Anne Hegerty has disclosed how the Chasers get paid on the popular TV quiz, revealing that earnings are not guaranteed since the show’s stars do not receive a fixed salary.
Chatting to the Mirror at the TV Choice Awards on Monday, Anne, 66, who has an estimated net worth of £3.2 million, disclosed that she and her fellow chasers are not keen on welcoming a new member to their ranks anytime soon. And the reason? They’re paid per show, so any newcomer would be paid from that same pot.
The I’m A Celebrity contestant elaborated: “We are paid per show, so we’re not on a salary. It’s not as if they’re going to up the budget and add a new salary, a new chaser would just mean the same number of shows shared between more people – so less money for everyone. So, hope not!”
Despite the potential for a cut in earnings with the introduction of a new Chaser, Anne made it clear that she harbours no resentment towards Darragh Ennis, who became part of the team in 2020, a decade after Anne’s own debut. “You know, Darragh has been a very good new addition, he’s very popular, and that’s worthwhile,” she commented.
Anne was forthcoming about her relationship with the other intellectual titans on the programme, too. While they are known for their rivalry on screen, Anne confirmed they are pals off-air, reports the Mirror.
“We know each other, and certainly on Beat the Chasers we tend to hang out a lot, because we’re all there at the same time,” she revealed.
Despite not drawing a regular salary from her work on The Chase, the financial success of her company, Frosty Knickers Ltd, is all too clear, with reports in August 2023 disclosing over £807,000 in the bank. However, Anne is not one to splash the cash.
Discussing her spending last year, she said: “I’m half Scottish. We don’t spend money and, being a fat person, I can only buy from certain places,” she joked. “I like my money sitting in my bank and representing a bit of security. I don’t see the point in sloshing money around. I’m not frugal, I’d actually say I’m mean.”
Old habits may be hard to beat, as prior to her rise to television fame, she fell on tough times as a journalist, saying she was ““getting more and more swamped by admin and losing more work”.
However, this savvy saver doesn’t scrimp on everything, splurging on first class and business flights, as well as treating herself to ‘Club Med’ when she travels.