Anne Hegerty wows The Chase viewers with glam transformation as she finally returns to ITV show
THE Chase welcomed back one of its fan favourite chasers for its festive special, and they’ve had a glamorous makeover.
Chaser Anne Hegerty embraced the Christmas spirit with some festive sparkle as she joined the ITV show for a Christmas celebrity special.
The 66-year-old TV star wore sequins and sparkle as she was introduced by host Bradley Walsh and took her seat to face McFly drummer Harry Judd.
Viewers were quick to praise Anne’s new look as one wrote on X: “Anne looking gorgeous.”
Another shared: “Finally, they get @anne_hegerty out of that horrid grey garb and into her sparkly party dress. Doesn’t she look amazing?”
“Anne looks amazing! Go girl!” said a third.
Another shared: “Anne scrubs up well”.
Anne faced off against a panel of celebrities aiming to raise money for charity in this year’s festive special on ITV.
Waterloo Road actress Angela Griffin was joined by Strictly Come Dancing professional Kai Widdrington alongside EastEnders actor Shane Richie and McFly’s Harry Judd.
The appearance comes as many fans had feared Anne may have called it quits from The Chase, particularly after she was was missing from Beat The Chasers last month.
The TV quizzer, known as The Governess, had not been seen on-screen during last month’s re-run of the primetime edition of the popular ITV quizzing format.
Instead, she has been replaced by a Chaser from the Australian version of the show – Issa Schultz.
Whilst fans feared the swap could be permanent, Issa was only a temporary replacement for Anne for three episodes.
Issa had stepped in to cover Anne for the episodes as she took time out as a result of a health issue, which happened three years ago when the episodes were filmed.
Outside of her role as a reigning quiz champion on ITV, Anne has also teased the possibility of branching out into sitcom territory and exploring her acting career.
The star revealed on the ‘A Very Tall Man’ podcast that a colleague on The Chase has penned a sitcom, with Anne earmarked for a role.
She told the podcast: “I’d love to be on a TV show or a film. I know various people who are trying to get things off the ground.
“One of them is the guy on The Chase, he’s written a sitcom with a part for me. It would be brilliant to get that made.”
The Chase's best moments
The Chase has been entertaining ITV viewers for years, here are some of the show's most memorable moments...
Bradley Walsh can’t stop laughing
- Every time host Bradley Walsh erupts into fits of laughter on The Chase it makes for pretty entertaining TV. One particularly memorable occasion was when he was asking the question ‘The title of which Elvis Presley song was engraved of the inside of Freddie Star’s coffin?” As usual the contestant was given four multiple choices but Bradley could get through reading them out before bursting into hysterics. Seeming the idea of the song being option ‘B: Way Down’ was too much for the presenter to handle.
The Double Trouble special
- To celebrate 15 years of The Chase on screens, ITV launched a special ‘double trouble’ episode where contestants faced off against not one but two of the show’s beloved Chasers. And despite the odds, the contestants managed to go home with some cash!
The contestants with famous names
- Eagle-eyed ITV fans are always quick to spot interesting and sometimes hidden details on the quiz show – but there have been a few times where the names of some contestants have been overtly obvious. For example, one 2017 episode of the quiz show saw Bradley welcome four contestants who were named after Friends characters Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey. Another group of contestants with named from The Simpsons were also grouped together in another episode, much to viewers’ amusement.
The Beast’s anger gets the best of him
- During an episode from the 2024 season, Mark Labbett let out his inner beast as he exploded in a fit of anger. Close to losing the competition in the Final Chase, Mark then made a silly mistake and incorrectly answered the question, “Rabbit was a 1980 hit for which Cockney duo?” “Oh, you idiot!” he yelled at himself while slamming the table in front of him. With seconds left on the clock, the Chaser then admitted defeat, moaning “I don’t deserve to win.”