The Chase viewers accuse Bradley Walsh of giving Chaser an unfair advantage

Viewers of The Chase were left frustrated after Tuesday night’s episode, with some accusing host Bradley Walsh of giving the Chaser an advantage during the tense Final Chase.

The controversy centred on the pace at which Walsh read out the questions. Some viewers watching the ITV quiz show believed he was noticeably slower when questioning the contestants, while speeding through the questions when it was the Chaser’s turn.

The difference in pace prompted a wave of complaints on Twitter, with some fans even questioning whether the programme was being played fairly.

Viewers question Bradley Walsh’s questioning speed

Three of the four contestants made it through to the Final Chase, where Nwamaka, Joe and Alicia were competing for a £59,000 prize.

They faced Jenny Ryan, known on the show as The Vixen. After Ryan managed to catch the team, however, viewers began focusing less on the result and more on the way the questions had been delivered.

Some fans felt Walsh took too long to read the questions to the contestants, potentially giving Ryan more time to answer when she came to the board.

One viewer claimed they had noticed the difference in Walsh’s delivery for some time, writing on Twitter: “ITV, I have noticed long ago at what speed Bradley Walsh reads questions to contestants and to Chasers. I have tweeted. It’s a clever way on the ITV side.”

Another viewer questioned how many more questions a Chaser could get through during the Final Chase compared with the contestants, describing the situation as “an absolute joke.”

Jenny Ryan’s fast finish adds to the frustration

The complaints intensified as The Vixen worked through the questions.

Ryan managed to answer 19 questions and still had 15 seconds remaining on the clock. For some viewers, that made Walsh’s perceived difference in pace even more noticeable.

One frustrated fan wrote: “The Chase ps me off, when they have a lot of money they give the chaser easy question, f this.”

Another viewer accused Walsh of appearing to support the contestants while allegedly reading their questions more slowly, before speeding up when Ryan was answering.

The viewer wrote: “P***es me off when Bradley Walsh pretends like he’s on the contestants side but reads their questions out slow, but when it’s the chasers turn sure he spits words out faster then Eminem.”

The comments continued, with one person directly questioning the show’s fairness and claiming: “@ITVChase can’t tell me your show isn’t fixed.”

Another viewer complained about the lack of attention to Walsh’s questioning pace, writing: “Why am I not seeing the timeline bring up the fact that Bradley Walsh reads the questions out a mile a minute for the chasers and slow as f*** for the contestants? He knocks me sick. #TheChase.”

The accusations came from viewers reacting to the episode and did not establish that the programme was actually fixed or that Walsh was deliberately trying to help the Chaser.

When is The Chase on?

The Chase continued to air on ITV each weekday at 5pm, with episodes also available to catch up on through the ITV Hub streaming platform and on-demand service.

Bradley Walsh hosts the programme from Monday to Friday, overseeing the contestants as they attempt to beat one of the show’s Chasers and take home their share of the prize money.

The debate over Walsh’s delivery was not new, either. Viewers had previously raised similar concerns about the speed at which he read questions during Final Chase rounds, particularly when the outcome came down to seconds.