Bradley Walsh has been hosting The Chase ever since it first aired back in 2009.
However, there have been a few occasions during the past 16 series (and over 2,000 episodes) where Brad has rubbed viewers up the wrong way.
Here are some of the 63-year-old’s most controversial moments on the show over the last 15 years…
Bradley Walsh controversial moments on The Chase: Patronising behaviour
Sometimes, Brad’s behaviour on the show grates on some viewers.
Back in January 2023, fans of the show were left furious as they accused Brad of being “patronising” towards a contestant.
A contestant called Anne managed to pick up £8,000 in the cash builder, as well as evade the Beast. However, Bradley seemed to imply that she’d been “lucky”.
“Bradley patronising the woman. No Brad, she wasn’t lucky,” one viewer fumed at the time. Others took issue with Bradley branding the questions “tricky”.
“For the last time, Brad, it’s not tricky,” one fan grumbled.
Rejecting ‘correct’ answers
There have been a few occasions over the years where Bradley hasn’t allowed an answer, despite viewers arguing that it was “correct”.
In February 2023, Bradley asked a contestant: “What is the flag carrier airline of Turkey?” They replied saying “Turkish Airline”.
Bradley then rejected their answer, as the correct answer was, in fact, Turkish AirlineS.
“Getting [bleeping] ridiculous with these ‘wrong’ answers lately,” one fan raged. “Oh COME ON NOW!!!! Refuse to accept Turkish Airline because the answer is Turkish Airlines with an S….. [bleep],” another said.
Something similar happened during an episode from November 2022. A contestant answered a question by saying “Game of Throne”.
“We can’t accept Games of Throne, it was Game of Thrones,” Brad replied. Viewers took to Twitter to slam him.
“Proper harsh, come on Bradley son,” one fan fumed. “Games of Throne? They can’t give her that?” another wrote.
Bradley Walsh controversial moments on The Chase – Ageist comments
In October 2022, Bradley came under fire from viewers who accused the star of being “ageist”.
This particular incident took place when Elizabeth, 37, received a question about 30s comedian Fanny Brice.
“Of which Hollywood actress did comedienne Fanny Brice say: ‘Wet, she’s a star. Dry, she ain’t’?” he asked. Elizabeth picked her answer. Bradley then said: “Ok, you’ve put – you’ll be too young to know this”.
Fans weren’t happy with his comment. “You’re too young to know this’ [BLEEP] OFF BRADLEY, IT’S CALLED GENERAL KNOWLEDGE!!” one fan fumed.
“Bradley saying ‘you’re too young to know this” kinda defeats the purpose of a general knowledge quiz show,” another said.
Slammed for ‘annoying’ behaviour towards Shaun Wallace
During an episode of the show broadcast in January 2024, Bradley was slammed by viewers after he accused Shaun Wallace of “showboating”.
Shaun went into slightly more detail than required in the Final Chase with one of his answers – and Bradley was quick to call him out.
“All you’ve got to do is give the answer. And you’re coasting, and you’re showboating. You’re giving the answer and then you’re giving a load of information in the Final Chase, which doesn’t need to be done, so you’re showboating,” he said.
“Gonna stop watching if he [Bradley] continues,” one fan fumed. “This ‘Bradley having a dig at Shaun’ routine is getting a bit old hat,” another said.
Irritating habits
Viewers are always having a go at Bradley for his “irritating habits”.
Using phrases such as “you’re better than that” and stopping mid-sentence when the clock runs out have seriously grated on viewers over the years.
Telling contesants off
Back in 2020, Bradley shocked fans when he told a contestant off for telling him what answers she’d picked.
“Don’t tell me what you’ve gone for,” he snapped. “You’re not allowed to do that.”
He also once berated a contestant for “not listening” to him.
In the Final Chase, Paul Sinha got a question wrong. Brad then turned the question to the conetstants, who gave the exact same answer as the Chaser.
“You’re not listening!” he fumed.
Read more: The Chase star Darragh Ennis hits back at ‘cheating’ accusations: ‘It would literally be a crime’
The Chase airs on weekdays from 5pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
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