A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| The Chase | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Game show |
| Created by |
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| Directed by |
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| Creative director | Michael Kelpie |
| Presented by | Bradley Walsh |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Paul Farrer |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 17 (regular), 13 (Celebrity Specials), 3 (The Family Chase), 6(Beat the Chasers) |
| No. of episodes | 2,395 (regular), 148 (Celebrity Specials), 22 (The Family Chase), 44 (Beat the Chasers) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Production locations |
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| Editors |
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| Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 29 June 2009 – present |
| Related | |
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 2024[update], the six chasers are Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan and Darragh Ennis. 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 rare exceptions for special episodes, only one chaser participates in any given 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.[4]
With 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.[5] The show has been nominated six times at the National Television Awards, winning in 2016, 2017 and 2019. They also won for the spin-off series, Beat the Chasers in 2021 and 2022.[6] It was also nominated for the inaugural Best Daytime award at the 2021 British Academy Television Awards but won it in 2022.[7]
Additionally, The Chase has become a successful international franchise: regional versions have been made in Australia, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Norway, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, The Netherlands, Turkey and the United States. Labbett and Hegerty feature as chasers on the Australian version (with Wallace appearing as a "Guest Chaser" in 2018). Labbett featured as the sole chaser on the 2013–2015 American version and joined the 2021 American version for its second season.
Gameplay
Cash Builder and Head-to-Head rounds
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. The board had eight steps in Series 1.
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.
Final Chase
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.
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. 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).
Filming
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."[8]
Between March 2020 and late June 2020, production of the series was suspended due to the coronavirus 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.[9]
Chasers
| Chaser | Nickname | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Labbett | "The Beast" | 2009–present | Appeared on 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, and part of a winning team on Only Connect. He was also the sole chaser on the first three seasons of the first American version of the show on GSN and was one of six on the Australian version of the show.[11] On 6 June 2021, Labbett returned as the fourth chaser on the second American adaptation of the show in 2021. |
| Shaun Wallace | "The Dark Destroyer" | 2009–present | Appeared on Fifteen to One, Weakest Link, Beat the Nation, BrainTeaser, Greed,[10] and The Waiting Game; winner of Mastermind and a finalist on the first series of Are You an Egghead?. Wallace appeared as a guest chaser on the Australian version of the show in 2018. |
| Anne Hegerty | "The Governess" | 2010–present | Appeared twice on Mastermind,[10] 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 | "The Sinnerman" | 2011–present | Appeared on Are You an Egghead?, Brain of Britain, Mastermind, University Challenge, and Weakest Link.[10] He is also a stand-up comedian, with a comedy series called Paul Sinha's General Knowledge broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[12][13] |
| Jenny Ryan | "The Vixen" | 2015–present[14] | 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. |
| Darragh Ennis | "The Menace" | 2020–present[15] | Part of a winning team against Paul Sinha on The Chase in 2017. Ennis is a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford University studying insects. |
| Issa Schultz | "The Supernerd" | 2022 (Guest, Beat the Chasers, Series 5)[16] | Eleven-time winner of the Australian Quizzing Championships and seven-time pairs champion. Appeared on Australian game shows The Rich List, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and The Einstein Factor as well as being a chaser on the Australian version of the show. He appeared in the fifth series of the original UK Beat the Chasers as a substitute for Anne Hegerty after she tested positive for COVID-19.[17][18] |
| Vikram Barn | "The 123" | 2023 (Guest, Sidemen Edition) | A member of the Sidemen as Vikkstar123. He also appeared as a celebrity expert on The Wheel. He is the only chaser with a 100% win rate across all episodes he has taken part in. |
Spin-offs
The Chase: Celebrity Special
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.
The Family Chase
In February 2017, ITV commissioned The Family Chase, a spin-off featuring a team of four family members.[19] The six-episode spin-off debuted on 2 September 2017.[20] 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.
Beat the Chasers
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.[21] A single contestant plays the Cash Builder round, answering a series of multiple-choice questions worth £1,000 each. The round ends once they either miss a question or get five right; a miss on the first question immediately ends the game with no winnings. They must then decide how many chasers from two to five to face in a timed head-to-head round, with the chasers specifying a time limit for themselves (always less than 60 seconds) and offering larger cash prizes as an incentive to face more of them. The offer to face two chasers is always equal to the amount earned in the Cash Builder.
