The Chase's Mark Labbett Storms Off After Losing by One Second

In a dramatic turn of events on Wednesday's episode of ITV's popular quiz show The Chase, professional quizzer Mark Labbett, famously known as The Beast, stormed off the set after suffering a narrow defeat by just one second. The 60-year-old chaser was competing against four new contestants who had successfully built a prize pot of £17,000 before the final chase began.

A Heartbreaking Loss and Abrupt Exit

Mark Labbett scored 19 points in the final chase, attempting to match the team's total but fell short when he incorrectly guessed 'cheese' as an answer with only a second remaining. Acknowledging the team's victory, he seethed, 'well played guys,' before abruptly leaving the set. Host Bradley Walsh commented on the incident, saying, 'Oh, the big bad boy of quizzing is off... he's bashing everything and he's lost his cool completely.' Walsh added, 'Well, that's the way it goes. It's a very, very, very fine margin, folks, it really is.'

Viewer Reactions and Social Media Backlash

The Beast's actions did not go unnoticed by viewers, who took to social media to express their opinions. Many dubbed him a 'sore loser,' with comments including:

'#thechase Mark a poor loser not as good as he thinks he is.'
'Most scripted beast walk-off ever. Absolutely done that for the gag.'
'Mark will *generally* accept defeat graciously, but he's more annoyed with himself I reckon, for pretty much giving that one away ... #TheChase'

However, some viewers defended Labbett, arguing he was 'robbed' due to a pronunciation issue. During the game, he faced a question about which Hollywood actor has an identical twin named Sami Malek. Mark answered 'Remy Malek,' but was told it was incorrect, with the correct answer being 'Rami Malek.' One viewer noted, 'He was robbed, he pronounced the name Rami with a long A (think "Raimi" like Sam Raimi. Brad heard it was Remi.'

Other Recent Incidents on The Chase

Mark's storming off is not the only eye-popping incident to recently occur on The Chase. In Tuesday's episode, host Bradley Walsh slammed contestant Damien for a 'ridiculous' answer to a question. Damien was asked, 'In 2024, Wild Thang was named the World's Ugliest... what?' with options of dog, cat, and baby. Instead of choosing dog or cat, Damien selected baby, explaining, 'I don't remember, but I've seen lots of videos of ugly babies on social media.'

Bradley reacted with shock, saying, 'Wow,' and added, 'How to win friends and influence people, hey, Damian? The correct answer is... can't be baby, surely.' The correct answer was dog, leading Bradley to remark, 'Thank the Lord!' He further commented, 'It's one of those poor unfortunate ones, where its tongue is always sticking out and it's not the prettiest animal.' Reflecting on the game, Bradley noted, 'We would still be well in it by now if you hadn't put that ridiculous answer.'

The Chase continues to air weekdays at 5pm on ITV1 and is available for streaming on ITVX, captivating audiences with its mix of high-stakes quizzing and unexpected moments.