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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Entertainment
Lucy Williamson & Sophie McCoid

The Vixen Jenny Ryan's life away from Chase with secret boyfriend

The Chase star Jenny Ryan is one of the best quizzers to ever appear on TV, but that's not her only talent.

Jenny strikes fear into the hearts of Chase contestants as they battle her as The Vixen on the ITV show, with her impressive record on the programme intimidating would-be players.

Jenny, also known as the 'Bolton Brainiac' by Chase host Bradley Walsh, has other talents other than quizzing as she appeared on the celebrity version of the X Factor.

The 39-year-old has been a lifelong quizzer and before she joined The Chase she actually worked behind the scenes writing the questions for the pilot episode of The Chase in 2009 - reports My London.

Over the years she has appeared on several quiz shows, first appearing on University Challenge and helping the University of Leeds to reach the semi-finals in 2003.

She appeared on Mastermind in 2006, choosing the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer as her specialist subject.

Jenny featured in both series of Are You an Egghead? in 2008 and 2009.

She's also appeared on Only Connect, Fifteen to One and the Weakest Link.

Jenny was also a "QI Elf" where she helped research and write the facts behind the programme.

But it was The Chase that made her a household name when she joined the show in 2015 after being recommended for the show by fellow Chaser Anne Hegerty after they competed on a quiz team together.

Away from The Chase, Jenny wowed the nation as she appeared on The X-Factor Celebrity back in 2019.

Jenny Ryan on The X Factor (ITV)

While she was initially eliminated before the live shows, criticism of this decision from viewers led to her being asked back to join the live shows.

On the show, she reached the final and showed off her voice singing hits such as Edge of Glory and Skyfall. She went on to reach the final and finished in third place.

When it comes to her life off-screen, Jenny likes to keep things private. However, Jenny has previously hinted to being in a relationship on social media.

Back in 2016 while responding to a tweet by WeRateDogs that featured a picture of a dog in a shark costume, she said: "My boyfriend is shark phobic but dog-obsessed so I am showing him all #BarkWeek pics to help him get over his fear. Cheers x."

However, Jenny isn’t short of marriage proposals, given she has built up an incredible fanbase who love her iconic look of cat-eye glasses and red hair done up in a bee-hive style.

Speaking to The Daily Star Sunday, Jenny admitted she is "flattered" by the attention from her admirers.

*The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV

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