Anne Hegerty

Anne Hegerty
Hegerty in 2022
Born
Anne Solway Hegerty

(1958-07-14) 14 July 1958 (age 66)
Westminster, London, England
Other namesThe Governess
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh (BA)
Occupations
  • Quizzer
  • television personality
Years active2010–present

Anne Solway Hegerty (born 14 July 1958) is an English professional quizzer and television personality. Since 2010, she has been a "chaser" on the ITV game show The Chase as "The Governess", and was a contestant on the 2018 series of the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Early life

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Anne Solway Hegerty was born in the Westminster area of London on 14 July 1958. She studied journalism at the University of Edinburgh.[1] She started her journalistic career in the 1980s as a reporter and feature writer at the South Wales Argus in Newport, before moving to Manchester.[2] She also worked as a ghostwriter and wrote two books for American children's author Richard Scarry, but she said that the books "were a bit rubbish and nobody bought them".[3]

Career

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Hegerty is one of the chasers on the ITV game show The Chase, alongside Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Paul Sinha, Jenny Ryan and Darragh Ennis. As well as being in the British version, she is also a chaser on the Australian version of the show on the Seven Network with fellow British chaser Labbett.[4] Hegerty has made appearances on a number of other quiz shows, including Mastermind, Fifteen to One, Today's the Day, Are You an Egghead? and Brain of Britain.[5] As of October 2016, she was ranked 55th (and second among women) in the World Quizzing Championships.[6] In November 2013 she competed in the Bolton Premier Quiz League to become Brain of Bolton for the second time.[7] She also competes in the Online Quiz League for team Pericardium, placing 26th individually as of January 2023.[8] Hegerty was the "Phone A Friend" for a competitor, Lisa Harman from Ecclesfield, who was also a contestant on The Chase in 2009, on Who Wants to be A Millionaire in 2010; Harman won £75,000. Hegerty correctly answered the question about the author of Twilight, Stephenie Meyer.[9]

In December 2014, Hegerty appeared in the pantomime Cinderella as the Wicked Stepmother at the Grange Theatre in Northwich.[10] In December 2015, she appeared as Fleshcreep in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Civic Hall, Ellesmere Port,[11] which was also booked for performance at Heywood and Radcliffe. At Easter 2016, Hegerty appeared as the Enchantress in the pantomime Beauty and the Beast, alongside Keith Chegwin and Basil Brush, at the Palace Theatre, Redditch, which sold out, and other venues.[12] From 6 December 2016 until 1 January 2017, she appeared as Blackweed in the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk at the Kings Theatre, Southsea, Portsmouth.[13] From 8 to 31 December 2017, she appeared as The Empress of China in the pantomime Aladdin at the Princess Theatre (Torquay).[14] From 18 December 2018 until 6 January 2019, she appeared as Queen Rat in the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Theatre Royal (Windsor); Anita Harris played the role until Hegerty returned from I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here.[15][16] From 5 December 2019 to 5 January 2020, she appeared as Carabosse in the pantomime Sleeping Beauty at Middlesbrough Theatre.[17]

From January 2018 to May 2021, Hegerty presented Britain's Brightest Family on ITV.[18] Hegerty came in 75th place in the World Quizzing Championship of 2018,[19] and 122nd in 2019.[20] In November 2018, Hegerty participated in series 18 of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, where she finished in seventh place.[21][2] Outside of television, she appeared in a special video on YouTube with her whispering fan fiction for an ASMR video.[22]

Charity work

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In 2018, she joined 26 other celebrities at Metropolis Studios to record an original Christmas song called "Rock With Rudolph", written and produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn. The song was in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital. It was released digitally through independent record label Saga Entertainment in November 2018 under the artist name the Celebs. The music video debuted exclusively with The Sun on 29 November 2018 and had its first TV showing on Good Morning Britain on 30 November 2018.[23][24][25]

In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Hegerty rejoined the Celebs, which now included Frank Bruno and X Factor winner Sam Bailey, to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society and Action for Children. They recorded a new rendition of "Merry Christmas Everyone" by Shakin' Stevens and it was released digitally on 11 December 2020 by Saga Entertainment. The music video debuted on Good Morning Britain the day before the song's release.[26][27]

In 2021, Hegerty rejoined the Celebs to record a cover of the Beatles classic "Let It Be", a song produced by Grahame and Jack Corbyn assisted by Stephen Large. The song was recorded at Metropolis Studios, in support of Mind, and released on 3 December 2021 by Saga Entertainment. Hegerty was part of a choir of celebrities including Georgia Hirst, Ivan Kaye and Eunice Olumide who were backing EastEnders star Shona McGarty.[28][29][30]

In September 2022, Hegerty rejoined The Celebs alongside Faye Barker and Jo O'Meara to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, with a rendition of Michael Jackson's song "Thriller", marking the 40th anniversary of the album.[31]

