Bradley Walsh pulls The Chase player aside after ‘cheeky’ comment about Shaun Wallace’s poem

Bradley Walsh was forced to step in and pull a contestant aside during a recent episode of The Chase after an unexpectedly blunt reaction to Shaun Wallace’s attempt at poetry.

The ITV quiz show returned on Monday, September 29, with Bradley welcoming four new contestants to the studio: Mark, Cat, Elliot and Doyin. The group were hoping to build up enough money to take on one of the Chasers and leave with a cash prize.

This time, they faced Shaun Wallace, better known to viewers as The Dark Destroyer.

The episode took an amusing turn when Elliot, who lives in Manchester, revealed that he was a keen poetry fan and even writes poems himself.

That prompted Shaun to show off a little of his own poetic ability.

Shaun Wallace delivers an unexpected poem

When Elliot came face to face with Shaun, the Chaser decided to recite a poem for him.

Addressing the contestant, Shaun said:

“Hello, Elliot. The Tutor. It’s your party, but I’m a pooper. So get on your bike, or a scooter. It’s outside, beeping its hooter.”

Elliot, however, did not seem particularly impressed by the performance.

He replied: “It’s actually not that bad.”

Bradley immediately reacted with an exasperated “Oh my goodness,” making it clear that he was not about to let the exchange continue without getting involved.

Elliot then offered a more detailed assessment of Shaun’s work. While he was critical of the content, he conceded that the structure itself was fairly strong.

“The rhyme was good, the syllables were there, like, pure form-wise, like, the way it’s structured, like, genuinely actually pretty good!” Elliot explained.

That assessment appeared to amuse Shaun, but Bradley was less keen on seeing the contestant encourage the Chaser.

Bradley takes Elliot to one side

Bradley then decided it was time for a quiet word with Elliot.

Taking him to one side, the presenter appeared keen to put an end to the discussion before Shaun was given any more encouragement.

Elliot joked: “I’m sorry though it is.”

Bradley responded with some straightforward advice.

“Don’t encourage him. Just say, ‘Well done, good effort, and let’s move on otherwise we’ll be all night,’” he told the contestant.

The pair then returned to the machine, with Elliot following Bradley’s instructions almost word for word.

Turning back to Shaun, he said: “Well done, good effort, and let’s move on.”

But the exchange did not quite end there.

Shaun seized on Elliot’s earlier comments and joked that the contestant’s “cheeky remark” had earned him a low offer of just £1,000.

The playful back-and-forth added another moment of humour before the competition continued.

Elliot’s run comes to an end

Unfortunately for Elliot, the banter did not translate into a place in the Final Chase.

Shaun eventually caught him, leaving Mark as the only remaining player for the final round.

Mark was playing for £4,000 and managed to build a score of 15 during the Final Chase.

However, Shaun steadily closed the gap and caught up with Mark with just 21 seconds remaining.

Bradley then told Mark: “Mark hope you’ve enjoyed it!”

Mark replied: “Fair play Shaun.”

Bradley praised his performance, adding: “Brilliant effort on your own!”

Shaun agreed, telling Mark: “That was superb mate,” before applauding.

The episode ended with Mark’s solo effort recognised by both Bradley and Shaun, after a show that had begun with an unexpected poetry performance and a rather cheeky critique from Elliot.

The Chase airs Monday to Friday at 5pm on ITV1.