The Chase contestants make history with six-figure jackpot as viewers call it ‘best episode in a long time’

The Chase viewers were in for a treat today as two contestants Karen and Ian secured a seriously impressive victory.

Host Bradley Walsh was ‘thrilled’ after watching the pair make history on the ITV game show, and fans tuning in at home found the episode equally as exciting.

As usual, the programme began with a team of four but only 50% made it to the last chase.

First to safely make it to the final was Ian – a magician from Middlesex – who put a respectable £6,000 in the prize fund. Later on, he was joined by Karen – a maths and science tutor from Macclesfield – who showed she had nerves of steel and picked the higher offer of £94,000.

Her decision meant she had to take a step further away from home, meaning she had to answer one more question without getting caught compared to if she just used her cashbuilder round money like Ian.

Her risk paid off, and she took their total up to a sizeable £100,000.

Working as a team, Karen and Ian then answered as many questions correctly as they could in two minutes to determine how many questions tonight’s chaser The Sinnerman, real name Paul Sinha, also had to answer in the last round.

They were able to get 14 right, and then a further two were added, as two of them made it to the final, taking the total up to 16.

Bradley, 64, pointed out that it was a number that wouldn’t necessarily lead to walking away with cash. He told the pair that they would likely need some pushbacks – when a chaser gets a question wrong in the final round, the two-minute timer is paused so the contestants can try to answer correctly. If they get the same question right, then the chaser has to answer an additional question to return to their previous place.

(Side note: Whenever we are explaining the rules of The Chase, it feels like the episodes of Friends where Joey Tribbiani is practising for Bamboozled – season 8, episode 12 if you’re in the mood for a rewatch).

They were able to push Paul back twice and left the 54-year-old quizzer struggling to catch up.

With eight seconds left on the clock, he had one question left to answer to stop Karen and Ian from taking the money.

‘Leslie Manville played the widow Cathy in what BBC sitcom?’ asked Bradley. A flustered Paul replied: ‘Last of the Summer Wine’.

With one second to go, the clock was stopped, as it was incorrect. He put his head in his hands, as he realised that the game was almost certainly lost.

Ian and Karen guessed EastEnders, which was wrong, but it hardly mattered. The correct choice – Mum – came to Paul, but it was too late.

When the clock started again he shouted ‘Green’ in hopes it could be the answer to an undisclosed question, but it was not to be. The contestants immediately started celebrating by ecstatically punching the air and embracing in a hug.

A defeated Paul was asked by Bradley why he chose ‘Green’. Explaining his logic, he replied: ‘Yeah, what colour [was] something? I dunno!’

‘What a day,’ said Bradley before asking how they planned to spend the money.

The rules of the show dictate that the two competitors split the jackpot evenly, so both walked away with £50,000. This was the most amount of money ever won by a team of two in the series’ history.

Ian shared his intention to buy a ‘very nice car’ and Karen excitedly said: ‘Abu Dhabi here I come. Grand Prix’.

‘Good for you. Thrilled for you both,’ he responded.

Viewers reacted to the monumental episode on social media and were full of praise for the winning duo.

‘Wow!!!! £100,000 in the bag. Karen was the hero of the day. She made this possible. And she is brilliant. Congratulations to the team,’ wrote Olamide Obe on X.

MissM commended Karen too for her contribution: ‘What a player Karen is. Going for £94k and it absolutely paid off. Best episode I’ve seen for a long time.’

‘MASSIVE £100,000 WIN on The Chase! 50 grand each. This is going to cost ITV big time!’ pointed out Rodney Watson.

Ian thought they’d ‘blown it’ after failing to get one of the pushbacks, but added: ‘Needn’t have worried… enjoy guys. Abu Dhabi doo.’

‘£100,000. Wow, surely the biggest potential win ever on a normal show! Come on!’ said Jonty.

The biggest-ever solo jackpot was from Dan in 2022, who won £80,000, after beating The Vixen, real name Jenny Ryan.

In 2018, a team of four set the record for the biggest jackpot – they took home a hefty £100,000, after , also known as The Governess, failed to catch them.