The popular quiz queen of The Chase, Anne Hegerty, has found out she is related to royalty. The latest series of ITV's DNA Journey starts on Tuesday (March 29) at 9pm, and Anne, 63, and co-star Shaun Wallace, 61, appear in the first episode.
The show features celebrities who go on an adventurous and life-changing road trip to discover their family's past. And on Anne's adventure, she finds out she has a regal revelation.
An ITV source told the Daily Mirror: "Anne was excited and fascinated to learn she has royal relations. It was a big shock to her but a very nice one and she was very interested to delve into the details to find out more about it."
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Friend Shaun has now joked Anne's friends will now have to "bow and curtsy" to her after the royal connection was revealed. He said: "Without spoiling anything, we call her 'Queen Anne', because obviously she's the queen of quizzing, but we have to really bow and curtsy to her now."
Also in the episode, Anne discovers one of her ancestors survived two German torpedo attacks during the First World War, and they overcame the sinking of a ship by clinging onto an upturned lifeboat for four hours. She said: "I discovered my great-grandmother's first cousin was a deputy chief engineer on an ocean liner during the First World War and survived two German torpedo attacks. He clung onto an upturned lifeboat for four hours.
"I came away feeling really impressed by that level of endurance. I also handled the skull of an ancestor. I can't tell you any more, but it was a proud moment." Anne and Shaun travelled to Jamaica to uncover more about his bloodline and he admitted his fellow The Chase star was concerned some of her ancestors might have "owned" some of Shaun's relatives.
Speaking about their trip to the Caribbean, Shaun said: "It was amazing. Without giving anything away, I found out about one relative from the dim and distant past who was very altruistic, and that was a really poignant moment for me.
"It was also the first time Anne had been to Jamaica, and that was great because she was basically coming to my territory and she really embraced it. She loved the food and the culture; it was a special time.
"Before we went, I think Anne was worried we'd find out that her ancestors used to own my ancestors of something, but, luckily, that wasn't the case." Shaun was also shocked to discover some of his ancestors had some similar characteristics to him.
Speaking to TV Times magazine, he added: "There are certain traits inherited from my ancestors that me and my family clearly have an aptitude for, like maths and figures. It was fascinating to discover that because it seems DNA really does carry on through generations.
"There were also some wonderful coincidences in terms of birthdays as well." Quiz queen Anne follows in the footsteps of Danny Dyer who found out he was related to royalty on BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?
