The Chase star Anne Hegerty has opened up about the state of the ITV game show, and given fans an insight into her earnings from the series.
Hegerty features as one of the quiz-expert “Chasers” on the popular daytime series, and is known by her sobriquet “The Governess”.
It was recently revealed that The Chase would be undertaking a year-long production break after an intense run from September until May, with Hegerty admitting that the show had “worked us into the ground” with its filming schedule.
Speaking to Digital Spy, the former journalist and ghostwriter stated that she had made “about £100,000 more last year than I normally do”.
Hegerty previously revealed that the Chasers – a panel of quiz afficionados who go head-to-head with contestants in The Chase’s game of trivia – do not draw a regular salary from the show, and are instead paid per episode.
While production is temporarily “frozen” on the series, the main edition of which is hosted by Bradley Walsh, Hegerty says that they now have “tonnes” of new episodes ready to air.
In addition, there are a number of The Chase spin-off shows, including The Chase Around the World, set to premiere this month. The new show sees six contestants attempt to track down the Chasers in locations across the globe.
Various international versions of The Chase have also launched, with Hegerty featuring as a Chaser on both the Australianand New Zealand iterations.
Hegerty claimed that the Chase franchise now generates “about £100m a year” when its spin-offs are taken into account.
“The Chase is only being frozen for a year, and there is a tonne of other stuff we are doing,” she told the outlet.
“We have just done The Chase Around the World. The Chase daytime will absolutely be back. We have tonnes of new shows in the can. We will not have to show any more repeats like we used to have.”
Hegerty added that she “barely had a break” during the intense filming schedule last year.
According to the TV star – who is also known for her 2018 stint on the ITV reality show I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, the cast of The Chase nonetheless have “one great fear” – the departure of host Walsh.
“As far as I can tell, he still loves doing The Chase,” she said. “That is our one great fear, that he is not going to want to do it, but he seems to love it.”
The Chase Around the World begins at 9pm on Thursday 16 July on ITV and ITVX.
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