'That was rigged!' The Chase fans cry 'fix' as clock appears to STALL in the last second of final round - giving the Chaser time to beat the contestants and send them home with nothing

• The Chase viewers called the show a fix after the outcome of Wednesday's show 
• The Governess managed to stop the team winning £60,000 in the last second
• Viewers said the clock had been slowed down so the show could keep the money

Fans of The Chase have cried 'fix' after the on-screen clock appeared to slow-down in the dying seconds of a quick-fire question round on Wednesday's show - allowing the Chaser to claim victory.  

Chaser Anne Hegerty - dubbed The Governess - was pitted against a team of two contestants who had made it to the final Chase having built up a £60,000 prize pot and a score of 20.  

The cash was theirs so long as Anne was unable to match their score - but the Chaser managed to draw level with moments to spare, leaving players Peter and Warjinder to go home empty handed. 

But viewers have claimed the timer was deliberately slowed down to give Anne time to chime in with an extra answer and hold back the prize money, with one insisting: '1 second lasted 3 seconds.'

A clip of the final round posted on Twitter has been shared thousands of times, with fans claiming the result had been 'rigged'. 

The row prompted Hegerty herself to respond on Twitter, to insist the 'win is fair'. 

Teammates Peter and Warjinder had battled their way through earlier rounds to put the money in the prize pot, and managed to answer 20 questions correctly in the final Chase.

When Anne was then pitted against the clock, she looked unlikely to match their score as her time was dwindling, but the clock appeared to pause with one second remaining - allowing her to deliver a 20th correct answer.  

Eagle-eyed viewers said the final second had been extended to allow Anne to win the match.

One tweeted: 'Definetly a fix, I was shouting at the TV! They deserved that money![sic]'

'Replayed it myself straight after thinking that was the longest pregnant pause in history - shameful blatant cheating,' another posted.

A third agreed: 'Noticed that as well, thought it was me, until I checked in catch up. Must Apologise & pay the £60K prize money! clock slowed down or stopped.'

'Think everyone needs to complain to OFCOM, these people deserve their money!!' a fourth ranted.

Other viewers went further, claiming the whole show is fixed in favour of The Chasers.

They said host Bradley Walsh deliberately reads the questions faster for them during the final chase, and argued that it was unfair that contestants had to buzz to answer questions, which meant it took them longer to earn points.

One viewer asked Hegerty to explain what had happened, and she admitted that the scene had been reshot, but she did beat the team fairly.

She said: 'When an ending's that close, they sometimes bring in wrong music. Then, after adjudicator checks tape and confirms Chaser win, they have to retake the end with right music. 

'Sometimes timing's a little different because we're not machines. But win is fair.' 

A The Chase spokesperson said: 'Anne gave the final correct answer within the time remaining. The game control system stops the countdown as soon as the correct answer is given.

'On this specific example, the clock stopped with 1 second still showing, giving the appearance that the Chaser had more time to answer but, in fact, the Chaser had already given the correct answer, the clock had been stopped and the team had been caught with one second remaining on the clock.

'This was checked and confirmed by an independent adjudicator. This was explained to the contestants who accepted and agreed with the decision.'