The Chase contestants make ITV history by winning one of biggest jackpots ever

The Chase fans were left thrilled this week as two contestants managed to scoop an eye-watering £100,000 in the final chase against Chaser Paul Sinha.

Paul Sinha had the 'worst week of his life' after heart bypass

This week on The Chase, viewers witnessed one of the show's most colossal victories to date as duo Karen and Ian pocketed a staggering £100,000 prize.

After a series of suspense-filled rounds, the pair faced quiz genius Paul Sinha in an epic finale. Victory was sweet for the challengers, with Karen having just a single word reactiontriumph encapsulated.

The tension reached its peak when potential defeat hung by a thread for Paul, who needed only one right answer to overtake Karen and Ian. Bradley Walsh questioned him: "Lesley Manville played the widow Cathy in what BBC sitcom?" Paul's guess, Last of the Summer Wine, was a swing and a miss.

A wrong answer allowed Bradley to exclaim: "Stop the clock, that is wrong!" giving the challengers a flicker of hope. Unfortunately, they fumbled, misunderstanding sitcoms for soap operas.

Despite Ian's incorrect stabs at Coronation Street and EastEnders and Karen's observation, "It's a comedy," reports the Mirror, they couldn't seize the lifeline offered, overlooking the correct answer, Mum.

The Chase

The Chase was off to an explosive end (Image: ITV)

Paul, pressured by the dwindling seconds, hazard a wild guess, uttering "Green!" before his time ran out. His gamble didn't pay off, leaving Karen and Ian jubilant winners as time expired.

In a display of sportsmanship, Bradley consoled Paul with a "Bad luck," while Karen couldn't contain her joy, ecstatically exclaiming "Yes!" as she celebrated their win.

Chase

Karen and Ian celebrated their win (Image: ITV)

Ian was visibly overwhelmed as he hugged Karen, his mouth agape at the staggering prize money they'd won. Karen could only murmur in disbelief: "Oh my God! " while Bradley noted the narrow victory: "That was close. Six attempts to push back, only two executed. The chaser needed one. What did you guess at the end there, green?"

As it turned out, the pivotal question was: "What type of reptile is a jacky dragon?" to which the answer was irrefutably "lizard".

The duo's victory marked one of the most substantial payouts in the show's history, with Ian and Karen each taking home £50,000. Looking back, the largest win in 2023 saw three players split £120,000, earning them £40,000 each after outsmarting chaser Mark Labbett.

Paul

It was a huge blow for The Sinnerman (Image: ITV)

Remarkably, the only other instance of a team surpassing the £100,000 mark happened in the final chase of 2018, when contestants Gayna, Tim, Luca, and Diane shared a mammoth £100,000.

Turning to records for individual triumphs, nothing tops the spectacle from when Eden, a 20-year-old contestant, secured an outstanding £75,000. Facing off against Darragh Ennis, Eden constructed an 18-step lead over the chaser and claimed the biggest solo win on the show to date.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?