| Shaun Wallace | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shaun Bartholemew Wallace 22 March 1965 Upminster, London |
| Occupation | Television personality, barrister |
| Known for | The Chase, Mastermind |
Shaun Bartholemew Wallace (born 22 March 1965) is a British television personality currently active within the UK quiz scene. Wallace works as a barrister when not taking part in quizzes or game shows. Wallace is also a part time lecturer and often visits schools, colleges and other institutions to educate students on the many aspects of law.
Wallace is of mixed Jamaican, Grenadian and Barbadian heritage.
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In 2004, he became a champion of the long running BBC general knowledge quiz Mastermind, which also tests a contestants aptitude on a subject of their choice. His specialist subject in the final was FA Cup Finals.
Wallace was a finalist on the first series of Are You an Egghead?, narrowly losing out to Barry Simmons.
Other shows that he has been a contestant on include Fifteen to One and The Weakest Link.[1]
Currently, he is one of the four 'Chasers' on the ITV teatime game show The Chase, alongside his good friend Mark Labbett, from series 2 onward, Anne Hegerty (who was a semi-finalist on series 2 of Are You an Egghead?) and Paul Sinha.
Wallace has worked as a barrister since 1986. It has been implied on several occasions that his work has covered some relatively high-profile cases, and he has confirmed that he has taken part in hearings held at both the Old Bailey as well as several Magistrates' Courts located in the UK and Scotland. He is a member of Farringdon Barristers Chambers.
Wallace is a senior criminal defence advocate of 25 years with experience in a wide range of serious criminal cases from murder (in particular, Operation Trident cases, where he is highly regarded), manslaughter, serious sexual offences, fraud, money laundering, firearms and drug trafficking. He has lectured in Environmental Law, Health and Safety and Road Transport Law and Regulations. In addition he is familiar with all aspects of the Proceeds of Crime Act, including restraint, confiscation and enforcement. Wallace frequently leads in multi-handed cases. He is known for his work rate, pleasant manner with clients (an attitude which is the direct opposite to the facade he purposely adopts when facing contestants on The Chase) and his persuasive court style. Wallace is also a member of the south-eastern circuit of the Criminal Bar Association. Owing to his heritage, he has been a member of the Jamaican Bar since 1999.[1]
In 2005, Wallace stood as an independent parliamentary candidate, campaigning to be elected MP for the Brent South constituency.[2]
He visited Walworth Academy Sixth Form on 1st December 2011 to motivate students in not to give up on their goals.
Born in Upminster on 22 March 1965, he grew up in Wembley. Wallace now lives in West Brompton, London. His personal life is kept purposely shrouded in mystery by the producers of The Chase, as this helps to maintain his on screen persona of being an unsociable, unsmiling 'Dark Destroyer' who, as Bradley Walsh sarcastically proclaimed during one episode "made the difficult decision between becoming a nerdy know-it-all or having a social life". It is unknown whether he is married or even has a partner, although he has revealed on The Chase that he owns three Labrador Retrievers and enjoys kayaking and playing football in his spare time. He has also commented upon how his family originally hail from the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Grenada and Barbados. Wallace is an ardent supporter of Chelsea F.C. and often attends their home matches, living just two miles away from their stadium, Stamford Bridge. He considers his strongest subjects to be sports, entertainment and British Monarchs. In series 2 of The Chase, he revealed his middle name to be Bartholemew.