ITV spark fury as they air controversial Beat The Chasers win after woman’s tragic death
ITV has come under fire after airing a repeat episode of Beat The Chasers that sparked controversy at the time.
Back in 2021, Robyn Free appeared on the show and won an incredible £40,000 but died shortly afterwards from cancer.
She was later left upset when she learnt that host Bradley Walsh had accused her of ‘scamming’ the show when she leapt up after her win.
In upsetting scenes, which first aired three years ago, Bradley looked on in pretend shock as she walked off stage after struggling at the start.
Then, turning to the empty chair he said, jokingly: “She completely scammed us all.”
Pretending to be Robyn, he added: “‘I’ve got to sit down, oh I’m not sure what I’m doing, I’m going to win a cat. Forty large, ta-da, love. See ya.’ Unbelievable!”
After seeing his remarks for the first time on screen, Robyn said the presenter “owes her an apology”, calling the quip an “unkind joke at my expense”.
She explained: “I understand maybe he thought I didn’t need a chair but I really can’t stand for more than 10 mins or so before my legs may give way.”
The quiz queen added: “I would gladly give back the £40k in exchange for being cancer free.”
Robyn passed away in May 2022 after deciding to forego treatment and chemotherapy on her lungs.
Despite the somewhat upsetting ending to Robyn’s story, ITV aired the episode this evening.
And while many viewers didn’t know it was a repeat, others were not impressed.
One person remarked: “#BeatTheChasers from 3 years ago?! You’re having a laugh
@ITV Has anything been shown that isn’t a repeat?!”
A second asked: “Why are itv showing repeats of things. 9pm slot on 27th December when most are still on Christmas holidays a repeat of beat the chasers?”
While a third commented: “Beat the Chasers Another repeat. At Christmas! Come on ITV.”