The Chase (British game show)

The Chase
GenreGame show
Created by
  • Danny Carvalho
  • Pete Faherty
  • Chris Gepp
  • Elliot Johnson
  • Matt Pritchard
  • Amanda Wilson[1]
Directed by
  • Ian Hamilton
  • Stuart McDonald
  • Mick Thomas
Creative directorMichael Kelpie
Presented byBradley Walsh
Starring
Theme music composerPaul Farrer
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series17 (regular), 13 (The Chase Celebrity Special), 2 (The Family Chase), 6 (Beat the Chasers)
No. of episodes2,385 (regular), 148 (The Chase Celebrity Special), 22 (The Family Chase), 44 (Beat The Chasers)
Production
Executive producers
  • Sue Allison
  • Martin Scott
  • Michael Kelpie
Production locations
Editors
  • Mark Goodwin
  • Andy Marangone
Running time45 minutes (exc. adverts)
Production companies
Original release
NetworkITV
Release29 June 2009 (2009-06-29) –
present
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

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, 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.

  1. ^ The Chase. Season 3. Episode 9. 13 January 2011. Event occurs at 44:24. ITV.
  2. ^ "The Chase moves to Elstree". Televisual. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Award-winning productions return to Studioworks this spring". BBC Studioworks. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  4. ^ "The Chase". ITV. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  5. ^ Lindsay, Duncan (21 January 2016). "The Chase's Mark Labbett and Anne Hegerty talk NTA wins and Pointless rivalry". Metro. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  6. ^ Greenwood, Carl (20 January 2016). "The Chase wins Best Daytime show at 2016 National Television Awards". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  7. ^ "BAFTA TV 2021: Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". BAFTA. 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.

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