ITV's Beat the Chasers is back for season 5 but there's been a change to the line-up. Anne Hegerty, known as The Governess, isn't participating in the new series and has been replaced by Issa Schultz.
Many tuning in to the first episode on Monday, May 16 were left questioning why Anne wasn't taking part in the new show. The reason for the chaser's absence is due to the fact she tested positive for Covid-19 before filming began.
Anne told her Twitter followers back in March: "Unfortunately I've contracted Covid-19 so won't be filming this series of #BeatTheChasers.," she tweeted.
Read more: ITV's Beat the Chasers: Who is Issa Schultz and where is Anne Hegerty?
"The fantastic @Issa25 will be stepping in for me and I'm looking forward to watching the series when it's on-air later this year. I feel fine, but I'm still positive! (in all respects)."
Issa made his Beat the Chasers debut on Monday night, reports BirminghamLive. The quizzer is best known for being a Chaser on the Aussie version of The Chase, where he was given the nickname 'The Supernerd'. You can read more about him here.
And following his debut, fellow chaser Mark Labbett took to Twitter to reassure fans who may have thought Issa was a little on the quiet side. He tweeted: "In case you think @Issa25 is quiet, he got off the plane from Australia a few hours before we recorded this #jetlag #BeatTheChasers."
Prior to his appearance on the ITV show, Issa told The Sun: "I got a last-minute call to step into The Governess' cold and chilly shoes."
"What a delight. It was close to 1am Brisbane time – I'm a night owl and my Australia boss said to the UK bosses, 'Just call him up, he'll be up.' And then I was on the plane, I think it was close to 9am that very morning."
After the first episode aired, Issa thanked fans for their messages and wrote: "Waking up to a lot of very kind words (phew) - thank you X hope you enjoyed ep 1 #beatthechasers."
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