Beat The Chasers saw a fresh face on the show, as quiz heavyweight Issa 'The Supernerd' Schultz stepped in for Anne 'The Governess' Hegerty, who had to step aside from the series. Friday's episode, 1 November, is a repeat of an old episode featuring Issa. Coming all the way from down under, Issa will be no stranger to fans of the Australian version of The Chase and he dazzled UK viewers with his impressive trivia skills as part of the Beat The Chasers cast.
With an intimidating record of eight wins at the Australian Quizzing Championships under his belt from 2011 to 2021, and appearances on shows like The Rich List and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Issa adds some serious competition.
Joining Issa at the table are the familiar faces of Chasers Mark 'The Beast' Labbett, Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan, Paul 'The Sinnerman' Sinha, Darragh 'The Menace' Ennis, and Shaun 'The Dark Destroyer' Wallace.
Previously, Shaun warmly welcomed Issa onto the team through social media saying: "The Super Nerd was just super! Issa it was an absolute pleasure to work with you again. I hope that will happen sooner rather than later."
Issa responded with equal camaraderie: "So awesome sitting alongside you good sir! Your knowledge is sensational and you made me feel right at home. Looking forward to next time.", reports the Mirror.
When the episode was first filmed back in 2022, Anne took to Twitter to share the unfortunate news that she's had to step back from filming the latest series of Beat The Chasers due to Covid-19. She tweeted: "Unfortunately I've contracted Covid-19 so won't be filming this series of #BeatTheChasers." She also revealed that Issa will be filling in for her.
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Anne didn't leave her fans in the dark for long, as she quickly updated them on her recovery progress. On Saturday, she posted a snap of a lateral flow test on Twitter, showing a negative result, and cheerfully added: "#thechase #beatthechasers #lurgyfree #butstillselfisolating." Anne has been a staple on The Chase since 2010, contributing to hundreds of episodes.
The original series kicked off in June 2009 with Mark Labbett and Shaun Wallace as the initial quiz titans. The spin-off, Beat The Chasers, first hit our screens in April 2020, and they're already on their fifth series.
