The Chase fans were left seething, blasting "this is completely unacceptable," after a contestant's "shocking" choice. In the episode aired on Wednesday (February 5), hopefuls Beth, Sarah, David, and Joe joined forces to challenge a chaser for a hefty cash prize. Event manager Beth, aged 28, managed to scrape together only £2,000 in her cash builder round. Shaun Wallace, known as The Dark Destroyer, dangled a tempting £30,000 high offer before her, but Beth opted for caution, taking a measly £200 low offer instead.
Explaining her strategy to host Bradley Walsh, Beth said, "It's a really hard decision, but I did come into it saying that if the low offer was positive, I would go for it to get back and bring my perspective to the final chase. So, I'm gonna go with £200.". Bradley supported her decision, noting, "Absolutely, £1,800, that's it. The four of you get through, that's a loss of like £450 each - not a problem. It's a good choice," while Shaun concurred, "Quite right, yeah.".
Bradley further justified the move, saying, "I don't see a problem with that at all. It's crucial we get the first two players in the final, I mean it's crucial, because otherwise it pins the lads into a corner - or anyone sitting in three and four.". Nonetheless, viewers didn't hold back their criticism on X (formerly Twitter), with one particularly disgruntled fan commenting: "£200 isn't even worth putting her white trainers on to go with her dress. Pathetic.".
"I switched off the Chase because of the contestant taking the low offer," vented one viewer, while another was incensed: "No!!!!! £200 low offer taken by seat 1! I have had enough! Who is in charge of casting these contestants? This is completely unacceptable!". A fourth chimed in, suggesting a punishment for low ballers: "The ones who accept the low offer should only be paid what they accepted if they win, if it's a minus then nothing," reports Bristol Live.
However, some fans empathised with the contestant, when considering her performance: "She didn't smash the cash builder at all, was awful. £200 was probably the right choice tbh.". Despite opting for the safer bet, Beth was quickly eliminated by Shaun, after consecutively fumbling her answers and prompting Bradley Walsh to commiserate: "Beth, I'm so sorry. That's tough," as she took her leave from the show.
