The Chase took a dramatic turn as host Bradley Walsh lost patience with a contestant, handing out a rare ‘yellow card’ in a fiery on-air outburst that left viewers stunned.

Contestant Steve was competing alongside fellow hopefuls Claire, Mark and Jane in a bid to secure a cash prize against Jenny ‘the Vixen’ Ryan.

While Jane and Mark were eliminated early on, Steve managed to bank £4,000 in his cash-builder and decided to play for his pot.

But his head-to-head with the Chaser quickly faltered when he froze on the very first question, running out of time before offering an answer.

Moments later he hesitated again, prompting Bradley to snap: ‘I need an answer!’ Though Steve scraped through by a fraction of a second, the presenter was clearly unimpressed.

‘You cannot leave it that long. That’s gotta stop,’ Bradley raged, in what many fans described as one of his most heated moments on the show.

The Chase took a dramatic turn as host Bradley Walsh lost patience with a contestant, handing out a rare 'yellow card' in a fiery on-air outburst that left viewers stunned
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The Chase took a dramatic turn as host Bradley Walsh lost patience with a contestant, handing out a rare ‘yellow card’ in a fiery on-air outburst that left viewers stunned

Contestant Steve's head-to-head with the Chaser quickly faltered when he froze on the very first question, running out of time before offering an answer
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Contestant Steve’s head-to-head with the Chaser quickly faltered when he froze on the very first question, running out of time before offering an answer

‘You’ve got a yellow card. You’re three ahead – you could have been four ahead if you weren’t fiddling around.’

The studio audience looked on in surprise, while viewers at home were quick to share their reactions online.

One wrote: ‘OMG Brad giving him a yellow card is epic TV – who times out on The Chase!’

Another posted: ‘Never seen Brad get so heated, he seemed genuinely annoyed.’

Others were less forgiving towards Steve, insisting he had only himself to blame.

‘No excuse at all for running out of time,’ one said bluntly, while another added: ‘No sympathy if you run out of time ffs.’

Another frustrated viewer quipped: ‘For god’s sake press a bloody button!’

Despite the stern lecture, Steve managed to return to the table, rejoining teammate Claire for the final stages of the game.

Steve was competing alongside fellow hopefuls Claire, Mark and Jane in a bid to secure a cash prize against Jenny 'the Vixen' Ryan
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Steve was competing alongside fellow hopefuls Claire, Mark and Jane in a bid to secure a cash prize against Jenny ‘the Vixen’ Ryan

The duo managed only 14 correct answers in the final chase and, despite two successful pushbacks, they were swiftly caught by Jenny with 15 seconds to spare
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The duo managed only 14 correct answers in the final chase and, despite two successful pushbacks, they were swiftly caught by Jenny with 15 seconds to spara

Yet the pair soon sparked further controversy. While Steve had been urged by Claire to take the higher £60,000 offer, he had settled for his £4,000 – and when her turn came, she opted for the lowest offer of just £1,000.

‘There is literally no worse sort of person than someone who eggs everyone else on to go high, and then goes low themselves,’ fumed one viewer.

‘The kind of person who doesn’t return shopping trolleys.’ Another echoed: ‘Tells everyone to go high. Goes for the low offer herself.’

In the end, their combined £5,000 total was not enough to see them through.

The duo managed only 14 correct answers in the final chase and, despite two successful pushbacks, they were swiftly caught by Jenny with 15 seconds to spare.