The Chase contestants were left gutted on Wednesday’s instalment of the ITV game show as Jenny Ryan caught a four-strong team with just three seconds to spare.
The team of Margot, Ria, Tom and Colin faced professional quizzer Jenny Ryan - or The Vixen - for a nail-biting run at a £37,000 cash prize.
The team managed to wrack up an impressive total of 22 questions in the final, but Jenny came hot on their heels and managed to catch the contestants with only three seconds to spare in a nail-biting final.
Jenny only got two questions wrong, one of which the team correctly answered, the other they did not.
Host Bradley Walsh described the final as “unbelievable”, saying: “I haven't seen that in a long, long while.”
He told the defeated team: “The Chaser beat you with three seconds remaining. That’s an extraordinary run. I’m stumped.”
Contestant Margot, who earlier revealed it was her 91st birthday, replied: “That’s why she’s the Chaser and we’re the contestants.”
Bradley said: “Had you known Reddit - game over,” referring to the question the contestants got wrong, despite having a social media manager on their team.
He concluded: “You have been caught. The Chase is over.”
Jenny said: “That was a first-class performance for the team. You’ve got every right to be disappointed.
“I had to bring my A game there. I thought Brad was going to fall off the step there at one point because I was going at such a pace.”
The Chase viewers took to twitter to commiserate for the team who were within a hair’s breadth of cinching the staggering win.
One wrote: “So close but yet so far” as another tweeted: “3 seconds left wtfff #TheChase man that was so close” with a crying emoji.
A third wrote: “Gotta give credit to Jenny for that, catching 22 is some effort!” and another posted: “If only they had a freelance social media consultant on the team to answer the social media push back question. Oh wait…..”
Earlier in the programme Bradley Walsh was left stunned when contestant Margot told the studio it was her birthday, as viewers at home said the 91-year-old could be the oldest contestant to appear on the programme.
Bradley said: “Happy birthday Margot. 91. Congratulations. I’ve got to say it’s a thrill to have you here.”
She explained she wrote a memoir of her life a decade ago, noting that she was born in Germany and moved to the east end of London in 1939.
She added: “I’m more surprised than you that at 91 I’m still here.”
The Chase airs every weekday at 5pm on ITV.
