The Chase star Mark Labbett certainly is a trivia whizz, however, his ‘cocky’ personality let him down when he wanted to star on Countdown.
The 57-year-old quizzer has been a Chaser on the UK version of the programme since it began back in 2009.
He’s also featured on spin-offs in the US and Australia, with the franchise remaining popular with audiences worldwide.
However, former Countdown runner-up turned producer Mark Nyman recalled the moment he turned Mark away from the show.
‘He was really good at the numbers at the interview, but he was average on the letters,’ he said.
‘In borderline cases, I would go on personality and it wasn’t that I didn’t like him, I just thought he was a bit cocky. So I rejected him. But if there were borderline cases, I would always give them a second go… and he did try again and he got through the second time round.’
Glad it all worked out in the end!
This comes after Mark claimed he’s been turned down from I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! several times due to his weight.
The quizmaster enlisted a personal trainer to aid with his weight loss transformation, resulting in him losing 63kg over a year.
However, he admits his weight previously prevented him from taking on TV opportunities, such as the Ant and Dec reality show.
Speaking at the 2022 National Television Awards, Mark said he was asked to apply for the show on four occasions, but was told ‘no’ because of his weight.
He told Daily Star on the red carpet: ‘I’m getting a bit jacked off about that. Especially now that I’m down to the weight I am.’
Explaining why he believes I’m A Celeb turned him away, he added: ‘They really worry on I’m A Celebrity about big stars who have shut down. They don’t allow for the fact that a guy like me, 3000 calories is a diet.’
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