Chaser The Beast banked £1million in a single month but has also had to fend off a fair few beauties.
Mark Labbett has been striking fear into the hearts of contestants on ITV ’s The Chase since it started in 2009.
Last year, working on the show’s American version, the 56-year-old former maths teacher earned the seven-figure sum.
And he said: “It’s more than I earned in the first 49 years of my life.”
But fame comes at a price for the 6ft 6in star nicknamed The Beast. Amorous fans want to get to the bottom of him, literally.
He is paid large sums for appearances and said: “I’ve done a lot of gigs up and down the country, things like bingo hall and pub quizzes and it’s great fun but I can safely say on any given gig I get my arse felt about four times, it’s at every gig and that’s not just women.
“I’ve had women who have pulled my face on to kiss them, they sit down on my knees and I’ve had to throw them off. The worst one was I was wearing jeans and the woman grabbed my meat and two veg.
“I was trying to chat up another lady. If I’d done that to her I would be in the cells. I’ve got the female equivalent of those men that always paw women.”
Speaking at Virgin Media’s TV BAFTAs Mark revealed he has not blown his £1m windfall. He said: “I didn’t spend any of it, I just made sure pensions are topped up, and my son’s school fees are paid. I don’t need anything or want anything. I wear Clarks shoes and Marks & Spencers suits. I’m too old for fast cars. I’ve got a Volvo.
“I’m one of these guys who doesn’t need anything. I like a nice computer once in a while, I go round the world and it’s my office. I like my food but that’s about it.”
Mark has toured the world with The Chase and his co-stars Anne Hegerty and Shaun Wallace. He has also been a chaser on the Australian version of the show.
He said he is also targeted by online robots who send him sexually explicit pictures.
Mark split from his wife of six years in 2020 and they co-parent their son together. He said he is now married to his job, adding “I’m single now. We are separated but we get on really well, we co-parent. I promised to look after her and I promised to look after my kid.”
The Chase won a BAFTA at last week’s prestigious awards. Mark said: “A BAFTA is something I never set out to win.
“Right now, and I will stand by this, we are the best quiz show in the world.”
