Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Lucy Domachowski & Amy Denman

The Chase's Jenny Ryan lifts lid on backstage 'rivalry' between fellow quizzers

Jenny Ryan has spilled the beans on the fiery backstage relationships between the professional quizzers on The Chase.

She insisted there's "no bad blood" between the Chasers even though they are occasionally "furious" with each other when we caught up with her on the red carpet at the Pride of Britain awards.

Jenny, 40 – who's also known as the Vixen – has been on the ITV quiz show since 2015, alongside Mark Labbett, 57, Shaun Wallace, 62, Anne Hegerty, 64, and Paul Sinha, 52.

The group – which has more recently included the addition of Darragh Ennis, 42 – appear together on the spin-off Beat the Chasers, which was launched back in 2020.

Discussing her co-stars and fellow quizzers tonight, we asked Jenny if she finds it difficult to put aside their rivalry when the Chasers work as a team on the hit spin-off.

Jenny Ryan has spilled the beans on the fiery backstage relationships between the professional quizzers on The Chase (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
She insisted there's "no bad blood" between the Chasers when we caught up with her on the red carpet at the Pride of Britain awards (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Some viewers wrongly suspect there is "bad blood" between them – though she said this isn't the case.

"There is a certain rivalry but it's not that bad blood kind of rivalry," she explained.

"We all want to be the best and, especially, you would think we might relax a bit when there's a contestant when they're doing really well you might think [we\d be like]: 'Oh you know what if they beat us...'

"No, we want to be the first to the buzzer we want to beat that contestant and show them who's boss."

Jenny said it all comes down to the Chasers' fierce competitive nature.

"All six of us we're just so competitive it's us against the questions as much as against each other.

"You might see a moment where we're furious with each other but that soon goes away – especially if we win!"

Shaun Wallace, Darragh Ennis, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan and Mark Labbett on Beat The Chasers (ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Jenny – who had previously appeared on other quiz shows such as Mastermind, Weakest Link and Only Connect – told how the quizzing team are a "bit of a handful" when they get together to film Beat The Chasers, so its a good job they only do it once a year.

We asked if she prefers working on The Chase or Beat The Chasers, given the rivalry between quizzers but Jenny was torn.

"That's a really tough question. On The Chase from a really immodest point of view it's just me and Brad and the contestants for an entire hour, we have an absolute hoot.

"But, working with my colleagues on Beat The Chaser is really special.

"That's why we make it an event and once a year because it's hard work because we're a family and there's a reason families only get together at birthdays and Christmases.

"We're a bit of a handful," she laughed.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.