The Chase host Bradley Walsh was accused by a group of disgruntled viewers of “speeding up the questions” to help Jenny Ryan win on last night’s episode (Wednesday February 17).
It was a classic episode of the ITV quiz show, which saw Jenny, 38, come within a second of beating out a team of three in the final.
However, some fans claimed Bradley appeared to speed up his questions in order to help out the Chaser.
What happened on The Chase last night?
Scoring 19 in the final chase, and defending a prize pot of 18 grand, the team of Sue, John and Sophie stood a great chance of beating Jenny.
However, the Bolton-born chaser had other ideas and she steamed through the opening questions.
But she soon came unstuck and faced a race against time to catch up.
Read more: The Chase: ITV viewers complain contestant’s answer should have been accepted
With only several seconds remaining, Brad asked: “Proverbially, a bird in the hand is worth two in the…?”
Instead of jumping in to give the easy answer, Jenny waited until the end of the question but by that time the clock had run down.
Consequently, the team took away the £18k in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Answer me this @ #TheChase Why does @BradleyWalsh spit those questions out as quick as he can breath for the chaser? Show me the rules that he’s allowed to do that faster than the contestants!
— MaryIsBack (@JLucy001) February 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/HarrisonDavies/status/1362099050993041409
Wow that was SO close. Is Bradley allowed to speed up with Qs towards the last few seconds?? #TheChase
— TheAifaZi (@TheAifaZi) February 17, 2021
https://twitter.com/cb_038/status/1362098225893801985
What did viewers accuse Bradley of?
Despite the tense finish, viewers soon took to Twitter to accuse Bradley of speeding up the question to Jenny as the clock ran out.
One angry viewer wrote: “Answer me this #TheChase. Why does @BradleyWalsh spit those questions out as quick as he can breathe for the chaser?
“Show me the rules that he’s allowed to do that faster than the contestants!”
Show me the rules that he’s allowed to do that faster than the contestants!
Another said: “Not happy that you speed up your question asking for the chaser as time is running out, but not for the contestants.
“You need to be using a consistent speed or it’s a mockery of fair competition. #TheChase.”
Finally, a third commented: “Brad speeding up again, tut tut.”
What did Jenny say about the defeat?
For Jenny it was a case of what might have been.
After the breathless finale, Brad shouted at Jenny: “BUSH! I can’t believe you didn’t jump in with a split-second left!”
Read more: The Chase: Viewers brand Shaun Wallace ‘useless’ as team wins £60k
“If I’d have been looking at the clock I would’ve jumped in,” Jenny replied.
“My reactions should’ve been a bit quicker. I’m annoyed with myself, obviously.”
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