The Chase is the best thing on TV and I’m not ashamed to admit it

Every weekday night at 4:59pm, televisions across the land are switched on, no more so than in student houses. We swell to hear Bradley Walsh’s sacred words: “The Chase is on.”

But why such a hit? Here’s five reasons why we’re obsessed with The Chase:

1. Bradley Walsh is undeniably classic

One thing is for sure, without Bradley Walsh, The Chase wouldn’t be The Chase. His best moments are undoubtedly his hysterical fits of laughter at the slightest bit of innuendo in the question.

2. The Chasers are basically pantomime villains

Everyone has their favourite chaser and one they despise with passion. There’s Anne Hegarty, aka "The Governess"; the slightly problematically named "Dark Destroyer"; Mark Labbett (Labbett sounds like the French la bête which translates to "The Beast", hence his nickname apparently); the doctor turned Chaser, Paul Sinha, "The Sinnerman"; and newbie to the show, Bolton’s very own Jenny "the Vixen" Ryan.

3. The contestants are often so infuriating that you end up rooting for the Chaser

“The minus offer – how could they do that?” is a cry heard every so often across the country when some ignoramus takes the minus offer.

How could someone be so evil to take hard-earned money away from the team? We watch through our hands the looks of despair from fellow teammates who all told them to go for the middle offer. Eventually we and the teammates urge on The Chaser to destroy them on the table and take them out for their selfish act.

4. The Final Chase is the most dramatic thing you'll ever watch

The Final Chase is always the best bit. At the halfway mark, we try to be mathematical geniuses and predict whether there’s enough time for the Chaser to win according to their average so far. It comes to the last ten seconds and there’s three questions left to go – will they, or won't they?

That last pushback on the two second mark almost sends the population into cardiac arrest. More often then not though, the Chaser proves themselves, winning, sending the team home empty handed.

5. It's a million times better than any other quiz show on TV

Nothing beats The Chase. If anyone prefers the very aptly named BBC show, Pointless, then they need to severely question themselves.

If anyone preferred the disaster of the temporary Chase replacement of Babushka with Rylan Clark-Neal then you need to seriously reevaluate your life choices. Although if you preferred the most dastardly, most evil gameshow in the world, Goldenballs, then I can maybe accept that.