Behind the scenes "struggles" have been revealed by The Chase star, Anne Hegerty. The Governess opened up about what goes on out of viewers' sight and how the hit ITV quiz show's host, Bradley Walsh, was regularly "busy" with other ventures.
The popularity of The Chase has thrust its six Chasers into the limelight as the brainboxes, complete with pseudonyms, battle against hopeful quizzers on the show. One of the Chasers, 64-year-old Anne, spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk and admitted that there was sometimes a struggle to film the quiz show due to Bradley's "busy" schedule and her fellow co-stars' other ventures.
Anne joined The Chase in 2010. She was the first female Chaser in its second series, alongside Paul Sinha and Mark Labbett. Current Chasers include Darragh Ennis, Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Paul Sinha and Jenny Ryan.
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Show stalwart Bradley has various other work commitments, including Bradley Walsh & Son: Breaking Dad alongside son Barney, so when the publication asked Anne if there is any trouble behind-the-scenes, she replied: "It can be tricky" Because TV dates can be so changeable, you can suddenly find you can't rent the studio at that particular time, or Bradley is busy and not available because he's doing something else."
Anne continued to spill the beans, saying: "We get different dates and then you've got Paul [Sinha] who has stand-up dates the new dates interfere with. Or you have me saying 'I'm already contracted to do panto' or something like that. So there is always a certain amount of interference. But I always say The Chase comes first as I am very proud to be a Chaser."
With Bradley at the helm of the show since it first aired in 2009, Anne was also asked if she could ever see anyone replacing him as host. She said: "People keep trying to have this conversation with me and I'm just like 'can't hear you!'
"I can't imagine the idea of Bradley leaving us and having to find someone else. I suppose I could think of a couple of names that might, but Bradley is just an integral part of the whole show and his rapport with the contestants, and with us.
"It's just I can't imagine him being replaced! He once said to me 'the Chase is my pension' and I really do hope that he regards it that way and he has no plans to go anywhere."
Nottinghamshire Live regularly reports on priceless moments from the show. Bradley doesn't actually get to see the questions any sooner than the contestants, which can cause some issues.
Bradley previously told the Radio Times: "If there is a slight misread, I am stopped immediately - bang - by the lawyers. We have compliance lawyers in the studio all the time.
"You have to go back to the start of the question, literally on video tape where my mouth opens - or where it's closed from the previous question - and the question is re-asked. It is stopped for a split second. It means no time is lost for either the contestant or the Chaser."
However, some little gems do make it to the show. For instance, Bradley was once asked to 'stop the show' by one contestant.
You can watch The Chase weekdays on ITV at 5pm
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