The contestant's clock is set to 60 seconds, while the chasers' clock is set to their agreed-on time. Only one clock runs at any given moment, starting with the contestant; the side in control must answer a question correctly to stop their clock and turn control over to the opposing side. The chasers must buzz in to respond and may not confer on any questions. The contestant wins the money on offer if the chasers' clock runs out first, or nothing if their own clock runs out.[22]
Series 2 of Beat the Chasers commenced airing on 3 January 2021, and continued consecutively for seven nights, excluding 9 January, until 10 January 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second series featured no studio audience.[23][24][25][26]
Series 3 was commissioned by ITV.[27] The network had originally intended to have all six chasers participate in this series; however, these plans had to be postponed as Paul Sinha was absent due to illness.[28] The series began with a celebrity special on 27 March 2021 and once again featured no studio audience.[29]
Series 4 was commissioned by ITV, and premiered on 11 September 2021 with all six chasers participating for the first time. This series introduced a "Super Offer", available only to contestants who answered all five of their Cash Builder questions correctly. This offer was presented in conjunction with the other four and gave the contestant a chance to play against all six chasers at once, with no time advantage and a larger cash prize than that offered for facing five chasers.[30]
Series 5 went into production in March 2022 and premiered on 16 May 2022. Hegerty was absent from the regular episodes of this series (Episodes 1 - 5) due to a positive COVID-19 test and was replaced by guest chaser Issa "The Supernerd" Schultz from The Chase Australia.[31] Hegerty returned for the celebrity specials (Episodes 6 - 7) which were filmed as part of Series 6 in May 2023.
Series 6 was recorded in May 2023 and premiered on 8 October 2023. Also, the series saw the return of Anne Hegerty following her absence from this series due to a positive COVID-19 test.
The original working title for the spin-off show was Take On the Chasers. The theme tune was composed by Paul Farrer using part of the original 2009 chaser walk-on music.[32]
The Chase Extra
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 p.m.[33]
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.[34] On their travels, they play against child geniuses, great apes, dolphins and robots. The series takes them to the UK, USA and Japan. Episode 1 of the show aired on 21 January 2021,[35] episode 2 aired on 28 January 2021[36] and episode 3 aired on 4 February 2021.[37] The series was narrated by Rob Brydon.
The Chase: Sidemen Edition
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.[38] 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.
Fellow YouTuber Stephen "Stephen Tries" Lawson hosted, while Sidemen members were the Chaser and contestants: Vikram "Vikkstar123" Barn was the Chaser (nicknamed "The 123"), while the contestants competing in pairs were Olajide "KSI" Olatunji, Simon "Miniminter" Minter, Joshua "Zerkaa" Bradley, Tobi "TBJZL" Brown, Ethan "Behzinga" Payne and Harry "WroeToShaw" Lewis.[39]
Transmissions
Regular
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 June 2009 | 10 July 2009 | 10 | Aired as one of three summer replacements for Golden Balls, with the other two being Divided and The Fuse. | [40] |
| 2 | 24 May 2010 | 19 July 2010 | 40 | No episode on 29 June due to the World Cup match between Paraguay and Japan. | [41] |
| 3 | 3 January 2011 | 25 February 2011 | 40 | Series 1, 2 and 3 all did not take any breaks. | [42] |
| 4 | 5 September 2011 | 30 January 2012 | 60 | Series 4 took a break from 31 October 2011 – 2 January 2012. | [43] |
| 5 | 31 January 2012 | 30 March 2013 | 119 | Series 5 took breaks from 13 – 17 February, 2 – 6 April and 4 June – 31 August. No episode on 17 October due to the postponed World Cup qualifying match between England and Poland. The episode planned for this date aired on 30 March 2013 during the broadcast of Series 6. | [44][45] |
| 6 | 29 October 2012 | 21 November 2014 | 149 | Series 6 took breaks from 24 December – 1 January, 11 – 15 February, 25 March – 5 April and 27 – 31 May. Episode 149 aired on 21 November 2014 during the broadcast of Series 8. | [46][45] |
