How The Chase stars got their nicknames – and why Anne Hegarty forced producers to change hers

Like many game shows, each Chaser completes a screen test before making their debut and it's during these trial runs that they work out their monikers. Host Bradley Walsh is often on hand to offer suggestions, and Shaun has said that Bradley initially named him "The Legal Eagle" because of his barrister background.

When asked if he had any reservations about his title as 'The Dark Destroyer', Shaun replied: "Not because of any sinister overtones – I’m proud I’m dark and black, and I’m proud I can destroy people with my intellect. It was more that it was former boxer Nigel Benn’s nickname too. I was worried that one day he would come after me!"

Like Shaun, Jenny's nickname went through a few variations before landing on 'The Vixen' – and it ended up being thanks to her sense of fashion.

"When I first started, I had a test run, a bit of a screen test, in the studio with Brad hosting," Jenny told Lorraine Kelly in 2021.  

"Just as a chemistry kind of test really. And I had my hair in this big ponytail. The producers had been trying to work out what my nickname should be, and they wanted something animal-y because I like a lot of animal print, and they suggested 'The Cougar'." 

Jenny objected on the grounds that she thought she was too young to be a cougar, and it was Bradley who suggested the winning title.

"Brad came up with 'The Vixen', because of the red hair, it looks like a fox's brush," Jenny revealed. "And foxes are really intelligent animals and really cunning, and could be quite fast."

Mark is one of the original Chasers, having appeared on the show since its inception, and is one of the most distinctive thanks to his 6ft 6in height. 

Known as 'The Beast', Mark's nickname is due to multiple factors: his towering stature, his steely demeanour with contestants and a play on his actual name.

Speaking about his fellow Chaser, Paul revealed on This Morning in 2015: "He scares the bejesus out of the contestants, so we call him The Beast." Not only that, but Mark's surname Labbett – or La Bête – translates to 'The Beast' in French, offering the perfect inspiration.

Known for her no-nonsense attitude, Anne embodies the archetypal strict school teacher – fitting, as her original nickname was going to be 'The Headmistress'.

However, during rehearsals, Bradley began referring to her as 'The Governess' instead. Speaking on Loose Women in 2015, Anne explained: "I said to producers 'Could I be that instead?' and I think what I said to them was 'it’s more kinky'. What I meant was that the headmistress has always got a board of governors and Ofsted and she can’t do everything she wants; a governess is a free agent."

When it came to forming her persona, the former journalist added: "I saw her originally as a combination of Daphne Fowler from Eggheads, Caroline Aherne from Mrs Merton and Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter films.”

An entomologist and neuroscientist, Darragh was originally supposed to be known as 'The Professor', but turned the title down. 

Speaking in a 2015 interview on This Morning, he explained that due to his university work in Oxford, he felt the title must be hard-earned. 

"I think people would be very annoyed if I started calling myself the Professor," he said. "So I said I didn’t want that but they didn’t tell me what my name would be until I was on set. I was on stage, waiting to go on when I first heard."

Instead, the Irish Chaser became 'The Menace', which aptly rhymes with the famous Beano comic. 

One of the newer Chasers, who joined the show in 2011, Paul's nickname came from a simple play on his last name. The comedian has also been known as 'The Smiling Assassin' and 'Sarcasm in a Suit'.