The Chase

The Chase is a British television quiz show broadcast on ITV and hosted by Bradley Walsh. Contestants play against a professional quizzer, known as the "chaser", who attempts to prevent them from winning a cash prize. The chasers areMark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha and Jenny Ryan. Labbett and Wallace have both been chasers since series 1, while Hegerty joined in series 2, Sinha in series 4 and Ryan in series 9. With a regular audience of three to five million, The Chase is one of ITV's most successful daytime shows ever.[7]  It has been nominated six times at the National Television Awards, winning in 2016, 2017, and 2019.[8]  It has also become a successful international franchise: regional versions have been made in Australia, China, Croatia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and the United States. Labbett, Hegerty and Wallace also feature as chasers on theAustralian version. Labbett featured as the sole chaser on the now-defunct American version.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 individual chase. The chaser must attempt to catch each contestant during their individual chase, eliminating that person from the game and preventing the money from being added to the collective prize fund. Later, in the final round, contestants who survived their individual chases play collectively as a team against the chaser for an equal share of the prize fund.[6]

Cash Builder and Head-to-Head rounds
Each contestant individually attempts to build up the team's prize fund through two rounds. The first round, known as the "Cash Builder", sees each contestant answering as many questions as they can within one minute, with each correct answer being worth £1,000. After completing the Cash Builder, the contestant enters the "Head-to-Head" round, in which the contestant attempts to bring the money that he or she earned to the bottom of a seven-step money board (referred to as "home"). In the first series, the board was eight steps long.

Before the round begins, the money is placed three steps down from the top of the board, and the contestant can choose to either start at that position, or begin one step further from or closer to the chaser. Should the contestant elect to stay where he or she is currently, he or she must answer five questions correctly in order to bank the money into the prize fund. If the contestant moves closer to the chaser, the contestant must answer six questions correctly, but earn a larger amount of cash. If the contestant moves closer to home, the contestant needs only answer four questions correctly, but the reward is lower. In some cases (especially in the second half of the individual rounds, or for contestants who do poorly in the Cash Builder round), the lower offer may be zero, or even negative, which means the contestants lose some of the money that is already in the team prize fund if the player makes it home, but earn an extra participant in the Final Chase.

Once the contestant chooses a starting position, they begin the Head-to-Head in which both the contestant and chaser are given multiple-choice questions, each with three answers. When either the chaser or contestant chooses an answer, their opponent has five seconds to lock in or be locked out. For each correct answer made by the players, he or she moves one step down the board, while an incorrect answer forces the players to stay where they are.

Questions continue until either the contestant has answered enough correctly to return home and bank the money they chose to take, or the chaser has answered enough questions correctly to reach the same space as the contestant. If the chaser manages to do this, then the contestant is "caught" and is eliminated from the contest with the money removed from the board.

If all four contestants are caught by the chaser, the team nominates one contestant to proceed to the Final Chase to win £1,000 each. In the celebrity editions, as they are accumulating money to donate to the nominated charities, the lowest offer is always £1,000, which is also the amount donated to each celebrities' chosen charities if they are all caught, or be caught at the Final Chase.

Final Chase
In order to win the prize fund that is banked, the surviving contestants work together as a team to beat the chaser in one final round of questions. Two question sets, A and B, are used in this round in which the contestants decide which to answer questions from, while the other set is used for the chaser. The round is divided into two phases–the first phase involves contestants answering questions in order to earn themselves steps to keep them ahead of the chaser, while the second phase sees the chaser trying to match these steps, in order to "catch" the team and prevent them winning the total prize fund.

Before the first phase begins, the contestants are given a head-start of one step per contestant participating in the round. The team is then given two minutes to answer as many questions as they can correctly, with each correct answer earning them one more step from the chaser. To answer a question, a contestant must use their buzzer to do so. If a contestant answers after a different contestant's buzzer sounds, their answer will not be accepted. No buzzer is used if only one contestant makes it to the Final Chase.

When the second phase of the round begins, the chaser has the same time of two minutes to catch the contestants. To do so, the chaser must match the number of the steps contestants earned in the first phase. However, should the chaser pass or answer a question incorrectly, the clock is briefly stopped and the question is given to the contestants. If the contestants answer the chaser's question correctly, the chaser is pushed one step back. From series 3 onwards, if the contestants answer correctly and the chaser is at the starting line, contestants earn an additional step that the chaser must match. Afterwards, the time limit and chaser's questions continue.

