The Chase’s Darragh Ennis was well known for appearing as a contestant before becoming a pro Chaser – but he convinced bosses in an incredible way.
The Chase star Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis has been a staple of the ITV quiz show since November 2020 – and he landed the role after pointing out a major error by bosses.
But his first stint on the show was back in 2017, when he appeared as a contestant, banking £9,000 in his cash builder round and managing to bring the amount home to his team.
All three of his teammates at the time took the lowest offer, including two minus offers – and though the team won, they had just £1,575 each after splitting the dosh.
Darragh contributed 14 correct answers out of 23 in the final chase and the team managed to beat Paul Sinha.
It wasn’t just his quizzing know-how that landed him the role.
Darragh Ennis shared how he really landed his Chase gig (Image: ITV)
Appearing on Loose Women alongside Ruth Langsford and Sally Dynevor, Darragh explained it was a “problem” with one of the questions that got him noticed by producers.
He explained: “I did really well, I answered a lot of questions, but I’m also very, very calm on camera. I naturally don’t get stage fright, because I think a large part of me doesn’t care what other people think about me. So a lot of people who would be better at quizzes than me would freeze, whereas I didn’t.
“It didn’t make the edit on the show but there was a problem with one of the questions and I raised the problem while I was a contestant and I think that might have slightly flagged things up. But I’m just really glad they did [hire me].”
Darragh pointed out a ‘problem’ to show bosses (Image: ITV)
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At first, Darragh maintained his career in academia alongside his ITV job – but he has since quit.
He told The Liverpool Echo: “I was a lab manager and a researcher, but I give that up. The lab that I worked in moved from Oxford to Glasgow and I just didn’t go with them. It was a part time job and it was a very hard job to do part time so I’ve given it up.
“It might surprise you, but scientists are not that well paid. It was very hard to justify the time when I’ve got so many other things going on.”