Personal life

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Hegerty lives in Manchester.[2] She is a practising Catholic.[32] She is autistic, which was not diagnosed until 2003 when she was 45.[33]

In 2022, she featured on the ITV programme DNA Journey, when it was revealed that she is of Irish and Scottish descent, and is both a descendant of Robert the Bruce and a distant relative of Elizabeth II.[34]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1988 Mastermind Contestant 1 episode
2010–present The Chase Chaser / The Governess 17 series (regular)
13 series (celebrity)
2 series (family)
2015–present The Chase Australia Chaser / The Governess 9 series (regular)
1 series (celebrity)
2018–2021 Britain's Brightest Family Presenter 2 series (regular)
2 series (celebrity)
2018 I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! Contestant 5th place
2020–present Beat the Chasers Chaser / The Governess 6 series
2021 The Chasers Road Trip: Trains, Brains and Automobiles Herself 1 series
2021 Catchphrase: Celebrity Christmas Special Herself 1 episode

References

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  1. ^ Corbin, Tianna (28 April 2022). "The Chase: Anne Hegerty's extraordinary life before becoming 'The Governess'". Devon Live. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Povey, Tomos (13 November 2018). "Former Argus journalist Anne Hegerty to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  3. ^ Hegerty, Anne [@anne_hegerty] (5 June 2019). "I actually once wrote two books under the name Richard Scarry. (With his permission, I should add. He couldn't do EVERYTHING himself.) They were a bit rubbish and nobody bought them" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Knox, David (22 May 2017). "Secrets of Anne Hegerty's success". TV Tonight. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  5. ^ "The Chase: Meet the Chasers". Bradley Walsh.
  6. ^ "Results". worldquizzing.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  7. ^ Scoble, Andy (7 November 2013). "TV quiz champion named Brain of Bolton for second time". The Bolton News. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Online Quiz League UK - Individuals - Season 8 - QuizCentral.net". quizcentral.net. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  9. ^ Hegerty, Anne [@anne_hegerty] (6 January 2018). "Yes, everybody, that was me as a Phone a Friend on Lisa Harman's ep of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire tonight, recorded nearly eight years ago" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "Win tickets to Cinderella". Mid-Cheshire Independent. Independent Newspapers. 6 November 2014. Archived from the original on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  11. ^ "Ellesmere Port Dancers Star in Annual Panto". Chester Chronicle. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Beauty and the Beast at Redditch's Palace Theatre". Redditch and Alcester Advertiser. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  13. ^ "Cast climb to the stars in The Kings panto, Jack and the Beanstalk". Portsmouth News. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Aladdin Pantomime". By The Dart. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Dick Whittington". Theatre Royal, Windsor. Retrieved 6 January 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  16. ^ "Dick Whittington". Maidenhead Advertiser. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  17. ^ "ITV's Anne Hegerty chasing the panto dream in Sleeping Beauty". The Northern Echo. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Britain's Brightest Family Episode 1". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 4 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  19. ^ "Results – World Quizzing Championships".
  20. ^ World Quizzing Championships 2019
  21. ^ Deen, Sarah (5 December 2018). "Anne Hegerty is the fifth celebrity booted out of I'm A Celebrity jungle". Metro. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  22. ^ Ball, Jak (10 May 2019). "The Chase star Anne Hegerty whispers erotic fan fiction written about herself". Plymouth live. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  23. ^ Barker, Faye (30 November 2018). "TV stars sing for Great Ormond Street Christmas charity single". ITV News. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  24. ^ "Gail Porter discusses recording a celebrity charity single for Great Ormond Street Hospital". Female First. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  25. ^ TheCelebsVEVO (30 November 2018). "The Celebs – Rock With Rudolph". YouTube. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  26. ^ Sulway, Verity (10 November 2020). "Good Morning Britain stars show off their vocals in charity Christmas single". The Mirror. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  27. ^ TheCelebsVEVO (11 December 2020). "The Celebs – Merry Christmas Everyone". YouTube. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  28. ^ "Saga Entertainment and The Celebs have reunited, fronted by 'Shona Mcgarty' who sings a heart warming rendition of the Beatles classic 'Let It Be'". Discover Media Digital. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Supporting mental health charity MIND, 'The Celebs' release a beautiful Beatles cover 'Let it Be'". This Sound Nation Music Blog. TSN Radio. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  30. ^ ShonaMcGartyVEVO (3 December 2021). "Shona McGarty – Let It Be". Youtube. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Jo O'Meara celebrates the 40th anniversary of 'Thriller' with a spooktacular take". Prunderground.com. 28 September 2022.
  32. ^ "Japan". The Chasers' Road Trip: Trains, Brains and Automobiles. Episode 3. 4 February 2021. At time 36:35. ITV.
  33. ^ "I'm A Celeb's Anne Hegerty opens up about Autism". BBC News. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  34. ^ Morris, Lauren (5 April 2022). "Shaun Wallace embarks on emotional DNA Journey with Anne Hegerty". Radio Times. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
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