The Chase's newest Chaser Darragh Ennis received a warm welcome as he returned to the show after joking that he'd been 'hiding.'
Viewers were cheering as Irish research neuroscientist was revealed as the quizzer on tonight's episode of the quiz show.
Fans had noticed that he'd been absent after joining the show as the sixth chaser last year.
He had been a popular addition to the long-running teatime show, with his debut in November watched by 4.9 million viewers.
"Yes finally Darragh is on The Chase," tweeted one fan.
"Yesss it’s finally Darragh," cheered another.
"Yay Darragh finally," said another.
And another enthused: "WOOHOO IT’S DARRAGH! Anyone else cheer when he came on?"
Darragh recently addressed talk that he had been sacked from his role after being absent.
The scientist, nicknamed The Menace, responded on his social media.
"Sigh. I've not been sacked," he wrote. "The nature of random scheduling means sometimes we don't have a show air for a little while, and sometimes we're on 2 or 3 times in a week."
Darragh previously appeared on the show as a contestant in 2017.
He joined the current team of Chasers alongside Anne 'The Governess' Hegerty, Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan, Mark 'The Beast' Labbett, Paul 'The Sinnerman' Sinha and Shaun 'The Dark Destroyer' Wallace.
However he wasn't able to take part in the recent second series of the spin-off show Beat The Chasers because of sheduling.
After a recent reminder that The Chase was on telly, one fan told him: "Darragh we know when The Chase is on .... but where are you?
"Love all the Chasers - but haven’t seen you for ages.
"I’m missing you, please come back!"
And he reassured: "I'm at home on the couch Liz. Don't worry there's lots of my shows recorded and I'll be on at some point."
Asked 'where are you hiding?' he replied cheekily: "Behind the couch. You found me, now it's your turn to hide. I'll count."
Darragh has become a 'sex symbol' to fans of the much-loved ITV show hosted by Bradley Walsh.
One fan asked him: "Lmao, bet when you signed up you never thought you’d become such a sex symbol?"
And he replied: "Of course I did! I've seen mirrors."
