Mark Labbett

Mark Labbett
Born Mark Labbett
15 August 1965
Tiverton, Devon, England[1]
Residence Moorgate, Rotherham[2]
Occupation Television personality
Notable credit(s) The Chase (2009—)
The Chase USA (2013—)
Height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Weight 380 lb (170 kg)[3]
Spouse(s) Katie
(m. 2014–present)
Website
Official website

Mark Labbett (born 15 August 1965) is an English television personality best known for his role as a "Chaser" on the ITV game show The Chase in the UK. He took up this role in 2009 and became the sole Chaser on the show's American counterpart in 2013. He has also appeared in several television quiz shows, and is a regular in quizzing competitions.

Career

Labbett obtained an MA in mathematics from Oxford University, a PGCE in secondary education from the University of Exeter, and a CPE and LPC (qualifications in law) from the University of Glamorgan.[4] He taught in secondary schools, and worked as a supply teacher in maths and physical education.[5]

Labbett became interested in quizzing when working at Butlins holiday camp, where he supplemented his income with winnings from the quiz machines.[6] His pub quiz team won a weekend in Paris in April 2001 after competing in the national competition, Jumbo Quiz.[7]

Labbett works as a question writer for Redtooth, a quiz company from Barlborough near Chesterfield. After two years of part-time work as a promoter for them, he moved to South Yorkshire in 2013 in order to work more often with them.[2]

Television

Labbett appeared on Mastermind in 1999, where his specialist subject was the Olympic Games.[8] He appeared again on Mastermind in 2000, with the animated television show The Simpsons as his specialist subject.[9]

In 2004 he won £500 on the Channel 5 show BrainTeaser, and a year later he won £1,500 on BBC One's SUDO-Q.[6] In 2005, he won £32,000 on Millionaire Live, a live version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? that toured seaside resorts throughout the summer.[6][10] As captain, he led the Welsh quiz team to fifth place in the 2006 European Quizzing Championships.[5] In 2007, he was ranked as the 17th top quizzer in the country.[5]

Labbett's team, the Rugby Boys, won BBC Four's Only Connect in 2009.[11] Other television appearances include The National Lottery People's Quiz (2007) where he came second in the grand final,[12] Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,[13] where he won £32,000 and University Challenge.[8]

The Chase

See also: The Chase

Labbett is one of the "Chasers" in the ITV teatime quiz The Chase, first broadcast in 2009 and hosted by Bradley Walsh. In the show, his nickname is "The Beast",[14] a two-pronged nickname referencing both his stature and his surname (Labbett sounds like the French la bête meaning "the beast"). He stars alongside fellow Chasers Shaun Wallace (a.k.a. "The Dark Destroyer"), Anne Hegerty (a.k.a. "The Governess"), and Paul Sinha (a.k.a. "The Sinnerman").

Since August 2013, Labbett has appeared as the only Chaser on the U.S. version of The Chase airing on the Game Show Network hosted by Brooke Burns.

Quiz ranking

In 2012, Labbett was ranked 81st in the World Quizzing Championships.[15]

Personal life

Born and raised in Tiverton, Devon, Labbett moved to Newport, Wales, in 1998, before eventually moving to Moorgate, Rotherham, in South Yorkshire, where he currently lives.[2] He is married to Katie and has two younger brothers, Paul and Phil. While appearing on an episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, he said that Phil is the tallest of the family at 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 m). Labbett is 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) tall and weighs 26 stone (360 lb).

References

  1. ↑ Mark Labbett Welsh Radio Interview - YouTube
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Chase’s Beast moves to South Yorkshire". The Star (Sheffield). 2 January 2013.
  3. ↑ Labbett, Mark. "Twitter - Mark Labbett". Twitter. Retrieved 2014-07-29. where is my invite? at a legitimate 380lbs I am by far the biggest heel on UK television!
  4. ↑ "Biography". Mark "The Beast" Labbett. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "The People's Quiz 2007". BBC. April 2007. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Papworth, Jill (27 January 2007). "Lucky break? Don't leave it to chance". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  7. ↑ Smale, Will (17 April 2001). "PUB QUIZ TEAM IS GIVEN PRIZE GRILLING". South Wales Echo (Western Mail and Echo Ltd). p. 16.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hutchinson, Clare (13 October 2009). "'Come on, Paxman, if you think you're hard enough...' says wicked Humphrys ; Questions at 20 paces in quiz duel - and we'll even make it easy for you Humphrys". The Western Mail (Western Mail and Echo Ltd). p. 14.
  9. ↑ PRICE, KAREN (6 August 2004). "MASTERMIND ACCUSED OF SELLING OUT IN RATINGS FIGHT". Western Mail (Western Mail and Echo Ltd). p. 10.
  10. ↑ Hedge, John Paul (5 September 2005). "Winners walk off with two cars and £16k". Herald Express (Torquay: Herald Express (Torquay)). p. 4.
  11. ↑ "NEWSBRIEF". South Wales Echo (Western Mail and Echo Ltd). 1 September 2009. p. 6.
  12. ↑ Bjortomt, Olav (23 June 2007). "Your starter for £200,000 (subscription required)". The Times (The Knowledge) (Times Newspapers Limited). p. 33.
  13. ↑ Heritage, Stuart (28 June 2010). "The Chase: how to make the perfect daytime gameshow". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  14. ↑ "Quiz beast appearance". Bristol Evening Post (Bristol United Press). 12 May 2012. p. 19.
  15. ↑ World Quizzing Championships 2012 - Results

External links