The Chase is a British television quiz show broadcast on the ITV network, hosted by Bradley Walsh. Contestants play against a professional quizzer, known as the "Chaser", who attempts to prevent them from winning a cash prize. As of 2025[update], there are six chasers Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan, and Darragh Ennis. With Labbett and Wallace have both been chasers since Series 1 while Hegerty joined in Series 2, Sinha in Series 4, Ryan in Series 9, and Ennis in Series 13. With exceptions for special episodes (for example Christmas specials and anniversary episodes), only one chaser participates in a single episode.
A team of four contestants individually attempt to amass as much money as possible which is later added to a prize fund if the contestant survives their chase. The chaser must attempt to catch each contestant during their chase, eliminating that person from the game and preventing the money from being added to the collective prize fund. In the individual chase, the player must choose between a higher offer (closer to the chaser), their earned money and a lower offer (further away from the chaser). Later, in the final round, contestants who survived their chases play collectively as a team against the chaser for an equal share of the prize fund.
The show gets a regular audience of three to five million, The Chase is one of the most successful and longest running game shows on UK television and one of ITV's most successful daytime shows ever.[4] The show has been nominated seven times at the National Television Awards, winning in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and 2024. They also won for the spin-off series Beat the Chasers in 2021 and 2022.[5] It was also nominated for the inaugural Best Daytime award at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards but won it in 2022.[6]
Screenshot from the ITV version illustrating how an individual chase appears on-screen. The contestant has selected the £9,000 offer and is thus five correct answers away from banking the money so far they have got one correct answer, and has the chaser, with the chaser, represented by the red arrow.
Each contestant individually attempts to accumulate money for the team's prize fund through two rounds. In the first round, known as the "Cash Builder", the contestant answers as many questions as they can within one minute. Each correct answer awards £1,000; there is no penalty for incorrect answers or passes. After completing the Cash Builder, the contestant enters the "Head-to-Head" round, attempting to move the money down to the bottom of a seven-step board and into the team's prize fund ("home") without being caught by the Chaser.[7]
The contestant is given three options by the Chaser at the start of the Head-to-Head round: play for the money earned in the Cash Builder and start three steps down the board (requiring five correct answers to reach home), accept a higher offer and start two steps down, or accept a lower offer and start four steps down. The lower offer can be zero or even a negative amount if the team has already banked some money. Once the starting position is selected, the host asks a series of multiple-choice questions to the contestant and the Chaser, both of whom individually select one of the three answer options on keypads. After either person locks in a guess, the other must do so within five seconds or be locked out for that turn. A correct answer moves the person who gave it one step down the board while a wrong answer or lock-out leaves them where they are.
If the contestant reaches home without being caught, they advance to the Final Chase and their money is added to the team's prize fund (or deducted, if they took a negative amount). If the Chaser catches up, the contestant is eliminated and the money is forfeited. If all four contestants are caught by the Chaser, they nominate one contestant to play the Final Chase alone.
Contestants who are blind or visually impaired, or who are deaf or hearing impaired, are allowed to have a helper present who can assist in conveying information to them as needed. The helper may not suggest answers or take any other active role in the game.
The contestants who have won their head-to-head chases blindly select one of two question sets for themselves, with the other set put aside for the Chaser, and then have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible on the buzzer. Any answer given by a contestant who has not buzzed-in is automatically ruled wrong; if only one contestant is participating in this round, the buzzer is not used. Every correct answer moves the team one step ahead of the Chaser, and they are given a head start of one step per contestant participating in this round. The contestants may not discuss or confer on any questions during this portion of the round and may pass as often as desired. There is no time limit on individual questions; the host will only ask a new question after someone has either answered or passed on the current one.[8][9][10]
The Chaser is then given two minutes to answer questions from the unused set in an attempt to catch the team, moving one step ahead per correct answer. If the Chaser passes or misses a question, the clock stops and the team is given a chance to discuss it and respond; a correct answer pushes the Chaser back one step or (from series 3 onwards) moves the team ahead one step if the Chaser is at the starting line. If the Chaser catches the team before the time expires, the prize fund is forfeited and the contestants receive nothing.[11] During celebrity editions, a consolation £1,000 is donated to each celebrity's chosen charity in this case. If the Chaser is unable to catch up to the team, the participating contestants split the prize fund equally. If all four contestants are caught in their head-to-head chases and the one they nominate wins the Final Chase, each contestant wins £1,000 (£2,000 in celebrity specials).
