Mark Labbett issued warning about The Chase bosses to Anne Hegerty over big decision
The Chase star Mark Labbett issued a warning to co-star Anne Hegerty as she faced a major decision on the ITV show. Mark, 59, was one of the two original Chasers on the show alongside Shaun Wallace.
They were joined in the second series by 66-year-old Anne. During the initial 10-show run, Mark became known as The Beast, a moniker Anne says he offered to producers as the French version of his surname.
With the imposing character starting to take off, Anne says producers decided she and Shaun should also be given a nickname. Shaun, 65, became known as The Dark Destroyer, while Anne was given the title The Governess.
Although the quiz master revealed she could have adopted a very different persona on the show. She says producers originally intended to call her 'The Headmistress', which prompted a word of warning from Mark and an impromptu change from show host Bradley.
Speaking on the Towards Understanding podcast, Anne said: 'They wanted me to be The Headmistress, and I was like, 'Erm, okay, sounds great.' And I remember Mark saying to me, 'You should choose your own nickname, otherwise they will impose one on you that you don't like'.
(Image: ITV)
'So I thought, 'Fine, fine, I'm going to be The Headmistress,' and then during rehearsals, it was a year since the boys had done the show and I hadn't done it at all, and during rehearsals, Bradley, I noticed, started calling me The Governess, and I said to producers, 'Could I be called that instead?'
'I think what appealed to me about it is that a governess is much more of a free agent. A governess is like Mary Poppins, she can do whatever she likes, while a headmistress is bound by the board of governors, she is essentially a salaried employee, whereas a governess can take off when the wind changes. So I thought I'd rather be a governess I think.'
Anne went on to explain that she decided to base the character of The Governess on one of her grandmothers, an aunt, and the headmaster's wife at her secondary school. She said: 'I think originally I wanted her to be a bit nastier and creepier.
(Image: Getty)
'I wanted her to be a bit more like Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter. Somebody a few years ago, an American actually, said my character was [Harry Potter character] Professor McGonagall-ish and I thought, 'Yeah, she has moods of being from Umbridge to McGonagall', and I'd rather be McGonagall really, I mean she's a goodie for one thing.'
Professor McGonagall was one of the teachers in Harry Potter who worked alongside the young wizard and Albus Dumbledore to defeat evil wizard Lord Voldemort. Meanwhile Dolores Umbridge was known for her harsh treatment of the children in JK Rowling's series.
Anne has previously revealed there was also a more x-rated reason why she chose the moniker The Governess. When asked about the name by former Countdown host Nick Hewer, she replied: 'Well, originally I was going to be called The Headmistress and then during rehearsals, Bradley started calling me The Governess.
'I said to the producers, 'Can I be called that instead?' I think I said, 'It's more kinky'.'
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