viewers on Monday night's (May 12) in shock after threatening to give up entirely and wave the white flag - just moments into the show. The Chaser, nicknamed The Beast, was left visibly rattled after contestants Julie, Aaron, Elaine and Michael delivered a near-perfect performance early in the episode. The episode started with Julie, 62, taking the first attempt to win money for the team, answering every single question correctly in her head-to-head.

After earning £8,000 in her cash-builder section, The Beast offered a high option of £40,000. Her teammates advised her to go for the offer, and Julie decided to go with the £8,000. "I don't blame you, but you're a good player and I really think you could have gone with the £40,000," host Bradley Walsh commented. was full of praise, telling the audience: "What a team we've got here."

Bradley described her performance as "unbelievable" as Julie confessed she should have gone with the high offer.

Mark couldn't relax too much though, as second player Aaron managed to collect £9,000 from his cash-builder. Again, he went on to enjoy a perfect round, with no incorrect answers.

Faced with the growing jackpot, Mark cracked: "I think this could be the earliest time in the show that I ever said this... Has somebody got a white flag handy for me here? They haven't got one wrong and they've got 17 right! I might as well give up now."

And fans were just as impressed. One tweeted: "Shaping up to be a brilliant team. #TheChase." Another added: "THIS TEAM ARE FAB OMG #TheChase."

A third wrote: "This team are that fantastic," while a fourth joked: "Good team! ITV paying out today."

Elaine later added another £4,000 to the prize pot, leaving the Beast struggling to claw it back.

The team's lucky streak continued, as the next player Elaine earned £4,000, bringing the total up to £21,000.

As she rejoined her team, Bradley looked at Mark, who'd placed his head in his hands and stated: "Dejection personified!"

Michael also made it back to the team and his £3,000 brought the total to £24,000.

"You're absolutely loving this, aren't you?" a concerned Mark stated to Bradley, before adding: "Stop rubbing it in!"

Despite their strong start they were caught by the Chaser. Bradley told the four contestants at the end of the instalment: "I tell you what, a brilliant team."

Fans were sad for the foursome, who lost out on a huge jackpot: "A poor end result for them and easy win for the Chaser. Completely derailed in the final. Slow and so much passing," said one, as another penned: "What a shame, such a good start!"