The Chase contestant makes history with jaw-dropping £80,000 win

A contestant on The Chase has made history on the long-running game show by winning a whopping £80,000.

Anyone who's ever tuned in to an episode of the ITV competition will know that you're lucky if you go home with anything when it comes to the final round.

But a man named Dan managed to break the trend by beating brain box Jenny Ryan, aka The Vixen, by mere seconds.

In the episode aired today (31 August), fellow contestants Annabelle, Toby and Sarah were all knocked out of the final chase, leaving Dan on his lonesome.

Although he initially only bagged £5000 in the cash builder, he decided to go for the £80,000 offered by Ryan, saying: "What have I got to lose?"

The risk paid off, having made it through the head-to-head round before bagging the jackpot thanks to a number of push backs from Ryan's side.

This makes Dan the biggest solo winner in the show's history, beating former player Eden Nash who won £75,000 on the show last year.

When asked by host Bradley Walsh what he's going to do with his prize, Dan said: "I think I’ll be spending a little bit longer in New Zealand than initially planned!"

The Vixen also took a chance to congratulate the champ, saying: "Sensational. Dan deserves every penny of that, that was a sensational performance."

Dozens of people have flocked to social media to share their admiration, with one writing: "This guy on #TheChase !! JEEZ what a player!"

Another said: "Great episode of The Chase today - one person left at the end and won £80,000! #TheChase."

A third chimed in: "Can't believe Dan on #thechase got some really simple questions wrong like Buffalo wings but knew some obscure ballet move and some random Brazilian author and a heap of other hard answers!

"What a great episode though! So happy for him, 80k all to himself!"

"What a win, congratulations Dan," said a fourth, while a fifth added, "Just shed a little tear for Dan on #TheChase. Well done dude."

Amazingly, the prize isn't that far off from the show's biggest team of winners, who bagged £100,000 on The Chase back in 2018.

The team of four - Diane, Luca, Tim and Gayna - scooped the impressive prize pot after correctly answering 21 questions in the final round, giving Anne Hegerty, aka The Governess, a hard act to follow.