The Chase star Shaun Wallace has made a rare candid remark about his mystery partner, whom he keeps out of the public eye. Opening up about his life away from his television persona, the 66-year-old touched on a variety of subjects, including what brings him joy, the obstacles he's encountered and, briefly, his romantic life.
Rare comment on partner
Appearing on a podcast, the quizmaster was asked whether there was someone special in his life, to which he replied: "Yeah of course there is," but held back on any further detail. When host Mr Motivator enquired whether he might get to meet this mystery companion, Shaun cheekily responded: "No you can't."
Not like his TV persona
During their conversation, the quizmaster also revealed a more vulnerable side to his character. According to him, he bears little resemblance to his stone-faced on-screen persona, where he routinely tells defeated contestants: "At the end of the day, it's just another day at the office".
Speaking on the On Your Bike with Mr Motivator podcast, he added: "I'm emotional, I'm not a machine, I have feelings. You know, what Shakespeare said, if you prick me, do I not bleed? Of course I do, I'd like to think."
Reflecting on a moment during filming for The Chasers Road Trip, Shaun recalled being informed that he had an "extremely high" level of emotional intelligence following an evaluation. "So I think I've got a great degree of empathy because I do care about people and people are important to me," he went on to say.
Married to his career
Back in 2024, the ITV star confirmed he was in a relationship, but was neither married nor had any children. Speaking to Kaye Adams on her How To Be 60 podcast, he claimed to instead be "married" to his career, while insisting he was "happier" that way. "Although I'm not married but I suppose I'm married to my career. Put it that way. I like that. I prefer that and I'm happier," he shared.
When the host questioned him about his decision not to have children, he went on to say: "It was a conscious reason - when I was a young struggling barrister. I didn't think it would be right to bring up a child when you're trying to climb to the top of that greasy pole."
Shaun added: "And I've never regretted that decision. I've got 15 godchildren. Two of them are called Shaun and I'm the best godfather in the world. I probably would have been a great dad but I've got not regrets in relation to that."
The ITV favourite has been a fixture on The Chase, hosted by Bradley Walsh, since the programme first aired in 2009. Together with his fellow quizmasters, he also features in the spin-off series The Chase Across The World, in which six teams must decipher clues to locate Bradley and the Chasers in a bid to win £100,000. The Chase Across The World continues tonight at 9pm on ITV.
