The Chase accused of ‘fix’ as Beast answers £30,000 question ‘after time runs out’

The Chase has been accused of being fixed by angry viewers after a close call on last night's episode.

There was outrage on social media when chaser Mark 'The Beast' Labbett appeared to answer a question after his two-minutes ran out, denying contestants on the show a £30,000 prize pot. With time running out, Labbett answered "Switzerland" to the question "Watchmaker Longines was founded in which country?" Host Bradley Walsh replied: "Yes! Just in time. Switzerland. A split second, caught. I tell you what guys, it doesn’t get any closer than that."

The Beast then told the team they "deserved" to win.

""You didn’t deserve to lose, I'm really sorry guys. You were superb."

Viewers were quick to go in on the show for denying the contestants the money. One tweeted: "100% CHASER LOST!!!! #TheChase what a fix!!!! £30k !!!!! WENT ZERO before the answer [sic]." Another added: "How wrong today, the beast hadn't finished answering the question yet they let hime have it? When Bradley is asking questions if they haven't finished answering before the time runs out there not given it!! What a fix [sic]." A third said: "#TheChase is a fix!!! The countdown was over but apparently he got the answer on time! If it was the other way around the guests wouldn’t have been in time. #ITV sort it out." Watch the final moment and judge for yourself here: https://twitter.com/SinnySully/status/1056598316115546112 This isn't the first time the show has been accused of being 'fixed' against contestants but Labbett thinks viewers simply get carried away with the suspense of the game show. Speaking to the Daily Express, Labbett previously said: "I have never thrown a question, let alone a show and would happily be strapped up to one of Jeremy Kyle’s lie detectors. "Social media is great for people’s immediate gut reactions but not for a more considered opinion. My guess is that people get caught up in the excitement of the final chase and it boils over."