If the chaser achieves the same number of steps that the contestants delivered before time is up, then the contestants lose their prize fund and leave empty-handed. But if two minutes pass and contestants are not "caught", they win the prize fund. The prize fund is divided equally between all contestants that were not eliminated before the Final Chase.

Filming
Three episodes are filmed in a day and each one takes around an hour and a half to film. According to Walsh, "It runs like clockwork."[9]  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."[9]

Chasers

 * Mark Labbett —Appeared on Mastermind, University Challenge, Fifteen to One, The Syndicate and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?;[10]  runner-up on The People's Quiz, runner-up on Brain of Britain, part of a winning team on Only Connect, represented Wales from 2005–2007 at the European quiz championships. Nicknamed "The Beast", "Beastie Boy", "The Man Mountain of Maths", and "The Transatlantic Giant". Ranked 134th in the World Quizzing Championships 2014.[11] He was also the sole chaser on the U.S. version of the show and is one of seven on the Australian version of the show.[12]
 * Shaun Wallace —Appeared on Fifteen to One, Weakest Link, Beat the Nation, BrainTeaser, Greed,[10]  and The Waiting Game; winner of Mastermind, finalist on the first series of Are You an Egghead?. Nicknamed "The Dark Destroyer", "Grumpy Drawers", "The Barrister", "The Legal Eagle" and "The Mastermind Champ". Ranked 455th in the World Quizzing Championships 2014.[11]  He was also a guest chaser on the Australian version of the show in 2018.
 * Anne Hegerty (2010–present)—Appeared on Mastermind (twice),[10]  Fifteen to One, Today's the Day and Brain of Britain; semi-finalist on the second series of Are You an Egghead?. Ranked 18th in the UK quiz rankings (as of January 2018). Nicknamed "The Governess" and "Frosty Knickers". Ranked 65th in the World Quizzing Championships 2017.[13] She is also one of seven chasers on the Australian version of the show.
 * Paul Sinha (2011–present)—Appeared on Are You an Egghead?, Brain of Britain, Mastermind, University Challenge andThe Weakest Link;[10]  ranked 6th in the national quiz rankings (as of January 2018). Nicknamed "The Sinnerman", "The Smiling Assassin" and "Sarcasm in a Suit". Ranked 11th in the World Quizzing Championships 2018.[13]  Sinha is also a doctor and stand-up comedian.
 * Jenny Ryan (2015–present)[14] —Appeared on University Challenge, Mastermind, Are You an Egghead?, Fifteen to One,The Weakest Link and was part of a winning team on Only Connect. Nicknamed "The Vixen", "The Bolton Brainiac", "Bolton Bombshell" and "The Brainiac of Bolton". Ranked 175th in the World Quizzing Championships 2014.[11]

Spin-offs
A spin-off 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 exactly 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 £20,000 (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.

In February 2017, ITV commissioned The Family Chase, a spin-off featuring a team of four family members.<sup id="cite_ref-15">[15]  The six episode spin-off debuted on 2 September 2017.<sup id="cite_ref-16">[16]  A second series of 8 episodes was commissioned and commenced airing on 24 March 2019.

Regular editions
On 29 September 2016, The Chase celebrated its 1,000th episode by having all five chasers involved in a random selection where each chaser was present for all five sections of the game (one each for each contestant, then Hegerty attempting to catch the team in the Final Chase). This format is also used for the Christmas edition of the Celebrity Specials.

International broadcasts

 * Australia – Episodes of the British version of The Chase air on weekday afternoons at 3:00 pm on the Seven Network to good ratings. Seven also considered producing a local version, and filmed a pilot episode on the UK set, but decided not to proceed.<sup id="cite_ref-54">[54]  However, in mid-2015 a local version was commissioned to replace Deal or No Deal andMillion Dollar Minute in a bid to revive ratings for its struggling 6:00 pm nightly news.<sup id="cite_ref-55">[55] <sup id="cite_ref-56">[56] <sup id="cite_ref-Australian-version_57-0">[57]  Hegerty, Labbett and Wallace feature as three of the six chasers on the Australian version.<sup id="cite_ref-Australia2016_12-1">[12] <sup id="cite_ref-AOK_58-0">[58]  They are currently airing series 8.
 * New Zealand – Episodes of the British version of The Chase air on Monday to Friday mornings at 11:00 am and Monday to Saturday afternoons at 4:55 pm on TVNZ 1, while The Celebrity Chase airs on Sunday afternoons at 4:55 pm. The show frequently ranks in the weekly top-20 most watched TV shows, drawing in an average of 1.3 million viewers per week.<sup id="cite_ref-59">[59]  As of September 2018, they are currently airing series 11.<sup id="cite_ref-60">[60]