Three episodes are filmed in a day, each one taking around an hour and a half to film. According to Walsh, "It runs like clockwork." The Final Chase can be stopped and re-started if Walsh stumbles on a question. He told the Radio Times, "If there is a slight misread, I am stopped immediately – bang – by the lawyers. We have the compliance lawyers in the studio all the time. What you have to do is go back to the start of the question, literally on videotape where my mouth opens – or where it's closed from the previous question – and the question is re-asked. It is stopped to the split second."[12]
Between March 2020 and late June 2020, production of the series was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the series was already on a previously scheduled production hiatus at the time of the suspension. In an interview with The Sun's TV Mag, Walsh said that the show was "at least 100 episodes behind schedule" due to lockdown; during the production hiatus, repeats were shown in the programme's regular timeslot.[13]
Anne Hegerty (2010–). Known as the "The Governess", appeared twice on Mastermind,[14]Fifteen to One, Today's the Day, Brain of Britain, and Are You an Egghead?. Hegerty is also a chaser on the Australian version of the show.
Paul Sinha (2011–) Known as the "The Sinnerman", appeared on Are You an Egghead?, Brain of Britain, Mastermind, University Challenge, and Weakest Link.[14] He is also a stand-up comedian, with a comedy series called Paul Sinha's General Knowledge broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[16][17]
Jenny Ryan (2015–) Known as the "The Vixen", appeared on Mastermind, Are You an Egghead?, Fifteen to One, and The Weakest Link; part of a team that reached the semi-finals of University Challenge and was part of a winning team on Only Connect.[18]
Darragh Ennis (2020–) Known as the "The Menace", part of a winning team against Paul Sinha on The Chase in 2017. Ennis is a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford University studying insects.[19]
A spin-off series titled The Chase: Celebrity Special featuring celebrity teams as contestants began airing on ITV in 2011. As many contestants are comedians or actors, there is a much-higher comedic element. The game is played the same way as the regular version. However, if all four celebrities have been caught by the Chaser, the prize fund during the Final Chase is £8,000 (originally £4,000). If the team is caught during the Final Chase, a consolation prize of £1,000 is awarded to the charities for each celebrity who advanced to this stage.
For celebrity specials airing at Christmas, the Chasers frequently appear in costumes adhering to a common theme, such as Panto villains, subjects of famous paintings, or characters typically associated with Christmas.
In February 2017, ITV commissioned The Family Chase, a spin-off featuring a team of four family members.[24] The six-episode spin-off debuted on 2 September 2017.[25]
Series 2 was commissioned by ITV.
This series aired from 24 March 2019 to 24 May 2020.
No further series of the spin-off have been commissioned by ITV, though it has not yet been cancelled.
This version follows the same rules as the parent programme, but any winnings in the Final Chase are awarded to the entire family rather than individual members.
In December 2017, a special episode of the show was broadcast entitled The Chase: The Bloopers, featuring (mostly) unseen mistakes, outtakes and gags from the previous 8 years of the show. This has gone on to become an annual comedic bloopers show where Walsh and the Chasers introduce various clips from the show. As of 7 December 2024, 8 Bloopers shows have been broadcast.[26]
In November 2019, ITV commissioned another spin-off called Beat the Chasers. It began airing in prime-time on 27 April 2020 and features contestants attempting to beat up to five Chasers to win big cash prizes. The Chasers that featured in the show were Sinha, Labbett, Ryan, Hegerty and Wallace.[27]
In this special isolation version of the show, broadcast on The Chase's YouTube channel and shown straight after the main show, all five Chasers are presenters and viewers at home can play along, for they are the contestants. Each series has five episodes; the first series was shown in mid-May 2020, and was hosted by Jenny Ryan. Between late-May and early-June, the second series was shown across consecutive days and presented by Shaun Wallace. On 1 March 2021, it was announced that a new series would be available on ITVX for six episodes, every Monday at 6:00 pm.[28]
The Chasers' Road Trip: Trains, Brains and Automobiles
In November 2020, ITV announced another spin-off in which The Beast, The Dark Destroyer and The Governess go on a road trip around the world.[29] On their travels, they play against child geniuses, great apes, dolphins and robots. The series takes them to the UK, the US and Japan. Episode 1 of the show aired on 21 January 2021,[30] episode 2 aired on 28 January 2021[31] and episode 3 aired on 4 February 2021.[32] The series was narrated by Rob Brydon.
On 11 February 2024, the popular British YouTube group the Sidemen posted a comedic spin-off episode of The Chase on their group channel, with clips also shared on The Chase's official YouTube channel.[33] The video was filmed on the show's set, and also used the on-set cameras and crew whilst using the graphics and music from the TV programme. It also features a guest appearance from Bradley Walsh during a brief intermission.
