A contestant on Beat The Chasers was sent home empty-handed after being eliminated on the very first question of the evening. Brendan from London went head-to-head against all six Chasers, but his appearance ended almost as soon as it began.
Host Bradley Walsh welcomed the solutions architect to test his knowledge against Shaun Wallace, Darragh Ennis, Mark Labbett, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha and Jenny Ryan. Contestants answer up to five multiple-choice questions, earning £1,000 for each correct answer to build their starting bank. Getting the very first question wrong results in immediate elimination.
A question that left him stumped
Brendan was asked: "In the UK and Australia, which of these is used as a slang term for a drink, especially beer?" The options were sherbet, liquorice, or toffee. He appeared completely perplexed, admitting: "This is what I was worried about. Honestly, I have no idea."
Reality then hit as he added: "Oh my God, I am going to go out on the first question." After a huge huff and much consideration, Brendan opted for toffee - unfortunately for him, that was the wrong answer.
Host rubs salt in the wound
Bradley soon revealed that the correct answer was sherbet. "That was very unfortunate," Jenny said to him. "That is a term of slang that just hasn't come into your orbit. You were absolutely clueless on that because there's not really any hint up there, is there?"
Brad then added that he had heard the term "loads and loads of times" and that he is from the same area as the contestant. "So I'm sorry, but that's the way it goes," the ITV host said before sending Brendan home empty-handed.
How the game works
In normal circumstances, if a player gets past the first question, they can choose how many Chasers (from two up to all five or six) they are brave enough to face simultaneously. Taking on more Chasers increases the cash prize amount and offers better odds, but it reduces the time advantage given to the contestant on their clock.
Both sides get a countdown clock, with the player typically starting with 60 seconds. Questions alternate, and any incorrect answer pauses your own team's countdown while the opponent's clock keeps running down until a correct answer is given. The first side to run out of time loses.
