Overview

• ITV aired the episode on 27 August, confirming McCarthy and teammate Lorcan won £100,000 by narrowly defeating Chaser Jenny Ryan.
• McCarthy earned £1,000 in the cash builder, then chose the top head‑to‑head offer of £95,000 and brought it back to the final.
• The 64‑year‑old died in July after a long illness and had known he was terminally ill when he filmed the programme.
• His wife said he withheld his diagnosis from producers out of fear he would be barred from competing, and only their three children also knew the outcome under confidentiality rules.
• Tributes highlighted his decades in education, including leadership at Avondale/Stockport schools and as founding CEO of Aurora Academies Trust with work in the UK, Dubai and India.