The Chase star Shaun Wallace has revealed he was robbed at St Pancras International station after stepping off the Eurostar from Paris. The quizzer, known as The Dark Destroyer on the ITV game show, said his backpack was stolen last month.
Theft after Paris trip
Wallace, 66, said he was getting a taxi after returning from filming an advert in the French capital when the crime was committed. He detailed the incident during an appearance on a New Zealand radio station, saying some of his most prized possessions were stolen.
The barrister told Coast Breakfast this week: 'I had three pieces of luggage, put two of them in the back. The taxi driver went round to the front, and I had my rucksack with me.'
Distraction tactic
He described how a man approached him claiming he had dropped a card at the back of the taxi. Wallace said he initially ignored him but the man was insistent, so he went to check and left his bag behind. By the time he returned, the man's accomplice had taken it.
Wallace said the backpack contained his 'favourite' blue suede shoes, joking they were like the Elvis Presley song. The bag also held his Gucci perfume and two car keys, as he explained he had brought his spare set after misplacing his originals.
Targeted or not?
Radio host Jase Reeves joked that Wallace's account sounded like an insurance claim, suggesting he might also have had 'all your diving equipment, your welding gear and golf clubs' stolen. Wallace quipped: 'And a partridge in a pear tree. It's in there.'
Asked by co-host Toni Street whether he believed he had been deliberately targeted, Wallace said he did not think he had been recognised, adding: 'It's sadly endemic in relation to, if you're not aware of what's happening around you, that's when they strike.'
The incident follows an attack on comedian Paul Whitehouse, who was shoved away from a cashpoint in Islington by a stranger. The moment, caught on CCTV, showed a man pushing Whitehouse away from the ATM, leading to a standoff between the two.
