The Chase fans suspected an early game over on ITV's edge-of-your-seat quiz show as they grew tired of excessive chatter, speculating it was a tactic to "fill time".

The beloved Bradley Walsh-fronted program welcomed another group striving for jackpot glory on Monday (February 10).

Despite contestant Nick kicking things off on a high with £5,000, the second contender, Ted, wasn't so lucky, falling prey to chaser Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan.

But observant fans sensed more dread for the competitors, pointing out the unusually verbose interludes hinting at a grim outcome in the final Chase.

They pinpointed The Vixen's extensive post-question commentaries and flocked to X to air their predictions.

One eagle-eyed viewer remarked, "The way in which *everyone* is talking the hind legs off a donkey here suggests a target of about three in the Final Chase and a lot of time to have to fill."

Another speculated, "The way the Vixen has been told to fill time suggests to me that this is the 1st team that will score zero in the final and have to pay ITV 5 thousand pounds," reports .

A third echoed the sentiment, writing, "There's a lot of waffle in this episode, does that mean the final chase is going to be over very quickly? "

Finally, a fourth quipped, "Explaining everything today, including a wispa has bubbles."

Despite rampant online speculation, the team's performance didn't improve as the game progressed. The fourth contestant, Charlotte, opted for the high offer when she faced the chaser, but sadly, she was eliminated early on.

This left Nick and Emily as the only contestants to reach the final round. Despite answering 13 questions correctly between them, their efforts were in vain as Jenny effortlessly defeated the team.

The Chase airs Monday to Friday at 5pm on ITV1