The Chase star Shaun Wallace has opened up about what he calls his "worst mistake" on the show, admitting that he once incorrectly guessed the color of Marge Simpson's hair, leading to a torrent of online abuse.
Shaun's Simpsons Blunder
In an exclusive interview, the barrister and quizzer recalled the moment he was asked the color of Marge Simpson's hair. "I said orange," Wallace told The Mirror and other press. "The abuse I got on Twitter would make you want to quit the show."
Wallace, known as The Dark Destroyer, explained that he has never watched The Simpsons, leaving him to guess answers when questions about the show arise. He also recounted another Simpsons question that cost a £50,000 prize. "They then asked me, who is the eldest Simpsons child, for £50,000?" he said. "I know there's three, Maggie, Lisa and Bart, and it took me six seconds to work out which one is it." He ultimately answered Lisa, losing the large sum.
The Chase Around The World
Wallace has returned to screens alongside co-stars Anne Hegerty and host Bradley Walsh for a new spin-off series, The Chase Around The World. The show sees six teams racing across European landmarks for a chance to win a £100,000 prize. Wallace described the format as "reality television meeting with a quiz," adding that everyone "is pushed out of their comfort zone."
Reflecting on the challenges of quizzing, Wallace said: "As I always say, it takes courage to be a contestant on a quiz. Whether you get one or whether you get seven, it takes courage to put yourself forward, to sit in a chair to be thoroughly examined." Anne Hegerty added: "There are times when someone, maybe just one person, gets through to the final Chase, and they set five or something, and if it's me, the first thing I'll say when I come out is, 'Look, you're the one that got through, everybody else got caught, you didn't.'"
Learning from Mistakes
Wallace, who won Mastermind in 2004 before joining The Chase in 2009, emphasized that even expert quizzers make errors. "Every Achilles has a heel," he said. "Questions are only easy if you know the answer, so one thing about us as quizzers is we're brilliant quizzers, but we're human, we make mistakes."
He credited his barrister training for his quizzing success: "I use my transferable skills as a barrister, I think on my feet, I'm fearless. I've appeared in the Court of Appeal, I've done Old Bailey trials, so to answer the question in the final Chase or Mastermind grand finals is not going to phase me, but the one thing which has stood me well is my steadfast dedication to preparation because the more you prepare, the more chances you can be successful."
Wallace noted that preparation is a labor of love: "And it's not a chore… when we're researching, it might seem like we're going back to school. No, we're doing it because we love it."
The Chase Around The World airs Thursdays at 9pm on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player.
