Bradley Walsh forced to stop filming The Chase after bizarre ‘mole’ question sends him into hysterics

Bradley Walsh could barely get through one question on The Chase after an unusually bizarre reference to a mole, a ferret and a badger left the ITV presenter in fits of laughter.

The moment appeared in a special bloopers edition of the quiz show, which brought together some of the funniest mistakes and unexpected moments from the programme.

Walsh was attempting to read a question to the contestants when he suddenly lost his composure and had to stop filming.

The question Bradley simply couldn’t get through

The question that caused all the trouble asked:

“What animal was reportedly used to lay cables around Buckingham Palace for the broadcast of Charles and Diana’s wedding?”

Walsh had barely finished reading it before he began laughing uncontrollably.

He managed to regain his composure briefly, but the laughter quickly returned, leaving him unable to continue with the answers.

Eventually, he tried to start the question again.

“Ok let’s try it again,” he said, attempting to keep a straight face.

The second take went slightly better. Walsh managed to read the question without breaking down, but the answer choices proved too much for him once again.

The options were a mole, a ferret and a badger.

As soon as they appeared, Walsh erupted into laughter all over again.

The unusual question later resurfaced in coverage of The Chase, with the correct answer identified as ferret.

Shaun Wallace makes the moment even funnier

The filming eventually continued, but Walsh’s ordeal was not quite over.

When Chaser Shaun Wallace selected mole as his answer, the presenter immediately began laughing again.

By that point, Walsh had completely lost any hope of maintaining a serious quiz-show demeanour.

“That just gets better and better,” he said.

“That is comedy gold. That is comedy gold. That is absolutely comedy gold. That is without a doubt a show on its own, that question.”

Wallace’s answer was particularly amusing in the context of the question because the idea of an animal being used to pull cables around Buckingham Palace was already enough to send Walsh into a fit of laughter.

The incident became one of the standout moments from the show’s bloopers special, with Walsh repeatedly struggling to make it through a question that would ordinarily have taken only a few seconds to read.

Joe Pasquale briefly takes Bradley’s place

The same bloopers special also played a joke on viewers by making it appear as though Walsh had been replaced as host of The Chase.

Comedian Joe Pasquale stepped into Walsh’s usual position and opened the programme with a tongue-in-cheek introduction.

“Hello, and welcome to The Chase. I’m Bradley Walsh, TV’s luckiest man. And once again, I’ll be asking questions I can barely read – let alone understand,” Pasquale joked.

The gag did not last long.

From the director’s chair, Walsh shouted “cut” and appeared to demand that security remove Pasquale from the set.

Pasquale then ran off as the joke continued.

Walsh then reassured viewers that he was back where he belonged, joking that he was “the real Brad”.

He added that he was not actually the director and explained that he was only allowed to sit in the chair if he promised not to touch anything.

The playful sequence was part of the New Year bloopers edition rather than a genuine change of host. Contemporary coverage of the broadcast also described Pasquale’s appearance as a one-off joke, with Walsh returning to his familiar role.

For Walsh, however, it was the strange animal question that provided the night’s most memorable outtake. What began as a routine question about cables and a royal wedding quickly turned into repeated failed takes, uncontrollable laughter and one very amused Chaser.