Yahoo News The Chase’s ultimate quizzer has been revealed
The ITV super quizzers have a reigning champion who is a tough opponent for any contestant.
Beating ITV's quizzing experts on The Chase is no easy task, and now the most formidable of the show's brainboxes has been identified.
According to bookies Betway, contestants taking on the gameshow hosted by Bradley Walsh should be particularly wary if Anne "The Governess" Hegerty is their opponent as they say she is the ultimate Chaser after looking at data on show appearances, correct questions answered and the target to beat her.
Hegerty, who has made 467 appearances on The Chase - second only to Mark "The Beast" Labbett at 475 - has a joint highest win rate of 79%, gives an average of 13 correct answers in the 60-second playing timeframe, and boasts an average target of 19 to beat.
Betway measured her stats against Labbett, Paul "The Sinnerman" Sinha, Jenny "The Vixen" Ryan, Darragh "The Menace" Ennis, and Shaun "The Dark Destroyer" Wallace.
Ryan was tied with Hegerty on a win rate of 79% and Labbett, in second place with a win rate of 76%, had the highest average to beat at 20 questions.
However, Hegerty could have competition hot on her heels - Ennis is currently in fifth place as he is the newest Chaser with just 81 appearances so far, but he already has a win rate of 78%.
These are the Chasers ranked in order as according to Betway:
Anne Hegerty
Mark Labbett
Paul Sinha
Jenny Ryan
Darragh Ennis
Shaun Wallace
How The Chase stars boost their win rate
The stars of the ITV show have made no secret of their competitiveness and drive to win, with Sinha recently explaining that he watches back episodes to work out where he went wrong in his game play.
He added to Metro: "If a team plays well and they beat you, I’m relatively okay. But if a team don’t do too well and they win because I was bad, then I’m very annoyed."
Stars of The Chase have previously shared how they like to take each other on in backstage quizzes to keep their brains sharp, but they have also admitted that when Ennis joined the show he was not necessarily welcomed with open arms.
Hegerty told YouTuber Lewis Nicholls: "A lot of the public imagine that we are on the same sort of deal that Hollywood stars were in the 1930s. They got paid a salary per month, per year, then they were salaried employees at the studio, and the studio would find them things to do for that salary.
"That isn't actually how it works, the Chasers and Bradley Walsh, we get paid a flat fee for every show that we do. So any show that I am doing is a show for which I am being paid, and the other Chasers aren't, and that applies to all of us.
"If you are going to divide the shows between six, rather than five, do the maths."
Despite their healthy rivalry, the Chasers are supportive of each other, though - they have a WhatsApp group, stick around backstage to cheer each other on, and have a ritual of chanting "batter them!" before each Chaser goes into a final.
Anne Hegerty's other TV appearances
The Governess has gained fame outside of the quiz show too, with some popular appearances on entertainment shows that allowed viewers to learn more about her life.
Hegerty was a contestant in the 2018 series of I'm A Celebrity, where she was an unexpected hit with campmates and viewers. The show also gave her an opportunity to open up on her autism, which she was not diagnosed with until she was 45.
In 2022, Hegerty joined forces with her Chase pal Wallace as the pair starred in an episode of ITV's genealogy show DNA Journey. Amongst the secrets uncovered as Hegerty delved into her ancestry was the surprise revelation that she is the 19th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Chase airs on ITV1 at 5pm on weekdays.
