Anne Hegerty is a well-known television personality, freelance editor, and former journalist, best recognized for her role as one of the chasers on ITV’s quiz show “The Chase.” She has also featured on several other quiz programs over the years. Regarded as one of British television’s sharpest minds, Hegerty has earned widespread recognition for her wit and intelligence. Despite living with Asperger’s syndrome, she has built an impressive career in television, with her distinctive personality and sharp intellect earning admiration from both colleagues and viewers alike. She maintains a strong social media presence, boasting a substantial following on Twitter. Known for speaking her mind, she stirred up notable controversy in 2018 over comments she made regarding gender pay inequality. As for her personal life, she is reportedly single.
Career of Anne Hegerty
Anne Hegerty has become a familiar face across British game shows and quizzes. She’s best known as one of the chasers on ITV’s “The Chase,” appearing alongside fellow chasers Shaun Wallace, Mark Labbett, Jenny Ryan, and Paul Sinha, and she also holds the same role on the show’s Australian edition.
Beyond “The Chase,” she has appeared on other quiz programs including “Fifteen to One,” “Mastermind,” “Are You an Egghead?,” “Brain of Britain,” and “Today’s the Day.” In November 2013, she competed in the Bolton Premier Quiz League, taking home the title of Brain of Bolton. The following year, she stepped into pantomime, playing the wicked stepmother in “Cinderella” at The Grange Theatre in Northwich.
Her pantomime work continued in December 2015 with the role of Fleshcreep in “Jack and the Beanstalk” at the Civic Hall in Ellesmere Port. In 2016, she took on the part of the Enchantress in “Beauty and the Beast” at the Palace Theatre in Redditch, performing alongside Basil Brush and Keith Chegwin. From December 2016 into January 2017, she starred as Blackweed in another production of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” this time at the Kings Theatre in Southsea, Portsmouth.
She made a guest appearance on “Celebrity Juice” on October 19, 2017, and shortly after featured on the BBC Radio 4 program “I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue.” That December, she played the Empress of China in a production of “Aladdin” at the Princess Theatre. Since January 2018, she has presented ITV’s “Britain’s Brightest Family,” and in November 2018 she competed as a contestant on “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!”
Before her television career, Hegerty worked as a journalist, starting in the 1980s as a reporter and feature writer for the “South Wales Argus” in Newport. She currently works as a freelance editor.
Controversies & Scandals
In January 2018, Hegerty sparked significant backlash after sharing her views on gender pay inequality with “The Sun,” arguing that women working part-time should earn less than their male counterparts. The comments caused an uproar within the journalism world. She drew further criticism by suggesting that women who took career breaks to raise children should be paid only “two or three fifths” of what men earn.
Family & Personal Life
Anne Hegerty was born on July 14, 1958, in Westminster, London, to Shirley Brereton and Kenneth Hegerty, and has a younger brother named Jonathan. She has spoken openly about living with Asperger’s syndrome.
On October 8, 2014, she addressed a question about her sexuality from a Twitter user named Sarah, clarifying that she is not a lesbian while noting that she prefers to keep her personal life private. In an early 2018 interview with “Express,” she confirmed she is currently single and content with her independence.