When did The Chase first start?

The Chase has become one of the most popular game shows over the last 12 years. (Picture: ITV)

It’s almost impossible to remember a time before The Chase dominated our screens.

The gameshow has become much more than another quiz show – it has made icons out of many of the characters, with the likes of Anne Hegerty (aka The Governess, her fierce nickname as expert chaser) going on to appear on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and becoming a positive role model championing more understanding and awareness around autism.

Other Chasers like Paul Sinha have even gone off to land TV shows of their own, with his quiz show TV Showdown airing in January of this year.

But when did The Chase first premiere and how many episodes have there been?

When was the first episode of The Chase?

The first season of The Chase aired back in 2009, nearly 12 years ago to the day.

The very first episode of the competition show aired on June 29, 2009 as a replacement show for Golden Balls.

The opening season only had 10 episodes in total, running daily through to July.

However, it introduced some familiar faces from the start who’ve become just as much an institution to British TV as the show itself.

Bradley Walsh has hosted since the beginning, and the first episodes introduced us to chasers Mark Labbett (aka the Beast) and Shaun Wallace (aka the Dark Destroyer) both featuring as chasers.

There have now been 14 seasons in total of The Chase and more than 1800 episodes.

MORE : The Chase’s Mark Labbett shows off impressive 10 stone weight loss in dapper photo

MORE : Bradley Walsh left stunned by The Chase contestant’s famous past

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