The Chase hit by Ofcom complaints after Bradley Walsh ‘forgets social distancing’ and celebrity players hug

THE Chase has been hit with Ofcom complaints after viewers complained about a "lack of social distancing" on the show.

Quizmaster Bradley Walsh, 60, shook hands with the players on Saturday's new episode - which also saw the celebrity contestants hugging.

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Special celebrity editions of The Chase were filmed across three days last month at Television Centre in London.

The series has been amended to allow contestants to appear further apart - and ITV said "Close Contact Cohort" rules in place on TV shows meant contestants could touch.

But many viewers were upset, with one tweeting: "I actually thought this was an old episode considering all the handshakes and hugs, until Covid was mentioned in one of the charities."

Another viewer said they were "absolutely disgusted", telling Bradley: "You should be ashamed of yourself, shaking hands and hugging celebs.

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"Celebs congregating to discuss pushbacks. What sort of example do you think you're setting?"

Another tweeted: "What the hell.... why are they hugging and shaking hands when I can't see my parents and hug them???? I'm so annoyed to see this."

Ofcom confirmed to The Sun Online that 23 complaints had been received after the 17 October episode due to "alleged lack of social distancing".

An ITV spokesperson said: “Series 11 of The Chase Celebrity Special was filmed using approved Close Contact Cohort protocols.

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"As such, host Bradley Walsh and the celebrity contestants were able to physically interact for short intervals.

"The safety of our cast and crew is of the utmost importance.”

Contestants were tested for coronavirus between 48 and 72 hours ahead of filming and had to declare they and their household didn't have symptoms.

The special show saw Anita Rani, Mark Pougatch and comedian Dane Baptiste rack up an impressive £120,000 for charity.

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Rugby referee Nigel Owens also appeared but was eliminated early in the competition.

The UK today saw the biggest ever rise in daily coronavirus cases, with 26,688 people testing positive in the past 24 hours.

A further 191 people have died from the virus - taking the grim toll to 44,158.