Former The Chase contestant reveals why winners are told not to share the prize fund

Daily Mirror

19-07-2025

The Chase has been on air via ITV since 2009 - and while winning the show is a rare event, one former contestant has revealed secret advice he was given about the prize money
A former contestant from The Chase has revealed details of what happens if a team win the show - and the advice ITV gives regarding eliminated teammates and the prize fund.
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Viewers of the ITV show will be well aware that success is rare on the general knowledge quiz show. A group of four team together to test their knowledge against one of the genius Chasers - which includes Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Jenny Ryan, Darragh Ennis and Paul Sinha.
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The brain boxes play under the respective code names The Beast, The Dark Destroyer, The Governess, The Vixen, The Menace and The Sinnerman. After the individual rounds, where the contestants try to get home without being caught, the team then take on the chaser in another round of general knowledge.
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If the team answer more questions correctly than the Chaser, they win the prize fund that has been amassed over the course of the show - but the money is divided between those that succeeded.
If a teammate is eliminated before the final, the winning team members are seemingly advised not to share any of the money with team members who were caught during the chase rounds. A former contestant named Steven Sneade, 69, from Liverpool, revealed all to the Daily Mail.
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He said: "If you win you have to sign another contract as you're accepting money from them. They told us not to give money to the contestants who didn't win money just because you feel sorry for them.
"They can't stop you, but I think they just don't want you to have that in mind. They said it could take three months, but I had it in a week."
The Chase has been on the air since 2009 and has aired over 2,500 episodes so far. The long-running game show is hosted by Bradley Walsh, 65 - who also hosts a variety of other shows, including the BBC series Gladiators.
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While he has been helming the show for 16 years, the entertainer has revealed he has no plans to walk away from the show. In a recent interview, he explained he would quit if the series lost its audience.
He said: "Until people say they've had enough and start switching off, I'll do it. We've had such an extraordinary time together. It's the best job in the world."
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He also reflected on filming the pilot episode, which was recorded back in 2008 with chasers Shaun Wallace and Mark Labbett involved. He recalled: "The audience was made up of ITV bosses and they found someone in the office to be a contestant."
"Straight away I took the contestant's side. I saw the Chasers as these big, all-knowing, bully types, so I started taking the mickey out of them. When they got a question wrong, I really gave it to them, and everyone was laughing. That's when I knew we had something."
The Chase has spawned a number of spin-offs - with celebrity specials and a version of the show were contestants can take on the whole line-up of chasers.
International versions of the show have appeared in 20 other countries including Australia, the USA, Spain and Germany. Some members of the UK version of The Chase have appeared in international versions - with Mark and Shawn featuring in the line-up in Australia.