{"id":406128,"date":"2026-02-03T19:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/406128\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:30:09","slug":"hes-the-reason-for-shows-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/406128\/","title":{"rendered":"‘He’s the reason for show’s popularity’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anne Hegerty was full of praise for The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh, crediting him with the success of the quiz show, which has been on screens since 2009.<\/p>\n

The brainbox has been a part of the Chaser team since the show’s debut, but speaking to GB News at the TV Choice Awards, the 67-year-old singled out Mr Walsh as the secret to the show’s ongoing popularity.<\/p>\n

“It’s a great format,” Ms Hegerty told GB News. <\/p>\n

She elaborated: “You know, everyone can understand it. You can come in from work, switch it on, you can immediately see how far into the show you are, sort of roughly what’s already happened.<\/p>\n

\"Anne<\/p>\n

Anne Hegerty spoke to GB News at the TV Choice Awards<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

“And then the other thing, I mean, our absolute secret weapon is absolutely Bradley, it would not be the same without him.<\/p>\n

“So basically, Bradley is the reason [for the show’s popularity] and then I think the format.”<\/p>\n

Having starred on the show since it first hit screens 17 years ago, Ms Hegerty has established herself as a firm favourite.<\/p>\n

She has no plans to leave anytime soon though, which will no doubt come as welcome news to her fans.<\/p>\n

\"Bradley<\/p>\n

Bradley Walsh has hosted ITV The Chase since it debuted in 2009<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

ITV<\/p>\n

She stated she would stay on the show for the foreseeable, reflecting: “I mean, as long as possible,” the quizzing expert confirmed.<\/p>\n

“I greatly respect William Roach, you know, for getting his job on Coronation Street, planting his feet there and never leaving!”<\/p>\n

Since finding fame on the show, Ms Hegerty has starred in other shows, such as I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here in 2018.<\/p>\n

She finished in seventh place. When asked if she’d be willing to take part in other reality shows, the Chaser made clear she is eyeing up one role.<\/p>\n

\"Anne<\/p>\n

Anne Hegerty was full of praise for The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

“I would absolutely love to be a Celebrity Traitor, I’d definitely say yes!” she enthused.<\/p>\n

Following the success of the main series, a celebrity version debuted on BBC One last year, and was a huge success.<\/p>\n

It saw comedian turned Traitor Alan Carr being crowned winner after he managed to deceive his co-stars into thinking he was a Faithful.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, another spin-off show for The Chase has been confirmed.<\/p>\n

\"Anne<\/p>\n

Anne Hegerty reflected on the success of The Chase<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

The new series will have a travel theme, with The Chase Around the World well-suited to fans of Race Across the World and of course, the quiz show.<\/p>\n

The spin-off will debut later this year and include the same faces, with Mr Walsh still presenting.<\/p>\n

The iteration will include six pairs of contenders attempting to track down all six Chasers in undisclosed locations around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anne Hegerty was full of praise for The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh, crediting him with the success of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,830,96,347,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-406128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-celebrity","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-itv","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}