Icon of quizzing, Anne Hegerty has revealed that her difficult childhood played a major part in making her The Chase star she is today.
Better known as The Governess, the 65-year-old has become a staple of the popular ITV show and even headed down under for the Australian version.
While she is beloved by many for her sharp wit and even sharper intellect, Anne has revealed she struggled to gain acceptance from her parents.
Despite her recall skills, The Chase icon felt she ‘couldn’t do anything’ growing up, partly connected to her undiagnosed autism.
‘I grew up feeling like I couldn’t really do anything,’ she told 7News. ‘My mother never told me I could accomplish anything. My dad was a complete incompetent in all walks of life.’
She has previously shared how the inability to spot autistic traits in young women made her appear troubled and high maintenance.
This left the London-born legend feeling like she had to prove herself, working as a journalist, ghostwriter, and ultimately a quizmaster.
In 2003 at age 45, Anne got her diagnosis and completely overhauled her life, taking up quizzing as she became a Chaser in series two.
The I’m A Celeb star continued: ‘I didn’t really have a particularly good childhood. The music was better, but there’s not much else that was better when I was a kid, to be honest.
‘There are so many people my age who sort of look back nostalgically to earlier times. And I look at them and think, “No, you think it was better because your joints didn’t ache.”‘
When she was 12, Anne’s father walked out on their family just before Christmas, leaving a note which said ‘For Christmas 1970, one house free from husband.’
Discussing her family life with Shaun Wallace, she described it as a type of nuclear family but one which exploded.
Speaking about her life in the spotlight, Anne added: ‘I always felt I have a brain like a Rolodex. If I know it, then it’s there. There’s one thing I can do and it turns out people like watching me do it. That gives you a bit more confidence.’
Since 2010, she has been a firm fixture on The Chase alongside several other quizzing minds, including original duo Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett and The Dark Destroyer.
In a January 2021 episode of The Chasers’ Road Trip: Trains, Brains and Automobiles, Anne’s IQ was revealed to be a whopping 137 out of 161.
For a royal twist, she’s the 19th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and also the 20-times great granddaughter of King Robert the Bruce, who was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329.
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