ITV The Chase viewers cringe at 'one of worst ever finals' as contestants lose out on £16k

The Chase viewers were left cringing after Thursday's episode of the hit quiz show - and some say the episode featured "one of [the] worst ever finals" on the programme. On the latest episode of the ITV series, we saw Ioan from Cardiff, Craig from Manchester and Cathy from Devon take on chaser The Governess, Ann Hegerty in the final chase - and get absolutely destroyed.

Ann had already caught contestant Penny from Sunderland but as Ioan, Craig and Cathy had put on a good show in their first two rounds of the programme, it was hoped they could keep their lucky streak going and beat the Chaser.

In the final round, the trio answered just six questions correctly between them, giving them an unusually low score of just nine points (six correct questions plus three points for having three Chasers in the final) to beat. Perhaps, if Craig hadn't got his words wrong and said Buzz Lightyear was from Manchester, the team could have had one extra point; but it was clear Craig and Ioan were relying on Cathy's general knowledge, and unfortunately she just wasn't quick enough in answering the questions. For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter

MORE SHOWBIZ: Alex Jones thanks 'wonderfully kind' medical staff after son's hospital visit

MORE TV: Single mum says 'it's time to start living for me' in emotional Escape to the Country house search

When it came to Ann's turn, she smashed through all of her questions easily and caught the team with a whopping one minute and 16 seconds to spare. Bemused viewers soon took to social media to share their thoughts.

"THREE of them only answered six questions in two minutes. F***ing hell!" said one viewer. "9? Blimey, I thought yesterday's was s****", said a second.

"That must be the worst score ever for three people?" asked another viewer, whilst another agreed: "One of the worst ever finals? Must be."

"This is dire," said another viewer after the Chasers gave a string of incorrect answers, whilst another fan of the show summed-up the team's efforts in one word: "embarrassing," whilst another fan simply said: "That was cringeworthy."

Another viewer questioned why the Chasers had applied for the programme, writing: "Honestly, why do people apply to go on game shows when they don't know a single thing about anything. Is it such a spectacular lack of self-awareness? Truly baffling. They set themselves up for humiliation for the very slim chance of winning back their train fare home."

Earlier in the programme, we saw Craig from Manchester answer seven questions correctly in his first round and make it back to base safely, whilst Ioan from Cardiff answered three questions correctly in his first round, but took the low offer of £1,000 - which he fortunately brought back to the team. The strongest team member, Cathy answered eight questions correctly in her first round and brought £8,000 back to the team. Ultimately, in the final the trio had the chance to win an impressive £16,000 between them. But it wasn't meant to be!

Welsh contestant Ioan was actually born in London, he told show host Bradley Walsh, but moved to Wales when he was four years old. Growing up, he attended Welsh-language schools before studying Mechanical Engineering at Swansea University.

After graduating, Ioan set up his business growing micro-vegetables. "[They're] normal vegetables but you grow them to just a couple of inches tall," he explained. Amongst his veggies, Ioan grows micro-radishes and micro-peas - which he said are in high-demand from top restaurants - and he also grows sunflowers.

Whilst many farms grow vegetables across acres of land, Ioan specialises in "vertical farming" which he explained in essentially plants and vegetables in trays stacked up high. If he had scooped up the winnings on The Chase, Ioan wanted to invest money in his business and pay for his driving test.

The Chase continues on ITV on Friday at 5pm.