Critical reception​​
The Chase is highly popular with critics and viewers. Despite early criticism,<sup id="cite_ref-61">[61]  opinion has improved over time. Some critics, as well as the chasers,<sup id="cite_ref-Pointless_rivalry_7-1">[7]  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 hysterics.<sup id="cite_ref-62">[62]  Labbett also said that the sense of fun and the variety of chasers is a major factor.<sup id="cite_ref-Pointless_rivalry_7-2">[7]  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."<sup id="cite_ref-63">[63]

Controversies
The Chase has also been at the centre of controversy on several occasions, in which viewers have complained that, during the Final Chase, Walsh asks the chasers' questions more quickly than those of the contestants.<sup id="cite_ref-64">[64] <sup id="cite_ref-65">[65]  In an interview with theRadio Times, however, Walsh repudiated those claims: "We have lawyers on the floor to watch all of this. I read [the questions] at exactly 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."<sup id="cite_ref-66">[66]

There have also been a number of occasions in which the chaser has won with (almost) no time remaining on the clock,<sup id="cite_ref-67">[67] <sup id="cite_ref-68">[68] <sup id="cite_ref-69">[69] [not in citation given] but spokespeople have insisted that an independent adjudicator always checks each show.<sup id="cite_ref-70">[70] <sup id="cite_ref-71">[71] <sup id="cite_ref-72">[72] <sup id="cite_ref-73">[73] <sup id="cite_ref-74">[74]

On 6 April 2016, in an episode in which Labbett was the chaser, a glitch occurred whereby the clock struck 10 seconds and then increased to 11 seconds, giving Labbett an extra second of time. Although the contestants were far ahead and there was no chance of them being caught, a spokesperson for the show told [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK! OK! Online] the following day: "There was an error on the clock on last night's episode of the Chase. This error happened during the editing process and not in the studio when the show was being recorded so could not have affected the outcome in any way."<sup id="cite_ref-75">[75]

On 4 March 2019, in an episode in which Hegerty was the chaser, 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 the news had publicly broken about the death of The Prodigy's frontman Keith Flint.<sup id="cite_ref-76">[76] <sup id="cite_ref-77">[77]

Ratings and rivalry with Pointless
During its first two series, the show averaged 1–2 million viewers, but in the third series, ratings rose to over 2 million. By December 2012, The Chase had become ITV's most popular "teatime" programme since The Paul O'Grady Show in 2005, with over 3 million viewers an episode.<sup id="cite_ref-78">[78]  On 21 January 2013, The Chase managed a peak audience of 5.1 million, a new all-time high.<sup id="cite_ref-79">[79]  Almost every episode is now in ITV's Top 30 weekly broadcasts.<sup id="cite_ref-80">[80]

In its timeslot, The Chase airs at the same time as BBC One's Pointless,<sup id="cite_ref-81">[81] <sup id="cite_ref-82">[82]  a game show launched in August 2009, two months after The Chase's debut.<sup id="cite_ref-Pointless_rivalry_7-3">[7]  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).<sup id="cite_ref-83">[83] <sup id="cite_ref-84">[84]  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).<sup id="cite_ref-85">[85] <sup id="cite_ref-86">[86]

International versions
Legend:      Currently airing        No longer airing        Upcoming

Merchandise
A board game based on the show was released in 2012 by Ideal.<sup id="cite_ref-118">[118]  In 2013, a card game based on the show was released by Ginger Fox.<sup id="cite_ref-119">[119]

On 12 December 2012, a version for iOS was released by Barnstorm Games. The app features four chasers (excluding Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan, who 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 players are caught in their individual chases. The app is designed for both iPhones and iPads.<sup id="cite_ref-120">[120]  An updated version, The Chase: Ultimate Edition, was released in 2017 and features all five chasers and host Walsh.<sup id="cite_ref-121">[121]