Latest news with #TheGoverness
7NEWS
39 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
The Chase star Anne Hegerty, aka The Governess, reveals new career move away from the popular quiz show
The Chase star Anne Hegerty — known to millions of people around the world as 'The Governess' — will step away from the popular quiz show to star as The Fairy Rose in a stage production of Beauty And The Beast. Hegerty, 66, announced she would be taking up the role during the Christmas festive period over December and January at the Scarborough Spa in the UK. The character of Fairy Rose stems from the Enchanted Rose in Disney's 1991 animated movie and 2017 live action film, which acts as a clock for the Beast — each petal fall is an indication of the time he has left to find his true love and break his curse. The multi-talented quiz show star is no stranger to the stage and has previously appeared in a production of Beauty And The Beast, among other pantomines, musicals and plays. Hegerty — who has appeared on The Chase UK and The Chase Australia — will return to the quiz show after her latest stint on stage. On Tuesday, Hegerty spoke to Sunrise hosts Nat Barr and Matt Shirvington about how she came to be a quiz master. 'I was finding (life a bit) difficult,' Hegerty said of her time before joining The Chase UK in 2010, when she had been working as a newspaper journalist and proofreader, struggling financially, and was on disability and housing benefits. 'I was a good proofreader (but) I was finding it difficult to keep up with the admin, I was spiralling a bit. 'I happened to accidentally discover there was a high-level quizzing circuit in the UK. I joined it. 'I started doing really well just at the time when The Chase had just filmed the first series, just 10 episodes, with only Mark (Labbett aka The Beast) and Shaun (Wallace aka The Dark Destroyer). 'They were thinking they were going to want a female chaser. I came on the scene at the right time.' Hegerty said she was initially called The Headmistress, before being renamed The Governess. 'Our UK host started to refer to me as The Governess. I said to producers I'd rather be called that,' she said. 'The thing about a headmistress is that she can't do everything she wants — she's got to answer to the board of governors and so on,' Hegerty explained, adding that The Governess is more like Mary Poppins. 'I want to be Mary Poppins. Really fierce.' Hegerty, who was diagnosed with Asperger's at age 45, said she's always wanted to be famous, even as a child. 'I wanted to be famous as I thought maybe I'd be a writer or maybe I'd illustrate children's books. I'm not remotely a good enough artist to do that,' she said. 'I just always thought you know, I want to be famous for something.'
Metro
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
The Chase star with surprising new job away from ITV quiz show
It's been revealed that a star of The Chase has recently landed a surprising new job away from the ITV quiz show. Anne Hegerty, 66, better known as The Governess on the Bradley Walsh general knowledge series, has been part of The Chase for 16 years. Since 2010, she has sometimes taken on other work in between recordings, even appearing on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here in 2018. Among those other opportunities Anne has taken up is her history of performing in Christmas pantomimes up and down the country since 2014. And it's been announced this week that her surprising job away from The Chase is being picked back up again, with Christmas 2025 shows already booked in. The news was broken by the X account of the Spa Hall in Scarborough, which is an entertainment, conferencing, and wedding venue in the north east town. In a post, the account said: 'We are delighted to announce that back by popular demand for Beauty and the Beast will be The Governess, Anne Hegerty!' The Scarborough Spa then promised more star names, with TV presenter Jake Quickenden among them, playing the role of Gaston in the production. In the refashioned Beauty and the Beast, Anne – 'back by popular demand' – will be playing the Fairy Rose, otherwise known as the Enchanted Rose in the 1991 film. The Enchanted Rose acts as something of a clock for the Beast, with each falling petal reminding him of the time he's got – or hasn't got – left to find his true love. Scarborough Spa's productions of Beauty and the Beast will run from December 6, 2025 all the way through to New Year's Day in 2026. Despite this seeming like a surprising turn for Anne, the truth is that, when she's not playing The Chase as The Governess, she's been performing in panto for years. Starting in 2014, she first appeared in a Northwich production of Cinderella, starring as one of the wicked stepmothers at the Cheshire-based Grange Theatre. More Trending Later on, she starred as the Empress of China in a re-telling of Aladdin in Torquay, before trading the south coast for the north east in a Middlesbrough-born production of Sleeping Beauty. In 2022, she revealed that she started to be approached by panto directors after setting up a Twitter account – back when it was still called Twitter and relatively new. 'I did panto [but] I was really fairly terrible the first time. I was technically bad, I used to miss cues, so I stumbled through it. Then got offered more and I've been doing it ever since,' she told the Swindon Advertiser. View More » She continued: 'I enjoy doing the panto, it's a chance to act and a chance to sing, a chance to act, a chance to be funny more than one gets in The Chase.' Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: The Chase star points out major issue 'ruining' rival ITV gameshow MORE: TV fans are left 'completely traumatised' over bizarre phone sex scene MORE: 'It was electrifying': All 10 Britain's Got Talent finalists on making it to the end
Edinburgh Live
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Live
ITV The Chase's Anne Hegerty's 'worry' as she shares insight into love life
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info The Chase's Anne Hegerty has candidly discussed her bustling social life and the "worry" it brings. Anne, 66, rose to fame as The Governess on the hit ITV show. She has publicly spoken out about her autism diagnosis. Anne discovered she had the condition when she was 45. She noticed traits she recognised in herself when watching a TV show about autistic children. Autism can affect a person's social interaction, communication, interests and behaviour. Anne discussed her diagnosis when she appeared on I'm a Me Out of Here!. She admitted she struggled understanding social cues. It comes after Anne once said there were "no downsides" of fame, reports the Liverpool Echo. (Image: ITV) In an interview with Best magazine, Anne expressed her mixed feelings about her active social life: "There are times when I would like to have a less social life than I do. The thing is, I could say 'No' more, so really, that's on me. I'd quite like it if things were not so busy, but then if they weren't so busy, I'd worry." Anne has also been open about how her autism affects her romantic relationships, revealing her discomfort with personal space invasion and recalling a time she turned off her phone to avoid a boyfriend's calls. She further elaborated on her need for solitude in a recent interview, saying: "I really struggle with closeness and having anyone else in the house. I think an awful lot of autistic people don't get married or settle down. I don't even have pets for that reason and my capacity for living with other people is just diminishing. I need a huge amount of alone time." Anne has openly confessed to The Mirror that she's quite content with her single status, as she feels she needs more personal space than anyone could "possibly give me". She revealed that her most recent relationship lasted a mere four months and was manageable only because it was long-distance. Now residing in Manchester, away from her London roots, Anne once harboured dreams of motherhood but now believes she "wouldn't have been able to tolerate it a lot." (Image: Dave) She recalls the times she would sit anxiously by her phone, dreading calls from her partner. To confront this fear, she would often make the first call, only to find her then-boyfriend assumed she "wanted to talk" when in reality, she just "wanted to get it over with". Post-breakup, Anne initially shed tears of relief, which later turned into tears of guilt. Her interactions with children haven't been much easier. She recounted to the Daily Mail how she had to limit the time spent with two neighbouring kids to one hour daily, despite their wishes to stay longer. Anne said: "We managed to restrict it to just one hour a day and they always wanted to stay longer. They were absolutely smashing kids and we're now friends on Facebook but I couldn't even handle that for more than an hour." In a chat with Best, Anne expressed her satisfaction with having numerous male friends and her preference for solitude. Regarding dating, she stated: "I'm not really interested in that sort of thing. "I like my own company and like to be left alone. Men make such good friends. I have so many male friends, it's great."
