ITVWas this the most contentious episode of quiz show The Chase?
Ah, the magic of a tea-time telly quiz. You can rest your weary bones on the sofa, feel satisfied when you get a question right, and learn some general knowledge too.
Yet when viewers sat down to watch ITV's cult quiz The Chase on Monday 20 March, it wasn't quite the laid-back affair they were expecting.
Fans of the show witnessed something very unsettling. Very unsettling indeed.
If you don't know the format, here are the basics: four contestants take it in turns to 'race' a general knowledge expert - a 'Chaser' - down the game board by answering questions. Before they start, the chaser offers each one an amount of money to play. The lower the amount, the more of a head start the contestant gets.
If you're caught by the expert, you're out. If not, you take your winnings to the final round where, as a team with the other three contestants, you can attempt to win your combined prize fund.
So what happened to cause such controversy?
Well, it all started with Darragh. He was desperate to win enough money to buy a new door. He did brilliantly, and managed to bank £9,000 for the team. That could buy a lot of doors.
The problem was, he effectively did too well. Next up was Michael, so how much was he willing to raise for the team? £300.
It was at this point things really started to go down hill...
Yes you read that right -£1000 - taking the kitty from £9,300 to £8,300.
Things then got worse.
Yep, another minus. So Darragh, after raising £9,000 all on his own, then had to face the fact that not only was there almost £3,000 less in the bank, but if they won, he'd be sharing his winnings with three other contestants who had contributed the grand sum of -£2,700 between them.
They did win, but their joy was not shared by viewers.
It didn't take long before #JusticeForDarragh was trending...
ITV then got in on the tweeting act, but instead of focusing on the negatives, highlighted how wonderful Darragh was...
Then Darragh spoke up. And he didn't have a bad word to say about what had happened and stood up for the other contestants.
What a guy...
Don't know what to learn from this whole debacle? Erm, well the moral of the story is, if you're a good and decent person, go on a quiz show, you will get that door...