| 7 | 2 September 2013 | 17 November 2014 | 150 | Series 7 took breaks from 28 October – 1 November, 11 November – 1 January, 17 – 21 February, 7–18 April, 28 April – 30 May, and 13 June – 4 July 2014. The episode planned to air on 6 June was postponed and aired on 17 November 2014 during the broadcast of Series 8. | [47][45] |
| 8 | 1 September 2014 | 3 July 2015 | 146 | Series 8 took breaks from 22 December – 2 January, 16 – 20 February and 20 April – 29 May 2015. Episodes 145 and 146 aired on 24 June and 3 July, during the broadcast of Series 9. | [48][45] |
| 9 | 22 June 2015 | 6 September 2016 | 190 | Series 9 took breaks from 3 – 28 August and 21 December – 1 January. No episodes on 23 September, 1 October and 7 October due to the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Series 10 episodes started airing before all the Series 9 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. | [49] |
| 10 | 15 April 2016 | 24 October 2017 | 190 | Series 10 took breaks from 13 June – 26 August and 19 December – 1 January. No episode on 20 January due to Donald Trump becoming new President of the United States. No episode on 22 March 2017 due to the 2017 Westminster attack, the episode planned for this date aired on 24 October 2017 during the broadcast of Series 11. | [50][non-primary source needed] |
| 11 | 25 April 2017 | 3 September 2018 | 170 | Series 11 took breaks from 1 – 26 May, 19 June – 1 September and 25 December 2017 – 1 January 2018. Series 12 episodes started airing before all the Series 11 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. | [51] |
| 12 | 2 March 2018 | 21 September 2020 | 170 | Series 12 took breaks from 28 May – 31 August, 10 – 31 December 2018, 11 – 15 March and 1 – 5 April 2019. Series 13 episodes started airing before all the Series 12 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. | [52] |
| 13 | 7 March 2019 | 4 October 2022 | 210 | Series 13 took breaks from 20 May – 30 August, 11 November – 31 December 2019, 9 – 13 March and 23 March – 31 August 2020. Series 14 and Series 15 episodes started airing before all the Series 13 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. Episode 169 was not broadcast for legal reasons. [citation needed] | |
| 14 | 4 November 2020 | 30 December 2022 | 210 | Series 14 took breaks from 18 December - 1 January, 15 March – 16 April, 7 June – 27 August and 13–27 December 2021. Series 15 episodes started airing before all the Series 14 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. | |
| 15 | 27 January 2022 | 5 February 2024 | 210 | Series 15 took breaks from 14 March–8 April, 16–20 May, 6 June–26 August, 8–19 September, 14 November–27 December 2022, 6 March–14 April, 2 June, 12 June - 25 August and 23 October - 17 November 2023. No episode on 22 September 2023 because of live coverage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup game between Argentina and Samoa which was aired from 4:00 p.m. (4:45 p.m. kickoff) on that day. A Soccer Aid special was broadcast on 10 June 2022. Series 16 episodes started airing before all the Series 15 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. | |
| 16 | 19 April 2023 | TBA | 160 | Series 16 took breaks from 18 to 29 December 2023 and 18 March 2024 - late August 2024. A Soccer Aid special was broadcast on 9 June 2023. Series 17 episodes started airing before all the Series 16 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. | |
| 17 | 8 March 2024 | TBA | 160 |
Celebrity Special
| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 October 2011[53] | 10 December 2011[54] | 6[54] | |
| 2 | 19 August 2012[55] | 7 October 2012[56] | 6[56] | |
| 3 | 5 October 2013[57] | 28 December 2013[58] | 14[58] | |
| 4 | 30 August 2014[59] | 13 December 2014 | 18[60] | The last two episodes of the same series aired in March 2015. |
| 1 March 2015 | 8 March 2015[60] | |||
| 5 | 24 October 2015[61] | 12 December 2015 | 16[62] | |
| 27 March 2016 | 15 May 2016[62] | |||
| 6 | 11 September 2016 | 30 October 2016 | 16 | Series 7 episodes started airing before all the Series 6 episodes had been shown, hence transmission dates overlapping. |
| 9 July 2017 | 26 November 2017 | |||
| 7 | 14 October 2017 | 17 December 2017 | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=The_Chase_(UK_game_show)