Beat the odds
‘I was told I’d end up in prison’ reveals The Chase’s Shaun Wallace as he shares rare insight into private life
Shaun, who was the first black person to win Mastermind in 2004, said that he was proud of the colour of his skin.
THE Chase star Shaun Wallace has revealed that his school careers teacher brutally dismissed his job prospects and told him he was going to end up in prison.
The quizzer, known as the Dark Destroyer, dreamed of being a lawyer from the age of ten after watching TV courtroom dramas.
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But he was bluntly told that he would end up being on the wrong side of the law instead.
“She said to me in a really cold and dismissive manner: 'Wallace, what do you want to be when you leave school?’” Shaun told Kaye Adams on her How to be 60 podcast.
“I said: ‘I want to be a lawyer.’ She looked at me and said: You? A lawyer? At best, you’re going to end up stacking shelves.
“Someone like you is going to end up in prison.
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“To be told as a 15 year-old you’re going to amount to nothing more than a criminal was heartbreaking to say the very least, but even as a 15 year old-kid I thought - nobody’s controlling my destiny.”
Shaun has appeared alongside Bradley Walsh as a chaser on the popular teatime game show since 2009.
But alongside his TV career, he is also a top barrister.
He said: “I mean, she was right about me ending up in prison. Only after seeing my client, I can go home again.
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Shaun, 63, grew up in Wembley, north west London with his parents who immigrated to the UK from Jamaica.
He went to his local secondary school, and when he initially applied to law school, he was rejected, but he insists he wouldn’t change a thing.
“In terms of setbacks, the disappointments, the failures, the successes, why would I want to change it? Why would I want to live a life whereby everything is handed to you on a plate? Who’d want that?” he told How to be 60.
“I think you get a greater sense of accomplishment climbing from nowhere to achieving something, and I’m thankful for that.”
Shaun, who was the first black person to win Mastermind in 2004, said that he was proud of the colour of his skin.
He said: “I don’t think there’s a prouder person. If I had my life again, I’d want to be born black, I’m so proud. I’m proud of the areas that I grew up in and so proud that I still live on the same road 60 years after I moved here.”
Shaun has competed on a host of TV quiz shows, including Fifteen to One, The Weakest Link and Are you an Egghead?
Away from the screen, he has always been private about his home life, but sharing a rare glimpse into his life away from the TV, he told Kaye that the reason he had never tied the knot was because he was married to his job.
“I’m in a relationship, but I’m not married. I’m married to my career and I like that and I prefer that and I’m happier,” he said.
He also insisted he had no regrets about missing out on fatherhood.
“When I was a young struggling barrister, I didn’t think it was right to bring up a child when you’re trying to climb to the top of that greasy pole and I’ve never regretted that decision,” he explained.
“I’ve got 15 godchildren – two of them are called Shaun. I’m the best godfather in the world. I probably would have been a great dad, but I’ve got no regrets in relation to that.
“I do have an ex-partner whose daughter I’ve raised since the age of two. She’s the closest thing to my daughter.
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“I’ve watched her grow into a wonderful young lady. She got a doctorate the other day. I was there and she calls me dad.”
Kaye Adams: How to be 60 is available on all podcast providers.
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