The Chase Christmas Specials returning after two years off screen – as spin-off is also confirmed
Date: 2024-10-29THE Chase’s annual Christmas specials is confirmed to return to ITV after two years off-screen.
The quiz show’s annual Christmas specials will be returning to ITV later this year, after a year’s break in 2023 which saw ITV repeat previous episodes.
Two new episodes will be recorded in November, each seeing four celebrities take on the Chasers, who are traditionally in fancy dress, with the aim of winning thousands of pounds for their chosen charities.
The contestants must answer general knowledge questions and play their tactics right in order to get themselves into the Final Chase, where they could win a cash pot worth thousands for their charities.
And The Chase bloopers returns to ITV with a brand new episode.
The bloopers will feature all six chasers, as well as some funny moments from host Bradley Walsh.
The special episode, which will air this Winter, records at Elstree Studios on Tuesday 5th November.
Also, The Chase spin-off primetime hit Beat The Chasers has been renewed for a sixth series.
Will anyone have the skills and bravery to take on the full iconic line-up: Mark ‘the Beast’ Labbett, Anne ‘the Governess’ Hegerty, Shaun ‘the Dark Destroyer’ Wallace, Jenny ‘The Vixen’ Ryan, Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha and Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis?
This comes after chaser Paul Sinha has revealed his future on the ITV quiz show after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s aged 49.
Popular TV quizzer, 54, known as The Sinnerman, has featured on the ITV hit show since 2011.
Paul has now revealed that he will leave the show if his Parkinson’s begins to impact his quizzing performance on the show.
“If it ever did, I’d point it out to the producers. I know that one day that point will come, and I don’t want to be a burden on the show,” he told the Daily Star.
Paul recently opened up about his fears since being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019.
Paul previously said he was terrified that his Parkinson’s diagnosis will rob him of his quizzing skills. saying “my brain is my job”.
He said he wants to remain upbeat and positive as he fights the disease.
The Chase's best moments
The Chase has been entertaining ITV viewers for years, here are some of the show's most memorable moments...
Bradley Walsh can’t stop laughing
- Every time host Bradley Walsh erupts into fits of laughter on The Chase it makes for pretty entertaining TV. One particularly memorable occasion was when he was asking the question ‘The title of which Elvis Presley song was engraved of the inside of Freddie Star’s coffin?” As usual the contestant was given four multiple choices but Bradley could get through reading them out before bursting into hysterics. Seeming the idea of the song being option ‘B: Way Down’ was too much for the presenter to handle.
The Double Trouble special
- To celebrate 15 years of The Chase on screens, ITV launched a special ‘double trouble’ episode where contestants faced off against not one but two of the show’s beloved Chasers. And despite the odds, the contestants managed to go home with some cash!
The contestants with famous names
- Eagle-eyed ITV fans are always quick to spot interesting and sometimes hidden details on the quiz show – but there have been a few times where the names of some contestants have been overtly obvious. For example, one 2017 episode of the quiz show saw Bradley welcome four contestants who were named after Friends characters Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey. Another group of contestants with named from The Simpsons were also grouped together in another episode, much to viewers’ amusement.
The Beast’s anger gets the best of him
- During an episode from the 2024 season, Mark Labbett let out his inner beast as he exploded in a fit of anger. Close to losing the competition in the Final Chase, Mark then made a silly mistake and incorrectly answered the question, “Rabbit was a 1980 hit for which Cockney duo?†“Oh, you idiot!†he yelled at himself while slamming the table in front of him. With seconds left on the clock, the Chaser then admitted defeat, moaning “I don’t deserve to win.”
Speaking on Loose Women, he said: “I refuse to live in the future. I only want to live in the present and enjoy the present.
“Because I don’t know what my future is. I don’t have the time scale and I don’t know when I’m going to start deteriorating.”
Parkinson’s disease is a condition where parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years.
He added: “But I have to deal with it, the best that I can. How can I not? The brain is my job… it worries me, I want my brain to be as good as it can be.
“What pleases me is that my brain seems to be operating at full [potential].”
The Sinnerman then revealed he does get tired occasionally but he is still ‘quizzing’ really well.
“I’m tired from time to time, but anyone that’s quizzed with me in the last six months will tell you I am answering questions very very rapidly indeed.
Paul also revealed that he will quit his role on The Chase before the producers can fire him.
“I don’t know what my future is, I don’t know my time-scale, I don’t know when I am gong to start deteriorating,†he said.
“I do know that when I stop answering questions at speed, The Chase won’t fire me, I’ll say, ‘It’s been a lovely journey, you’ve treated me very well, see you later.’â€
