For ITV, few programs have proven as successful or profitable as their long-running quiz show The Chase.
What started almost 18 years ago as a fun teatime quiz show, hosted by Bradley Walsh, has become a huge hit, with celebrity specials and the primetime spin-off Beat The Chasers.
So when ITV bosses decided to launch a slightly different take on the popular format with The Chase Around The World, they were confident it would be another hit.
But the Daily Mail can reveal that executives have already decided there will be no second series because it simply hasn’t worked.
Insiders say they have been left red-faced as the big budget show, which aired weekly this summer, failed to get the ratings or response they were hoping for, with many fans taking to social media to dismiss the show as ‘boring’ and ‘nonsense’.
The sixth and final episode, which aired on August 20, attracted 1.2 million viewers in the 9:00 PM primetime slot. Earlier on the same day, an episode of the regular series attracted an average of 1.6 million viewers.
The Chase’s latest spin-off, The Chase Around The World, has been axed after just one series, the Daily Mail can reveal
A source said: ‘The Chase is a simple quiz format that has worked incredibly well for almost 18 years.
‘The spin-off Beat The Chasers also worked because it gave contestants the chance to compete against all six chasers at once, with more banter between the contestants, the chasers and of course Bradley Walsh.
‘The Chase Around The World has been one big flop. Bradley is virtually reduced to a voiceover man and The Chasers, all of whom are loved by viewers, barely feature.
“God knows what they were thinking when this spin-off was conceived. It’s like they decided to make a Chase version of Race Across The World and unfortunately for everyone involved it didn’t work.
‘There has been quite a bit of shame behind the scenes and it has already been decided that there will be no more new series.’
The show was produced by Bright Entertainment, a label under ITV Studios for ITV.
Billed as an adventure series, host Bradley, 66, and The Chasers saw Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha and Jenny Ryan leave the studio as six pairs of contestants traveled to cities around the world, receiving clues and hints to find the various Chasers, with the latter having to pit their general knowledge against the Chasers to stay in the game.
Nearly twenty years after its launch, more than 2,600 episodes of The Chase have been filmed
The remaining competitors also had the chance to win £100,000.
The source added: “The Chase should just stick to what it is: a simple studio-based quiz show that everyone loves.”
Nearly twenty years after its launch, more than 2,600 episodes of The Chase have been filmed.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that production on the regular series had been halted this year and that no new episodes would be filmed until 2027.
A spokesperson for the show said: ‘With The Chase Around The World only completing its linear broadcast just over a fortnight ago, there are obviously still ongoing discussions about a recommissioning at this time.’
