As they say,The Chaseis on.

All 900+ episodes of it.

This comes with a string of freshly-cooked-up verbal jabs.

Will it be Anne Hegerty, The Governess, a nightmare on Elm Street?

Or could it be Shaun Wallace, a night in alone?

Could it be Mark Labbett, a night time snack?

Or could it be The Sinnerman, Paul Sinha, a night in white linen?

Its a shocker that suit.

I always love Bradleys introductions.

She adds, It wouldnt be a night in alone, then, would it?

Its a bit awkward, but Bradley laughs it off.

Bradley announces that its time to meet The Chaser.

The lights go red.

The dramatic music starts.

Her prayers have been answered.

Ooh, fighting talk, says Bradley.

Can a team of strangers take on one of Britains greatest quiz brains and take home thousands of pounds?

Thats how Bradley described the format of The Chase at the start of this episode.

As usual, hes neglected to mention true nature of the show.

Underneath the smiles and the advice and forced compliments, this really isnt a show about teamwork.

This is never more obvious than when someone takes a minus offer.

But Im getting a bit ahead of myself there.

First, each must complete the aforementioned 60-second cash builder.

Twizs eight grand is plonked on the third step down.

Twizs goal is to get to the bottom of the screen before Shaun catches up.

He starts at the top.

If he catches her, shes out of the game and goes home with nothing.

If she successfully gets to the bottom, shes through to The Final Chase.

As is tradition, Shaun puts out his lower offer first.

Bradley encourages Twiz to consult with her teammates.

Are you starting to see why the teams may not always be friendly?

This is where things get really heated.

If they take it and get through, this sum will be subtracted from the team total.

So theyre essentially robbing other people of their hard-earned cash to get through.

Sometimes, it even becomes a news story.

Twitter was ablaze with outrage, and thetabloidspicked up the story.

Theyalsotook an interest when one player called another a wuss for taking the lower offer.

Apologies for using that sort of language here.

I told you it could get heated.

Teamwork isnt even a factor.

A lot of seconds can be wasted by umming and aahing, wondering if someone else knows it.

A quick passer can be the difference between winning and losing.

Its proper shouting-at-the-telly time if no ones skipping past a question when clearly no-one knows it.

The tricky thing is that theres no clear target at this stage.

If The Chaser beats the contestants score in 120 seconds, they all go home empty handed.

Theres very little they can do now.

Its just a question of whether todays Chaser can nab more correct answers than them.

And if The Chaser gets one wrong, the contestants get to have a crack at it.

If they get it right, they push The Chaser back one step.

Its addictive stuff, andoccasionallyteams win really big.

And, just to finish off, some quick words of praise for Bradley Walsh.

Its an impressive feat of reading our Bradders does every day.

(Well,mostly.)

Between all the questions, Mr Walsh also manages to inject humour wherever possible.

And bravo to everyone behind UK TVs most underrated quiz show.

Quiz fans whove yet to tune in are missing out.