Beat the Chasers was back on our screens on Saturday night, for a special celebrity edition of The Chase's successful spin-off series. For this episode, Russell Kane, Dr Zoe Williams, Kaye Adams, Matt Allwright and Gyles Brandreth all took on the Chasers hoping to win money for their charities.
Russell was first up, and he revealed he was playing for Rethink Mental Illness and chose to play for £25,000 against four Chasers: Paul "The Sinnerman" Sinha, Anne "The Governess" Hegerty, Darragh "The Menace" Ennis and Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan.
The comedian has already played in the original ITV game show The Chase, but decided to return for its spin-off to see if he rise to the challenge. When asked about his decision, he told host Bradley Walsh: "I've been on the Immodium since last Wednesday just thinking about it!"
He later admitted his general knowledge was good but that he had "big gaps" when it came to sport, musicals, and soap operas.
Even though Beat the Chasers ups the pressure by encouraging contestants to play against multiple quizzers, even the professionals mess up sometimes and that was definitely the case for Jenny during the game.
When asked about which of Elon Musk’s many firms are on an ambitious mission to colonise Mars, Jenny answered Tesla but the correct answer was actually SpaceX, Musk's company which was founded in 2002 hoping to revolutionise space technology.
Meanwhile, Tesla's primary focus is electric vehicles, and they've recently created diverless vehicles off the back of this concept too. Jenny quickly realised her mistake and apologised to the other Chasers, but this simple error meant that Russell was able to walk away with the money for Rethink.
The charity has since thanked him on Twitter by writing: "A massive thank you to @russell_kane who pulled off an amazing victory for us on Saturday night. You've made a real difference to the lives of people severely affected by mental illness. Thanks Russell"
💙 A massive thank you to @russell_kane who pulled off an amazing victory for us on @ITVChase on Saturday night.You've made a real difference to the lives of people severely affected by mental illness.Thanks Russell! 🥳 pic.twitter.com/QASShZZ2QIOctober 18, 2021
Rethink Mental Illness is a mental health charity that operates in England. The organisation was founded in 1972 by John Pringle, whose son was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Beat the Chasers airs on ITV. Episodes are also available on demand via ITV Hub.
