The Chase stars reveal what it’s really like to be a Chaser on ITV show – and it sounds exhausting
THE Chaser stars have revealed what it is like being a Chaser on the hit ITV quiz show.
The six quiz geniuses have opened up about how they prepare for the ITV show and have disclosed what working with their clever co-stars is like.
The Chase‘s professional team comprises six seasoned quizzers, including Mark Labbett, aka The Beast, who has been a staple of the quiz show since its debut season back in 2009, alongside the Barrister Shaun Wallace, aka ‘Dark Destroyer’ & ‘Legal Eagle’.
Anne dubbed the Governess joined the pair in season two, with ‘Sinnerman’ Paul Sinha being brought in two series later.
The Vixen, aka Jenny Ryan, debuted the show in season nine, while Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis, who initially appeared as a prior contestant, was taken on as a Chaser in season 13.
The Chase, which acquires a staggering 3.5 million viewers an episode sees the six quizzers take turns to battle teams of four from the general public, who get the chance to correctly answer a series of general knowledge questions in order to beat the Chaser and walk away with a cash prize.
Barrister Shaun unveiled that ‘It’s not difficult to juggle the two’ professions because ‘They are so different.’
Answering which part of the show he finds the most difficult, he said: “There isn’t anything, it’s so enjoyable. I’ve been doing it for 14 years.
“I use my transferable skills as a barrister, thinking on my feet, researching, and being fearless in answering questions.”
However, the stars also revealed how much extensive research goes into preparing for the general knowledge quiz show.
Shaun explained: “We’ve always got to keep ourselves contemporary – I do about two hours of research a day.”
Darragh added: “I do about five quiz competitions a week, and I usually do about an hour a day on top of that.”
Christine Lampard from the Lorraine show asked Anne about her preparation for the show in 2011, and she revealed: “You keep doing quizzes, you keep reading, you keep researching things.
“I was at a quiz in Hartford on Saturday.
“I’m going to be at another quiz in central London next Saturday, surrounded by other quizzers that I know are all sitting there doing a written paper.
“Then, every morning, I am part of an American online League. So they’re usually quizzes—most days, certainly most days in the week.”
She added: “There’s a quiz website that I play games on called Sporcle.”
Jenny, who has previously pointed out that there’s a touch of ‘panto villain’ in all her co-stars, insisted she also works hard to be prepared for the show and always keeps on-the-ball with the latest news.
She said: “You’ve always got to be looking at the news and what’s changing in the world, the new things on TV, film, pop music and politics and always with that mind of how likely is it to come up at work.”
In an interview with Debbie McGee on her BBC Radio Berkshire, Paul revealed: “In 2008, I decided I wanted to become good at quizzes, and then three years later I got a chance to be a Chaser. So, what a decision!”
“As you know, all jobs, even in entertainment, are jobs.
“They’re hard work, and they’re not necessarily as riotously fun as they might look as a viewer, but it is the dream job nonetheless.
He added.”I can’t imagine doing a job that I’d enjoy more.”
The DailyStar asked Mark about the process of filming episodes for the show, and he revealed: “We film three shows a day, normally four days a week.
“We do 200 and odd shows a year, but it’s dropped to 160 next year.
“We filmed so much during the latte, getting to the point there’s too many.”
The Chase airs weeknights on ITV1 and ITVX at 5pm