BRADLEY Walsh is a pro when it comes to hosting The Chase.
The 61-year-old has fronted the ITV quiz show since it began in 2009 and despite the odd outburst of giggles when a funny question pops up, Bradley knows how to get the job done.
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However, that doesn’t mean Bradley is not under the watchful eyes of the show’s lawyers, who are always in the background on set to make sure everything goes smoothly and fairly.
One thing the lawyers are particularly hot on is how Bradley asks the questions, particularly in the Final Chase when he tries to squeeze in as many as possible to two minutes, first for the team and then for The Chaser.
Bradley doesn’t get to see the questions in advance, so doesn’t have time to prepare.
If he stumbles over a word or question, The Chase lawyers are straight onto him, and immediately review the footage before requesting the question to be shot again.
Bradley told Radio Times: “If there is a slight misread, I am stopped immediately – bang – by the lawyers.
“We have the compliance lawyers in the studio all the time. What you have to do is go back to the start of the question, literally on video tape where my mouth opens – or where it’s closed from the previous question – and the question is re-asked. It is stopped to the split second.”
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“It means no time is lost for either the contestant or the chaser.”
In the past viewers have claimed the show is ‘fixed’ somehow, but Bradley insists he reads the questions at the same speed regardless of whether it’s for the team or the Chaser.
He continued: “You have to be at such a speed: if you’re a contestant and I go ‘what’s… the capital… of France… ‘ they’d be dead and buried in thirty seconds.
“I have to make sure they get up to speed and they’re getting about 18 or 19 questions answered correctly.
“There’s no stopping them”
“That’s the real banana skin score [that will trip the chasers up]. Once the chasers get in a rhythm there’s no stopping them.
“They can answer 24, 25 questions in two minutes. We’ve even almost reached thirty.”
Bradley takes 3.6 to 4 seconds to ask a question on average, and The Chase’s production company employs an independent professional monitoring company named Beyond Dispute, which ensures the questions are fair, balanced and selected randomly.
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV.
