ITV The Chase row explodes as fans blast ‘easy’ maths questions to former teacher Mark Labbett: ‘Utter fix’
The Chase fans accused Wednesday’s ITV episode of featuring “fixed” questions that favoured Mark Labbett, sparking widespread social media outrage over alleged unfair advantages for The Beast.
Viewers claimed the former maths teacher received conveniently tailored mathematics and rugby questions during his head-to-head with contestant Francine, leading to her elimination from the quiz show.
The accusations emerged after fans noticed what they described as a “funny” coincidence in the question selection.
Mark Labbett, who joined The Chase in 2009, previously worked as a supply PE and mathematics teacher in Wales before becoming one of the UK’s best-known quizzers.
During Francine’s head-to-head against The Beast, host Bradley Walsh asked about the International Medal for Outstanding Discoveries in Mathematics.
Francine immediately recognised Mark’s advantage, saying: “He knows this doesn’t he?” Bradley confirmed: “Of course he does, he’s a mathematician.”
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Moments later, a rugby question followed about which Middle Eastern country played in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
Mark knew the answer was Lebanon instantly, while Francine admitted: “Not a clue.” She answered incorrectly and was eliminated from the competition.
The 55-year-old support worker from Surrey had earned £6,000 in the Cash Builder round before her unfortunate departure.
Social media users expressed their fury over the question selection, with many taking to X to voice their suspicions. One fan wrote: “Funny how they give all the maths questions to the maths teacher Chaser.”
Another viewer added: “Maths question followed by rugby question for the rugby-loving maths teacher Mark Labbett.”
“Maths teacher getting maths question” followed by a suspicious thinking emoji, before someone else expressed: “Complete and utter fix. How can they allow this?”
The timing of subject-specific questions during Francine’s crucial head-to-head prompted widespread accusations of the quiz being “fixed” in The Beast’s favour.
The episode featured four contestants – Michael, Francine, Amy and Jamie – competing against The Beast for a cash prize.
Michael, a 38-year-old special needs teacher from London, successfully earned £6,000 and returned to his team despite being tempted by a higher £60,000 offer.
Amy, a 34-year-old florist from Aberdare, shocked viewers by choosing a £0 offer after earning £3,000 in the Cash Builder, with fans calling it a “waste of time”.
Jamie, a 21-year-old student, contributed £5,000 to the final pot.
The remaining three contestants achieved a score of 18 in the final chase, proving strong enough to defeat The Beast and win £3,666 each.