Beat The Chasers fans baffled as Anne Hegerty is missing from show with Australian Chaser Issa Schultz taking her seat

BEAT The Chasers fans have been left scratching their heads after Anne Hegerty failed to appear on the show.

Chasers Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Jenny Ryan, Paul Sinha and Darragh Ennis were all ready and waiting to take on a new batch of contestants on Monday night.

But Anne - aka The Governess - was noticeably absent from her seat.

Beat The Chasers host Bradley Walsh even said: "The Governess, where...what's the matter with The Governess? Anyone?"

Paul, aka The Sinnerman, replied: "No one really knows where she is at the moment, but if anyone spots her, the public are warned not to approach under any circumstances."

Star of The Chase Australia Issa Schultz, aka Super Nerd, was then brought in to fill Anne's empty chair.

Taking to Twitter, fans admitted they were puzzled as to the 63-year-old star's whereabouts.

One tweeted: "Just tuned into #BeatTheChasers ... WHERE IS ANNE?????"

Another asked: "Wondering where anne is tbh..."

Commenting on Issa's appearance, a third said: "Who’s this new guy!? Where’s Anne?"

And a fourth chimed in: "Missed the start #BeatTheChasers whos this new one and where’s Anne?"

Anne was in fact missing from The Chase's spin-off show Beat The Chasers due to Covid.

The star caught coronavirus and had to self-isolate when the mini-series was being filmed, meaning she had to pull out.

She tweeted at the time: "Unfortunately I’ve contracted Covid-19 so won’t be filming this series of #BeatTheChasers."

Thankfully, Anne made a swift recovery from Covid and tuned in to watch her co-stars and Issa on Monday night.

Taking to Twitter before the show aired, she told her fans: "Less than two hours until #BeattheChasers on ITV at 9pm! Exciting personnel change!"

Anne then reassured her followers that she is back on her feet and completely over her bout of Covid.

"I only tested positive for nine days, I’m fine now!" she confirmed.

• Beat The Chasers continues at 9pm on ITV1, Tuesday May 17, 2022