The secrets of The Chase: How the Brain of Britain totally blew it, the cleverest celebrity, 'kinky' nicknames and what contestants really say off camera is revealed by the Chasers

A lot happened in 2009. Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America, Matt Smith was announced as the new Doctor Who and Michael Jackson’s death shocked pop fans around the world.

It was also the year a new daytime quiz show took its first steps onto our screens, a quiz show that would go on to be one of the longest-running ever on UK television, pulling in an average 4m viewers a day and winning a BAFTA and three National Television Awards, as well as becoming a huge international franchise. Not bad for a show that started life as a temporary replacement for Jasper Carrott’s long-forgotten Golden Balls.

That show was The Chase, in which professional quizzers, known as the ‘Chasers’, attempt to stop contestants winning a large cash prize by correctly answering more general knowledge questions than them. 

As it enters its 15th year, host Bradley Walsh and the Chasers have come together for an exclusive interview to talk about its phenomenal success.

A pilot episode was recorded one overcast day in 2008, when Bradley and two Chasers – Shaun ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Wallace, a barrister and Mastermind winner, and Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett, a secondary school teacher, both headhunted from the national quizzing circuit – found themselves in the old London Weekend Television building. 

‘We were up on the 19th or 20th floor, Mark and Shaun were already there,’ recalls Bradley, 64. ‘I thought it had potential, but I’d done a few quizzes and got used to them being scrapped.’

Neither of the inaugural Chasers were taking anything for granted either. ‘The producers were being so coy,’ says Mark, 59. ‘All they would say was it was an audition for an unnamed TV show which, for me, meant a 300-mile round trip. I almost missed it because the traffic was so bad.’

The audience was made up of ITV bosses and they found someone in the office to be a contestant. ‘Straight away I took the contestant’s side,’ says Bradley. ‘I saw the Chasers as these big, all-knowing, bully types, so I started taking the mickey out of them. When they got a question wrong I really gave it to them, and everyone was laughing. That’s when I knew we had something.

‘Normally with a quiz show you’re handcuffed to the format, but this meant I could go off script and improvise. It was like doing stand-up in the middle of a quiz show, which I loved. So right from that very first run-through I thought this could be special.’

Mark remembers it for different reasons. ‘I heard the producers were taken aback when I walked through the door,’ he recalls. ‘I had to duck under the frame because I’m so tall [he’s 6ft 6in] and I was wearing a Soviet Army greatcoat that flapped behind me like a cape. They said they knew I’d look great on TV, and fortunately I could back it up by being a decent quizzer too.’

The Chase was a totally original format, inspired by Usain Bolt’s performances at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after an ITV researcher suggested a ‘quiz race’ where contestants battled against ‘the Usain Bolt of quizzers’, and it was one of two pilots fighting it out for a spot on the schedules. 

The other show was The Fuse, hosted by ex-rugby player Austin Healey, and in the end it wasn’t even close. The Fuse lasted for just 11 days. ‘And here we are 15 years later,’ gloats Shaun, 64.

The first episode proper was recorded on 1 June 2009, and while it was great to know that at least one series would be made, neither of the Chasers was exactly jumping for joy over it. ‘Shaun and I both lost money at first,’ says Mark. ‘We earned just £100 a show and had to take a lot of time away from our better-paid jobs to do it. Shaun lost thousands!’

The Chasers sit atop the ladder with contestants grouped together as they take their turns to challenge the pros for prize money

They weren’t the only ones worried about losing money. ‘The producers brought in underwriters for that first series to watch us in case we lost too much,’ remembers Mark. ‘I’m reliably informed that after just two days they turned round to the producers and told them they would be OK: “You’re not losing money with those two!”’

The show’s trademark drama and excitement were there from the very first episode. ‘I had to answer five questions in 20 seconds,’ recalls Shaun. ‘I was asked the last one with about two seconds to go. It was, “What film does the song Chim Chim Cher-ee come from?” but before Bradley could finish I said “Mary Poppins” in a really casual way, and the studio erupted. They knew they had a hit on their hands then. It had gone down to the wire, it was exciting and we Chasers could handle the pressure.’

Over the years, the Chasers have grown to six in number. In 2010 Mark and Shaun were joined by journalist Anne ‘The Governess’ Hegerty, now 66, then by Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha, 54, a stand-up comedian and former GP, in 2011. Jenny ‘The Vixen’ Ryan, the baby of the bunch at just 42, arrived in 2015, and then Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis, 43, completed the sextet in 2020.

‘In 2009 I’d joined the national quizzing circuit and met Mark,’ says Anne. ‘He told me about this little pilot he’d done that I should watch. The following month I was told the show were interested in trying out a female Chaser. I contacted the producer and apparently her response was, “Can this person really be as good as she says she is?” It turned out I was.’

For Paul, a chance encounter with the other Chasers also paid dividends. ‘ITV decided they wanted a fourth Chaser to join the ranks, and as luck would have it I played against the other three in a tournament and did rather well,’ he says. ‘When they were asked if there was anyone they’d recommend they mentioned me and I knew I was ready.’

Jenny’s entry was a little more fraught. ‘By the time I joined, The Chase was such a big part of the TV landscape it was like adding a new character to a soap,’ she says. ‘You don’t just throw someone in Corrie after one audition. So there were many months of tests and it took a year before I recorded my first episode.’

The show was a success from the off – not just for its drama but because of those memorable nicknames. And it appears that Bradley is to blame for almost all of them. ‘I’ve always done that. It’s my natural bent,’ he says. ‘I either shorten people’s names or give them nicknames. That’s just the way I was brought up.’

Shaun wasn’t so sure about his alter ego at first. ‘He originally called me “The Legal Eagle”, but that soon changed to “The Dark Destroyer”, which I had some reservations over,’ he says. 

