The Chase fans convinced they’ve solved secret meaning behind Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett’s nickname

FANS of ITV’s The Chase are convinced they’ve finally worked out the true meaning of Mark Labbett’s beastly nickname. 

The 57-year-old chaser is best known by his nickname, The Beast, which fans often thought was because of his build and stature as he’s 6ft6in tall. 

Former supply teacher Mark shares the screen with five other chasers who are all known by their unique nicknames - The Menace, The Governess, The Vixen, The Dark Destroyer, and The Sinnerman.

Mark and Shaun Wallace — aka The Dark Destroyer — are the only chasers to have appeared on the ITV quiz since it launched in 2009. 

Over the years fans have wondered how exactly the team got their nicknames which were assigned to them by The Chase bosses. 

Many believed that Mark’s came from his beast-like nature and large stature. 

His fellow chaser, Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha, fuelled this belief, revealing on an episode of This Morning that “he scares the bejesus out of the contestants so we call him The Beast”.

Along with his official nickname, Mark is also called Beastie Boy, The Transatlantic Giant and The Bad Boy of Quizzing. 

All of these nicknames allude to his temperament and towering height. However, fans are convinced that’s not the real meaning behind his name.

One fan said: “You think The Beast is called that because he is almost 7ft tall and a big chap. But ‘La Bete’ means ‘The Beast’ in French.” 

Viewers believe it actually comes from a clever wordplay on his surname, rather than his demeanour. 

Another fan previously shared that they’d been watching Mark on The Chase since 2009 and had only recently worked this out as well. 

They said: “I have watched almost every episode of The Chase since it started airing in 2009.

“And I am only TODAY learning that Mark Labbett is called The Beast cos ‘la bête’ is French for ‘the beast’, not just because he is a portly gentleman.”

In response, another fan said: “This genuinely thrills me.”

A former contestant also interjected, saying, “I was literally up against The Beast in 2010 and only learned this at a later date.”

Fellow chaser Paul Sinha, who joined the show in 2011, was assigned his nickname, The Sinnerman, from The Chase bosses, and it is also a play on his surname.

However, Anne Hegerty previously revealed on Loose Women that host Bradley Walsh gave her the name The Governess.

She had actually been assigned the name The Headmistress by show bosses when she joined in 2010.

But, “during rehearsals Brad started occasionally referring to me as The Governess,” she revealed.

The chaser added that she preferred the new nickname because it was a little bit “kinkier”.

The Chase continues on weekdays on ITV at 5pm.