Anne Hegerty: The Chase star defends host Bradley Walsh after he’s branded ‘DULL’

Anne Hegerty, 60, joined the line-up of quizzers on The Chase just one year after the game show began airing on ITV. At the weekend, the programme celebrated its 10th anniversary by sharing a tweet with their 185,000 followers saying: “We’re ten years old TODAY.” After thanking the Chasers, they added: “And to all you at home, THANK YOU. Here’s to TEN MORE YEARS.” Fans flocked to the comments section to share their congratulations, but one took the opportunity to blast Bradley Walsh’s hosting skills.

“Congratulations and here’s to 10 years more!” one Twitter user wrote.

“Is @ITVChase looking to expand to Canada? I would like to see a Canadian version of The Chase.”

“Feel free to suggest it to your local broadcasters!” Anne replied keenly.

However, another fan then chipped in: “So long as you find a host like Andrew O’Keefe (Australian version) who has charisma is witty and knowledgable. Bradley Walsh is dull.

“I could fall asleep when he’s reading the questions,” they said.

Quick to defend her friend and The Chase co-star, Anne responded: “I think you’re confusing ‘dull’ with ‘subtle deadpan’.”

“Part of the reason I watch is not to outdo the contestants but for extra facts the Chasers (you in particular) and the host throw in,” the unimpressed fan wrote.

“Bradley contributes nothing, deadpan and subtle are not qualities required for a game show like this.”

“Bradley allows the Chasers to do that, which was the original brief,” Anne hit back.

“He doesn’t intervene even when he does know the answer. 

“Deadpan and subtle are among the qualities that set The Chase UK apart from other game shows,” she insisted.

Bradley, 59, has fronted The Chase since it started in 2009 and is largely popular with fans of the show.

Anne, meanwhile, is accustomed to taking her seat to put her quizzing wits against teams of contestants, a job which she shares with fellow Chasers Shaun Wallace, 59, Mark Labbett, 53, Jenny Ryan, 37, and Paul Sinha, 49.

Elsewhere, Anne Hegerty was irked over a wrong answer in an “intense” final on The Chase yesterday.

Two players made it through to the Final Chase, scoring 13 points between them.

Although Anne managed to beat the team, she later told Bradley she was embarrassed at getting a question about the location of a BBC studio wrong, saying: “That was very nearly very embarrassing.

“I’m especially embarrassed not remembering the Beeb have a Pacific Quay studio in Glasgow,” she added.

The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV.

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