The Chase star Mark 'The Beast' Labbett reveals why he punched the set and responds to claims that it was staged

Yesterday we shared with you the tense moment on The Chase when Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett reacted badly to losing against a strong group of contestants – resulting in him storming off and punching the set in fury.

Viewers were left in shock as the brainy quiz master stormed off the set and even host Bradley Walsh confirmed that the chasers seriously hate to lose.

Following the episode, some social media users have speculated that The Beast’s outburst was staged and all part of an act.

Metro.co.uk spoke with the man himself, who has confirmed that his frustration was 100% genuine and explained the real reason behind the loss being particularly hard to take.

He told Metro.co.uk: ‘The team had done fantastically well and had scored 22 which makes them big favourites to win, at least 80%. So you really want to win those big games and to do so you need to answer FAST! With time running out I tumbled over an answer and said “Eddie Eagles Edwards” which was originally accepted and moved onto the next question.

‘The game was then stopped and that answer was disallowed. With the ensuing pushback it was all over.’

The Chase is officiated by an independent body called Beyond Dispute which monitors every aspect of the game to ensure its fairness.

The Beast explained: ‘It took them a few minutes and a lot of scrutiny of the replay to make the call. I was understandably a bit miffed given the original call by Brad but ref’s decision is final and they were right to make that call. But in answer to your original question [on whether the frustration was an act], if i may quote Jim Royle: “Staged? My Arse!”‘

‘It was totally about pride. I thought I had that game won and as any sportsperson will tell you when the winning score is disallowed by a late call or the TV replay it really hurts. Pride is everything.'

‘The team absolutely deserved to win cash given how well they played.’