‘Not because of any sinister overtones – I’m proud I’m dark and black, and I’m proud I can destroy people with my intellect. It was more that it was former boxer Nigel Benn’s nickname too. I was worried that one day he would come after me!’

The number of Chasers has grown to six, with the current line-up including [from left to right, excluding host Bradley Walsh, centre] The Governess (Anne Hegerty), The Menace (Darragh Ennis), The Dark Destroyer (Shaun Wallace), The Beast (Mark Labbett), The Sinnerman (Paul Sinha) and The Vixen (Jenny Ryan)

Anne and Jenny both went through a couple of versions before finding their famous monikers. ‘Originally I was going to be called “The Headmistress”,’ says Anne. ‘But during rehearsals Bradley started referring to me as “The Governess”. I told the producers straight away I’d rather be called that. I thought it was more kinky!’

Jenny’s original name was a bit too racy, though. ‘I was originally called “The Cougar” which – on several grounds – I objected to,’ she laughs. ‘Brad came up with “The Vixen” because in every audition I wore my hair with a ponytail at the side and he thought it looked like a fox’s brush. That worked for me.’

The only nickname that Bradley didn’t coin was Mark Labbett’s. ‘I’ve been known as “The Beast” for 20 years,’ he says. ‘It’s what my surname means in French. So I trademarked it, which has meant a lot of fun with the ITV lawyers over the years. They asked me to sign the name over to them but I said no because it’s worth a fortune to me.’

Of course the show wouldn’t work without its contestants, and across the 15 years and more than 2,000 episodes there have been nearly 10,000 of them. Some have stood out more than others. 

‘My favourite was a gentleman who came on and admitted quizzing wasn’t really his forte,’ Bradley says. ‘He was the last player up; everyone else had been knocked out because the Chasers were on fire. So the odds didn’t look good but he went for it. He was after £100,000 and it seemed like he had no chance, but he took a couple of wild guesses and scraped by with this real underdog spirit and he did it. I was jumping up and down and cuddling him.’

Mark admits that he enjoyed a laugh at someone else’s expense. ‘I had great fun publicly outing the reigning Brain of Britain on the show,’ he chuckles. ‘He had neglected to mention it on his application form but Paul and I spotted him. He absolutely blew it, which was fun!’

The Chasers’ job is, of course, to stop the contestants from winning, which begs the question: do they ever feel sorry for them? ‘Oh yes, we’re not monsters, especially as most of us have been contestants on other quiz shows before we got on The Chase,’ says Jenny. ‘So I really feel for them, particularly if they’re good but don’t manage to take home the money. Shaun and I will always find them off set and give them a big hug.’

Not everyone loses with magnanimity, however. ‘You do get a few people effing away under their breath, thinking we can’t hear them,’ says Bradley with a laugh. ‘But the microphones pick up everything. So I get told to let them know that they need to keep the language down.’

The Chase has welcomed its fair share of celebrities over the years, too. ‘I’m a massive sports fan, so the fact that I’ve played against Olympic gold medallists is just amazing,’ says Paul. ‘Meeting the likes of Linford Christie was a real pinch yourself moment.’

And according to the Chasers, some of the celebrities are quite sharp. ‘It’s always nice to see Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen,’ says Anne. ‘He’s so bright that I tried to tap him up for one of my quiz leagues.’

The Governess says her favourite celebrity guest to face is Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, explaining that ‘he’s so bright that I tried to tap him up for one of my quiz leagues’

So who is the cleverest celeb? ‘Shaun Williamson [Barry from EastEnders],’ declares Shaun. ‘He’s very good and takes part in the national quizzing leagues we play in.’ Could he have become a Chaser? ‘We did give him a try but he quickly realised his own limitations,’ says Mark. ‘He knew he wasn’t good enough.’

So what does make a good Chaser? ‘Being able to hold your nerve,’ says Anne. ‘I’ve never been scared on TV. I’ve known so many people on the quiz circuit who say they would make great Chasers but they’d fall apart under the lights.’

Mark agrees. ‘The quiz world is quite small and one or two have said how much better than me they’d be, but they just don’t get the showmanship side,’ he says. ‘You can be the greatest quizzer in the world, but with no personality you’re not going on TV.’

Despite such boasts, the Chasers aren’t perfect. ‘I was stuck once because I couldn’t remember the colour of Marge Simpson’s hair,’ laughs Shaun.

Mark thinks it’s only going to get worse. ‘The one thing I worry about is I’m starting to have senior moments with names. I’m good mates with Paddy McGuinness and he was the answer to one of the questions but try as I might his name wouldn’t come to me. I had to call him afterwards to apologise.’

Despite their intimidating onscreen personas, the Chasers are a jolly bunch who are good friends off set. ‘We have our own dressing rooms but we all congregate in one room, often Paul’s because his husband Ollie will test us by firing out questions. That’s how we have fun I’m afraid. We’re sad,’ says Anne.

Mark even asked Anne to be godmother to his son. ‘I always joke he hasn’t got a fairy godmother, he’s got a scary godmother,’ Mark adds.

It’s clear the show means a lot to each of them, but perhaps none more so than Mark – because it saved his life. ‘Fifteen years ago I was an unhappy, 29st maths teacher in a classroom in South Wales that was falling apart,’ he says. ‘I doubt I’d be here now if I was still there. Being on the show made me lose weight – I’m 19st now and fitter.’

So would Bradley do another 15 years of The Chase? ‘I would,’ he replies firmly. ‘Until people say they’ve had enough and start switching off I’ll do it. We’ve had such an extraordinary time together. It’s the best job in the world.’

The Chase 15th anniversary special, Monday 2 September, 5pm, ITV1.