Bradley Walsh reveals how he “cheated” to get The Chase made

Virgin Radio

1 Feb 2022, 09:15

The massively popular quiz show has been on our screens for 13 years, but its presenter has admitted that he had to cheat to make sure The Chase was commissioned in the first place.

Hosted by Bradley Walsh, The Chase first hit screens in 2009, and has been followed by its celebrity specials and evening spin-off, Beat The Chasers. Every weekday on The Chase, four contestants take on a Chaser, either Anne ‘The Governess’ Hegerty, Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett, Shaun ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Wallace, Jenny ‘The Vixen’ Ryan, Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha, or Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis, to win a cash prize.

When the show was first being put together, its producers told Bradley that if he could beat one of the Chasers, the series would get made.

Bradders has now said that he needs to “fess up” about how he beat the Chasers. “When we first did the job, the only two choices that were first there were actually The Beast and The Dark Destroyer, right? And we were doing an office run-through and this is to get the job up and running,” he told Roman Kemp on his Capital show.

"And I said ‘This is ludicrous, these questions are so easy'. And they said, ‘Do you think you could beat the Chaser?’

“I said 'If I beat the Chaser, we'll make a series, let's do that' and they went ‘Yeah, alright, if you can beat the Chaser.’ Because they thought that the general public won't be able to beat these gurus.”

Speaking about how he went about beating the Chasers and ensuring the show went ahead with him at the helm, Bradley said: “What they didn't realise was the sheets, with the questions and the answers on, were lying face down on my end of the desk. I could see the print through and I could read the answers backwards and I read them!” 

The show’s host said that, consequently, when he took on the two Chasers, he was able to “smash both of them”. Bradley also revealed how he covered his tracks, saying, “As I walked away, I took the piece of paper and put it on the other table so no one saw it. So I'd actually cheated.”

And the rest, as they say, is history! Versions of The Chase have since been made in 19 other countries. 

Who says cheats never prosper?

You can watch The Chase every weeknight on ITV at 5pm.