Bradley Walsh Left Apologising After The Chase Star’s Savage Four-Word Swipe
The Chase took an awkward turn when contestant Jacqueline was dramatically caught just one question away from making it back to the team.
The latest episode saw Shaun “The Dark Destroyer” Wallace take on four hopeful players, with James, Peter and Robyn already safely back at the table after building a combined prize fund of £9,000.
That left Jacqueline as the final contestant to face Shaun.
She immediately impressed host Bradley Walsh by answering seven questions correctly in her cash-builder round, earning £7,000.
Bradley praised her performance as “very good”, while Shaun appeared equally aware that she could become a serious threat if she reached the Final Chase.
“You’ve got to go,” he told her.
Jacqueline Refuses Tempting £71,000 Offer
Jacqueline was offered the chance to play for a lower amount of £1,000 or gamble on a huge £71,000 high offer.
Instead, she decided to stick with the £7,000 she had earned in her cash builder.
For much of the head-to-head, it looked as though her decision might pay off.
But with only one question separating Jacqueline from safety, Shaun closed the gap and caught her.
Bradley looked genuinely disappointed as he apologised before confirming that her time on the programme was over.
Shaun, meanwhile, admitted the result had worked heavily in his favour.
He said eliminating Jacqueline had done him “a massive favour” because it meant he would face only three contestants in the Final Chase rather than a full team of four.
He later described himself as “lucky” to have caught her.
Viewers Left Frustrated by Slow Final Chase
James, Peter and Robyn then entered the Final Chase with a three-step head start.
They had two minutes to build as large a target as possible for Shaun to pursue.
However, viewers quickly noticed that the team’s opening answers appeared unusually slow.
One viewer asked: “Are they the slowest ever?”
Another wrote: “This is freaking snail’s pace!”
Others made similar comments about how long the two-minute round appeared to take.
Bradley also acknowledged that the contestants had struggled early on.
“The second bit was OK, the first one was a bit sticky, I’ve got to say,” he told them.
The team eventually set Shaun a target of 15.
Bradley warned that 15 had previously proved enough to win, but said they would need to take advantage of any pushback opportunities if they wanted to protect the prize fund.
Shaun Catches Team With Seconds Remaining
Shaun approached the Final Chase carefully, taking his time over several answers rather than rushing.
The contestants were given three opportunities to push him back after he answered incorrectly, but successfully converted only one.
That proved costly.
The Dark Destroyer eventually caught their target with nine seconds still remaining on the clock.
Bradley highlighted how deliberate Shaun had been throughout the chase, saying the quizzer had taken his time to make sure his answers were correct.
“Three attempts to push back, one executed,” he said.
The host then pointed out just how important the earlier loss of Jacqueline had ultimately been.
Had she survived her head-to-head and joined the Final Chase, the team would have received an additional step in their head start.
Bradley suggested that difference could have completely changed the result, particularly given how close Shaun came to running out of time.
He told the defeated contestants that with two more successful pushbacks, they could have taken home the money.
More significantly, he argued that if Jacqueline had been there as a fourth player, Shaun’s chase might have been over considerably earlier.
For Jacqueline, it made her narrow defeat even more painful.
She had been only one correct answer away from reaching the final — and in the end, her absence may have been exactly what allowed Shaun to secure another victory.
