The Chase fans claim the show is ‘fixed’ after team misses out on $200,000

Fans of The Chase are claiming the show is “rigged” after one team missed out on £100,000 ($200,000) in the last few seconds.

A recent episode aired in the UK has upset fans after Chaser Mark Labbett aka The Beast managed to catch a team of four - who made it back from the cash builder - mere seconds before they could have taken home the huge prize money.

The Daily Mail reported that in 27 seconds, Labbett was able to beat the team - which included brainbox Joann - in their 18 steps, sailing through the questions. Now, fans have claimed they were too easy as they at home were also able to easily answer them. Some of the questions included “what colour are most vinyl records?” and “what domesticated fowl lays barn eggs?”

Many have since taken to X, formerly Twitter, claiming the show is rigged with one person saying, “The Chase is a joke. Professional quizzers getting asked the most ridiculous questions that my kids could guess.”

A second person questioned, “Why did The Beast have his fingers on the responder buttons during the final chase? Damn easy questions those too. Far simpler than the questions given to the contestants.”

Another said, “This is so rigged it’s unbelievable.”

A fourth person shared their theory stating, “Is it me or does Bradley Walsh speed up with questions for the chaser.”

Despite the backlash, not all viewers agreed with the theory the show is rigged as one person noted the show’s host, Walsh, gives the contestants an option to answer questions from unsealed envelopes in Set A or Set B, “If the team chose this set then they would have had those questions. They are easy though, overly easy,” the person said.

Another said, “Joann did well but nobody else really stood out, and even her cashbuilder was weak. Very easy questions on the chase also. But who knows.”

It comes after Labbett revealed he had a “breakdown” while filming a recent episode of the popular show as he was set to face a “star” team.

“I had a breakdown prior to the final chase, was utterly demoralised by yet another star team,” Labbett wrote signing off his post with a sad face emoji.

However, he was not left to deal with his upset alone as his co-star Paul Sinha, better known as The Sinnerman, rushed to offer support.

Replying to his friend’s post, he wrote, “It’s easily lost we’re not robots, we’re human beings trying our best. Whatever you see on screen is a snapshot of us at an unspecified moment sometime in the last 18 months.”

“We could have been under stress for any number of reasons, much of [which] may be long forgotten,” the popular chaser added.

This article was first published in the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.