Jenny Ryan faced four new contestants on The Chase (Image: ITV)
viewers were devastated as one player was sent packing after a nail-biting head-to-head. The programme returned on Tuesday (March 4), with four new contestants going up against . The team got off to a shaky start, with players one and three both being caught by The Vixen.
The final contestant to take on Jenny was Maria, a sales director from Letchworth. The 34-year-old answered five questions correctly in the cash builder, meaning she had the chance to take the team’s total to £10,000 after Jolene made it through with £5,000. Jenny attempted to shift Maria’s position on the table, offering her -£1,000 and a whopping £65,000. Despite Jolene’s advice to take the middle option, Maria couldn’t resist playing for the high offer.
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Maria narrowly missed out on making it through to the final chase with £65,000 (Image: ITV)
This kickstarted the beginning of a jaw-dropping head-to-head, culminating in Jenny being one spot behind Maria with just one question left to answer.
The final question was: “In 2019, researchers discovered the first genetic evidence that insects feel what?” The three options given were ‘Pain’, ‘Love’ or ‘Remorse’.
Maria opted for ‘Love’, believing the correct answer of ‘Pain’ was “too obvious”. After Jenny chose the correct answer and knocked Maria out of the competition, she issued a brutal analysis.
“You overthought that because you saw 2019 and thought, ‘Surely by then we already knew.'” She added: “I see where you were going but also, going with the obvious answer at this point – ouch.”
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Jolene played for £5,000 alone (Image: ITV)
had his head in his hands as he bid farewell to Maria. And he wasn’t the only one gutted by the departure as viewers flocked to social media to share their thoughts.
“Goodbye Maria,” one wrote, followed by several broken heart emojis. A second penned: “Oh, bad luck. Lovely lass, so close.”
“So close yet so far,” shared a third as another added: “Oh no she panicked, shame.”
Maria’s exit meant Jolene was playing alone, following the earlier departures of Ben and Alfie. Playing for £5,000, the law graduate answered 12 questions in the final chase.
Despite the impressive solo performance, it was no match for The Vixen, who caught her score with 53 seconds remaining.