The Chase's host Bradley Walsh welcomed contestants Mikayla, Phil, Sam and Matt on Friday's episode of ITV's hit show. The team were testing their general knowledge against chaser Paul 'The Sinnerman' Sinha in the hope to take home some cash.
First up was Matt, a primary school teacher from West Yorkshire. In his spare time, he enjoyed testing out real ales in different pubs across his home county. In the cash builder round, the primary school teacher managed to bank £4k and decided to stick with what he had earned in the head-to-head round.
The contestant gave a strong performance and managed to answer various questions correctly, including the following question: "According to a 2017 UN report, which country replaced Denmark as the world's happiest nation?" Mark chose Norway over Sweden and Iceland.
Read more: The Chase: Contestants win £45,000 after a tense contest against chaser Shaun Wallace
Matt's final question asked: "In 1986, who became the second England footballer to score a hat-trick at the FIFA World Cup finals?" Matt opted for Gary Lineker over John Barnes and Ryan Robson, which was also correct. The £4k was now firmly in the team's cash prize fund.
Next up was Sam, who lived not far from Manchester. If she was to win some money, she said, she wanted to use the cash prize for her son's 13th birthday. Sam managed to bank £3k in the cash builder round, but wished she "had got more". Although her head was turned by the generous offer of £30k, Sam decided to stick with her £3k.
Her first question asked: "In the UK, how many gallons of beer are there in a 'firkin'?". Although Sam had "no idea", she guessed correctly that it was nine. The fourth question asked: "In Johann Sebastian Bach's music, a toccata frequently precedes a what?" Sam opted for a cantata but the answer was in fact fugue, which the chaser got right.
The contestant knew that she was a "goner" when she got the following question incorrect. The question asked: "What famous fictional bear travels to Buckingham Palace in a 2016 short story by Jane Riordan?" She told Bradley Walsh that it was Rupert over Winnie-the-Pooh and Baloo, which was incorrect. The Sinnerman guessed correctly that it was in fact Winnie-the-Pooh. Unfortunately, it was all over for Sam.
The third contestant was 82-year-old retiree Phil. The contestant wanted to use the money to travel to Texas where his niece now lived. Like Sam, Phil managed to bag £3k in the cash builder round. Thinking the contestant was bold enough to take it, the chaser offered a whopping £40k, and although Phil was tempted, he took note from his teammates and opted for the £3k instead.
Phil's first question asked: "Who is the youngest of the Rolling Stones?" Phil guessed it was Ronnie Wood, which was correct. The chaser guessed incorrectly and believed it was Mick Jagger. Later on, Phil admitted he had "no idea" whether Lionstown, Lynxtown or Leopardstown was the horse racing venue in Ireland - but opted for Lionstown, which was incorrect. The chaser guessed correctly that it was in fact Leopardstown.
After a mixture of correct and incorrect guesses, Phil was in luck when he guessed correctly that Thumbelina was the character called a 'tiny little thing' in a song from the film 'Hans Christian Andersen', while the chaser guessed incorrectly with The Ugly Duckling.
Phil's final question asked: "In homes in ancient Rome what was the 'focus'?" The contestant guessed it was fireplace rather than floor covering and front door and was correct. This meant that the cash prize fund was now at £7k.
The final and fourth contestant was Mikayla, who told Bradley that she did a lot of strong woman training in her spare time. She banked £3k in the cash builder round and although the chaser offered £53k, Mikayla stuck with her £3k. The first question asked: "Veisalgia is the medical term for what condition?", Mikayla chose jet lag over hangover and man flu, which was incorrect. The chaser chose hangover, which was the correct answer.
It was a tight ending for the head-to-head round, with the chaser only a step away from Mikayla's £3k. One question asked: "Which artist created the artwork for Lady Gaga's 2013 album 'Artpop'?" Mikayla guessed it was Damien Hirst, as that was the "only [artist] that [she'd] heard of", the correct answer was in fact Jeff Koons. Unfortunately, the chaser guessed it right, which meant that Mikayla's journey on the gameshow was over.
In the final chase, Phil and Matt were faced with some challenging questions and only managed to get 10 questions right and were in need of some pushbacks against the chaser. Despite the contestants managing to get three pushbacks and one execution against The Sinnerman, the chaser correctly answered 10 questions with 53 seconds remaining.
