Bradley Walsh rubbishes The Chase 'fix' claims
The daytime quiz show host says the legal team ensure everything is in order, despite viewers thinking there’s something fishy going on
The Chase host Bradley Walsh has rubbished claims the show is a 'fix' after a spate of complaints about the early evening quiz show on social media.
Complaints have been varied. It has been claimed, for example, that the show’s quizzing experts, the ‘Chasers’, get easier questions in the final chase.
#TheChase obviously a fix for this chaser....such easy questions
— Julie Smith (@Joopero41) April 25, 2016
Hegert said it was clarification, not changing.
Just so we're clear - the Parthenon IS the temple of Athena. I was clarifying my answer, not changing it. #TheChase
— Anne Hegerty (@anne_hegerty) April 19, 2016
Walsh too has come under fire, with viewers arguing he reads the questions faster for the chasers, seemingly making is easier for them to catch the contestants and therefore pinch back their winnings.
But he dismisses the suggestion of any wrongdoing.
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“We have lawyers on the floor to watch all of this,” Walsh told RadioTimes.com of the daytime show. “I read them [the questions] at exactly the same speed for both.
“Don’t forget, if I’ve got Mark Labbett [aka ‘The Beast’] answering questions for two minutes and I’ve got a team answering or 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,” he explained.
“If you’ve got three people in the final chase that’s a three step head start – that’s about a twelve second advantage.”
In fact, Walsh has previously detailed just how much awareness there is around his question-asking speed.
"You have to be at such a speed: if you’re a contestant and I go, 'What’s… the capital… of France… ' they’d be dead and buried in 30 seconds. I have to make sure they get up to speed and they’re getting about 18 or 19 questions answered correctly.
"That’s the real banana skin score [that will trip the chasers up]. Once the chasers get in a rhythm there’s no stopping them. They can answer 24, 25 questions in two minutes. We’ve even almost reached 30."
According to Walsh it’s about 3.6 to 4 seconds on average to ask and answer a question.
As for the show itself, Walsh agrees that there’s a sense of more people paying attention to it at the moment.
“It’s a great show and a great format, it’s a sensational show. Since the show won an NTA people have sat up and thought, ‘Hang on a minute what is this show? If it’s so popular let’s tune in and have a look…’ and then they’ve stuck with it. It’s not the mundane, run of the mill, pedestrian quiz show like other formats. It’s exciting, it really is top, top draw and it is entertaining. And we have fun on it.”
See The Chase weekdays at 5pm on ITV
