Bradley Walsh was back on our screens for Monday night's instalment of The Chase, where Gary from Hull, Sarah from Clitheroe, Ailsa from Fife and George from London battled it out for some cash against the chaser.
And things looked promising for the team, as manufacturing scheduler Gary got a respectable £6,000 back to the table. He was also joined by funeral celebrant Sarah who had her sights set on a new wardrobe for Australia when she added a healthy £7,000.
Next up to face tonight's chaser, Darragh Ennis (The Menace), was Scots contestant and strawberry farmer Ailsa who scrambled to pick up £4,000 in her cash builder round, but she stunned everyone when she went against the group's advice and went for the £44,000 high offer.
She stormed through the round and delighted her team as they added the eye-watering amount to the prize pot, as The Menace told her: "You deserve that with the bravery of going for it."
But fans of the ITV quiz show were left fuming when the last contestant George stepped up as the 23-year-old supermarket worker went for the lower offer and deducted £9,000 from their collected winnings to get in with a chance of walking away with some of the cash.
Despite going for the notoriously lower offer, George had scored a respectable £7,000 in the cash-building round, which baffled viewers even more at why he decided to aim low.
Although things got off to a bitter start, his teammates seemed to be happy enough to get him back for the final chase and things looked promising.
However all four players were caught out in the final chase with 13 seconds to spare, something which the chaser himself admitted he "didn't see coming" and put it down to the team "answering questions too slowly" at the final hurdles.
Farmer Ailsa had planned to use her winnings for a charity trek to the Great Wall of China, but it seems she won't be on that trip just yet despite her glee at being able to take back the high offer.
"And the £48,000 turns to dust just like that," said host Bradley as he rubbed salt in the wound following the tense final chase.
Fans took to social media following the show to vent their anger at George for going for the low offer, and their sadness that the team lost out on the £48,000 prize pot following Ailsa's stellar performance.
One person wrote: "High offer not caught!! We bloody salute you. Legend and so so gutted for you #thechase."
"YOU BANKED 7 GRAND AND YOU'RE TAKING MINUS 9 OH HELL NOOOOOOOO #THECHASE," penned another ITV viewer.
A third wrote: "If I EVER see ANYBODY taking the minus offer, let alone a minus 9k offer, I’m throwing hands immediately. It would take all the Chasers to stop me. #TheChase."
"People, like George who take the lower offer don't deserve to go through. #thechase," quipped another fan of the show.
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on STV.
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