ITV The Chase star Anne Hegerty 'happy in own company' after struggling to pay bills

Daily Mirror

26-07-2025

Professional quizzer Anne Hegerty is a firm favourite of ITV The Chase fans, where she is known for playing her straight-laced role as the 'Governess'
It's been a long journey for professional quizzer Anne Hergerty, 66, - and she has come far from the days when, during a difficult period in her life, a council worker had to help her open her post.
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A firm favourite amongst The Chase fans for her straight-laced persona of 'The Governess' on ITV, Anne has become a staple part of the British quizzing scene.
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But her love for general knowledge and competitive streak goes well beyond the last few years, which have taken her career to new heights of success - even back in the mid-1980s, she made a television appearance, showing off her intellect. A stint on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here, made her something of a household name, and earned her dedicated fans beyond those hooked to quiz shows.
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Back in the eighties, Anne took a turn in the Mastermind chair, with the special subject of The Life and Works of Lorenz Hartand she looked totally unrecognisable with a curly short hairdo and a patterned dress - that was pretty emblematic of the loud styles that were all the rage then.
Her appearance took place in 1987, when she was 30 years old, and working as a freelance journalist - but it isn't the only unlikely throwback of the TV personality that has shocked her fans.
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An old photo of Anne, when she was even younger, with long curly locks and a cheeky smile, the snap from 1983 was pretty much unrecognisable to her fans, who are so used to her formidable governess persona.
These days, Anne is almost always seen in a smart suit that is reminiscent of a schoolmarm, something she has called "stupendously unflattering" but does admittedly fit her quizzing persona perfectly.
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The governess character is "a bit creepy" Anne has said, revealing she based the persona in part on Professor Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series.
"But a friend of mine said 'you won't be able to sustain that', so I went down the more of the standard scary rout and, in recent years, at least one American viewer has compared me to Professor McGonagall from the Harry Potter films," she previously told Stuff.
"So McGonagall, not Umbridge: I'll take that."
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Before becoming a star on The Chase, Anne was going through a difficult time in her personal life. She had been working as a freelance proofreader, but found things getting on top of her.
Anne, who is autistic, found it tricky to stay on top of her accounts due to her condition. She was living in council housing when a worker from the Housing Association came to her home because she had fallen behind on paying her rent.
"I just simply couldn't keep it going and the result was I wasn't paying my bills, but I was trying not to go on benefits on the grounds that I just thought that was sort of giving up. I wasn't giving up," Anne has said.
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The TV star explained that during the visit, the women from the Housing Association stepped in to help Anne get back on top of things.
"She was stepping over piles of unopened mail and realised we had a problem. She said 'we will fix this, I will get someone to help you,'" Anne explained.
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Anne was also put in touch with a social worker who helped her sort out her finances and made sure she was receiving the benefits she was entitled to, the Disability Living Allowance.
It wasn't long after this that Anne got her big break on The Chase, and whilst she has said she is incredibly grateful for her job, she has also admitted some aspects of fame can be tricky to deal with.
"It is difficult to go down the street without being recognised. It's weird and interesting," she said of her celebrity status.
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"There are times when you're not absolutely crazy about it.. but I hope I never take it for granted."
Anne has also appeared on Fifteen to One, Today's the Day, Are You an Egghead? and Brain of Britain - and in 2016 came in at 55th in the World Quizzing Championships, the second highest woman placing in the competition.
Anne is undoubtedly a massive brainiac and general knowledge superstar, but she has admitted her autism has got in the way of forging romantic connections.
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In a candid moment on The Chaser's Roadtrip she confessed to her co-stars Mark Labbett and Shaun Wallace that her longest relationship had been only four months.
"He was a lovely bloke, but I am just not good with the sort of attention that people need," she admitted.
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Anne has never shied away from the topic of her personal life, telling the Guardian that "I think the problem is I find it really difficult to fall in love with real people. I've thought: 'Am I in love with this guy?' And then we kind of get together and I think 'damn it, no, oh dear'."
She explained further to OK! magazine that she struggles at times to stay in the moment, "I get overwhelmed in the presence of actual people and everything shuts down. I've found that with sex, too. It's like I can't be fully in it. That much intimacy, I almost zone out."
However, there is a long list of single men hoping for an opportunity to take out Anne - who is based in Watford - if she ever changes her mind about preferring her "own company".
"Let's say I would not be short of offers if I went looking. But I am happy with my own company," she told The Sun. "I've had relationships go wrong precisely because I could not devote the mental energy to it, and I just thought 'No, no, no, this is not a good idea'. I find men make such great friends - so let's keep them like that."