Mark Labbett 'gutted' to be axed from American version of 'The Chase'

Mark Labbett has been axed from the line-up of the American edition of The Chase and confessed that he wasn't given any reason for the decision.

As well as being a stalwart on the UK show, the 56-year-old quiz champion was a part of all four seasons of The Chase USA on Game Show Network and the second season of the revived show, which launched on ABC last year.

Read more: Mark Labbett apologises for angry conclusion to The Chase episode

But when ABC shared the revised set of chasers for the upcoming season earlier this week, announcing new arrivals Victoria Groce, Brandon Blackwell and Buzzy Cohen, Labbett was absent.

Labbett replied to the channel's tweet, noting that he was "really excited" for the fresh faces but was "gutted to not be invited back".

When a fan replied to Labbett to ask whether his involvement with The Chase Australia — on which fellow UK chaser Anne Hegerty also appears — was responsible, Labbett explained that "no reason was offered" for his departure.

The American version of The Chase is one of several international versions of the ultra-successful format, which launched in the UK in 2009.

Read more: Debut of new Chaser draws show's biggest ever audience

Hosted by Bradley Walsh, the show has now aired almost 2,000 episodes and regularly pulls in audiences of between three and five million viewers.

Spin-off series Beat the Chasers, in which contestants compete to take on all six quiz champions, has been produced since 2019.

Labbett has become one of the most popular quiz show personalities of recent years thanks to his bad guy persona as The Beast and ruthless approach to besting contestants.

Along with Shaun Wallace, he was one of the original Chasers and has been a part of the show ever since.

Read more: 10 things you never knew about the Chasers

He recently debuted a slimmed-down new look, having adopted a fitness regime during lockdown that saw him weigh less than 20 stone for the first time in decades.

Labbett revealed he was inspired to take his health more seriously after being diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes in 2016.

Watch: Mark Labbett storms off set after losing on The Chase