The Chase fans threaten to 'switch off' over devastating blunder in series first

The Chase fans were left screaming at their screens after the team suffered a devastating blow in a new series first. During Monday's visit (September 15) to the ITV studio, host Bradley Walsh welcomed four new hopefuls onto the teatime show. He introduced Angela, Susan, Archie, and Jak to viewers at home before they put their general knowledge to the test.

This week, the quartet went up against Mark 'The Beast' Labbett, who certainly brought his A-game. First up to the podium was Angela from Bristol, who wowed viewers at home with her respectable score of £5,000 in the cash-builder round.

But her excitement was short-lived after she decided to risk it all by going for the big offer of £30,000 where the Chaser caught her in just four questions. Next to take on the Celebs Go Dating star was Susan, who scored £4,000 in the cash-builder round.

Unlike her eliminated teammate, Susan decided to play for her winnings. However, she also suffered the wrath of the professional quizzer and was given the boot. Hoping to break the cycle was student Archie, who also earned £4,000 in the cash-builder round.

Determined to make it through to the final round, Archie went for the low offer of £1,000, but he also fell on the sword during the nail-biting head-to-head round. It didn't take long before viewers flocked to X - formerly known as Twitter - to share their frustrations online.

One user penned: "The £1k is an insult... and he f***ing chose it anyway?!" as another agreed: "When someone takes a low offer like that I just switch off - what's the point? Got better things to do." Meanwhile, a third asked: "Out on a £1k low offer... where does ITV get these contestants from?"

Finally, Jak stepped up to the podium and also raised eyebrows when he banked £6,000 in the cash-builder round. Unfortunately, the team suffered a total wipeout - the first time this has occurred in this series - after he was caught by The Beast when he risked it all for the big offer of £100,000.

In the final round, the team of four nominated Jak to return to the podium for the final chase, where they were given £4,000 in the jackpot. The Margate-native impressively answered 14 questions correctly in two minutes, but he was no match for The Chaser, who caught him with 15 seconds remaining.

Returning to social media, one user noted: "First wipeout of this new series", as another demanded: "This team has lost, no money for them, the game's over. Let's go straight to the news!"

A third chimed in aith: "Oh dear... Everyone has been caught! The Chase has completely gone down the toilet by the looks of it!" as a fourth fumed: "What a waste of an hour of TV time..." The Chase airs on weekdays from 5pm on ITV1 or catch up on ITVX.