able to get through compared with the team.
“How many more questions get squeezed in for the chaser in the final chase than for the team @ITVchase? It’s an absolute joke,” they wrote.
Another frustrated fan hit out at the show, complaining that when a large amount of money was involved, the Chaser appeared to be getting easier questions.
A third viewer went even further, telling the programme: “@ITVChase can’t tell me your show isn’t fixed.”
The accusations centred on the speed at which Walsh delivered the questions, with some viewers convinced that pauses and slower questioning were allowing Jenny more time to build an unassailable lead.
Despite the online backlash, the episode ended with The Vixen securing a straightforward victory after her impressive performance in the Final Chase.
Bradley Walsh Opens Up About His Eye Condition
The viewer outrage came around the same time that Walsh had spoken publicly about an ongoing health issue that can affect the appearance of his eyes.
The presenter revealed that he suffers from blepharitis, a condition that can cause his eyelids to become red, swollen and itchy during particularly bad flare-ups.
Walsh explained that he takes medication every day to control the problem and admitted that he may eventually need an operation to deal with it.
Speaking about the condition on This Morning, the 61-year-old said people often commented on the appearance of his eyes without realising that he was dealing with a medical problem.
“I have to take one pill a day for it or I really struggle,” he explained, adding that he expected to need surgery on his eyes at some point.
Walsh also said that the medication helps keep the symptoms under control and that his appearance returns to normal when the treatment is working.
Blepharitis is not usually considered a serious condition, but it can cause a number of uncomfortable complications if it is not properly treated. These can include dry eyes, cysts and conjunctivitis.
In more severe cases, sufferers can even wake up to find their eyelids stuck together.
For Walsh, however, the condition has become something he manages as part of his daily life — even as viewers continue to scrutinise his appearance on screen.
Meanwhile, the latest Final Chase left fans scrutinising something else entirely: the pace of the questions and whether the contestants were really being given a fair chance against The Vixen.