On 2 September 2024, a spin-off episode of The Chase was aired on ITV to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the popular quiz show. Hosted by Bradley Walsh, the episode featured two Chasers who took it in turns to play against the contestants. The two Chasers selected for the episode were Mark Labbett (nicknamed "The Beast") and Shaun Wallace (nicknamed "The Dark Destroyer"). Both Chasers have been on the show since Series 1 in 2009. The contestants all shared their names with the other Chasers. The episode aired in The Chase's usual 5:00pm slot on ITV1 and snippets of the show were uploaded to The Chase's official YouTube channel and Instagram account.[35]
The Chase is highly popular with critics and viewers. Despite early criticism,[8] opinion has improved over time. Some critics, as well as the chasers,[4] put the show's success down to Walsh as host and his many memorable moments, some of which come from questions or answers which often leave him in highly contagious hysterics. Labbett also said that the sense of fun and the variety of chasers is a major factor.[4] Sinha said, "The format has been brilliantly thought out. No matter the relative strengths of the players, it is resolutely a team game, with a dramatic climax."[36]
The Chase has also been criticised on several occasions, such as the Final Chase, when it is alleged that Walsh asks the chasers' questions more quickly than those of the contestants.[37] In an interview with the Radio Times, Walsh repudiated those claims: "We have lawyers on the floor to watch all of this. I read [the questions] at the same speed for both." He went on to say, "Don't forget, if I've got Mark Labbett answering questions for two minutes and I've got a team answering for two minutes, the team aren't going to be quicker. Simple as that, because they have to press the button [before answering], which is why they get a head start based on how many people are in the final. If you've got three people in the final chase that's a three-step head start–that's about a twelve-second advantage."[38]
There have also been a number of games where the chaser has won with an answer right on the final buzzer, which some viewers have perceived to be out of time;[39] spokespeople have asserted that an independent adjudicator – a representative from Beyond Dispute Ltd[40] – always checks each show and makes the final call on whether answers were in or out of time.[41]
On 6 April 2016, on an episode where Labbett was the chaser, a glitch occurred whereby the clock froze at 10seconds and then increased to 11seconds, giving Labbett an extra second. Although the contestants were far ahead and there was no chance of them being caught (and would win a £27,000 pot), a spokesperson for the show told OK! Online the following day that an error occurred during the editing process, but gameplay was otherwise not affected by it.[42]
On 4 March 2019, an episode was broadcast where Walsh asked a question about which band had the fewest members, with the possible answers being the Proclaimers, the Pretenders, or the Prodigy. Many viewers criticised ITV for deciding to air the episode hours after it was announced that Prodigy frontman Keith Flint had died by suicide.[43][44]
On 26 January 2022, Labbett lost the final chase and, after briefly congratulating the winners, stormed off the set punching the wall on his way out. This left Walsh to apologise to the audience, though in a rather sarcastic tone, stating "I apologise to all the kids watching, that's not how you should take defeat." Labbett subsequently apologised for his behaviour via Twitter, as well as revealing that his mental health at the time of recording the particular episode was not very good, consequently affecting his behaviour. His fans online supported him through this, one of which was fellow Chaser, Paul Sinha. Sinha commented, "You should never have to apologise for the crime of “being human”. I’d have been nowhere on those questions."[45]
On 18 May 2023, one of the questions Walsh asked to a contestant in the middle of the cash builder run was "In computer security, what word can go before "code", "phrase" and "word"?" It had seemed this particular question had gained the contestant an undeserved £1,000 as he had answered "pass" so as to skip the question due to not knowing. This, ironically, turned out to be the correct answer which left both Walsh and the contestant stunned at this outcome.
During its first two series, the show averaged 1–2 million viewers, then more than 2million during series three. By December 2012, The Chase had become ITV's most popular "teatime" programme since The Paul O'Grady Show in 2005, with more than 3million viewers an episode.[46] In January 2021, The Chase managed a peak audience of more than 5 million, an all-time high.[47] Almost every episode is now seen by between 4 and 5 million viewers, and regularly features on ITV's Top 15 weekly broadcasts.[48]
In its timeslot, The Chase airs at the same time as BBC One's Pointless,[49] a game show launched in August 2009, two months after The Chase's debut.[4] The two programmes usually receive similar ratings (for example in September 2012, The Chase had 2.44 million viewers versus 2.27 million for Pointless).[50] However, between October 2012 and January 2013, The Chase beat Pointless in the ratings each week. For two weeks in February 2013, Pointless received a higher share than The Chase (3.53 million viewers to 3.41 million, and again 3.58 million viewers to 3.30 million).[51]
This table lists all international variants in the television game show franchise The Chase that have been broadcast since the debut of the original British version of the show on 29 June 2009.
On 12 December 2012, a version for iOS was released by Barnstorm Games. The app features four chasers (excluding Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan and Darragh "The Menace" Ennis, both of whom had not yet appeared on the programme at the time of release) and can be played by up to four people, as in the actual show. The only differences between the app and the show are that four choices are presented for questions in the Cash Builder and the Final Chase rounds and that no Final Chase is played if all four players are caught in their head-to-head chases. The app is designed for both iPhones and iPads.[132] An updated version, The Chase: Ultimate Edition, was released in 2017 and features five chasers (excluding Ennis) and host Walsh. In 2020, the app was updated to now feature Ennis.[133] In 2023, a free app entitled The Chase: World Tour was launched and features Chasers from the British, American and Australian versions of the show.[134]
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