Beat the Chasers’ newest addition Issa Schultz has revealed the advice Anne Hegerty gave him after he replaced her on the upcoming season.
ITV confirmed yesterday that the Governess would not be appearing in the new run of Beat the Chasers after testing positive for COVID-19 the week filming started.
Instead, Schultz – who is a Chaser on Australia’s version of The Chase and Beat the Chaser – will be filling in for her while she self-isolates.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com on the first day of filming, Schultz said that Hegerty had been “incredibly supportive” of him joining the show.
“I can’t believe I’m here. Frankly, [I’m] excited and flattered that they asked me. I’ve always dreamed to come on the UK version in some regard when the Aussie one started because as a dual citizen, it’s a great opportunity.
“So with that in the back of my mind, I was sort of like, ‘Yes! At last!’ but the circumstances were unfortunate obviously.”
When asked whether Hegerty gave him any advice ahead of filming, he said: “We have a shared messenger group, we’ve had it for years, and – what did she say? Gosh. I think she just said, ‘Be yourself.’
“She said, ‘That’s what makes you work on the Australian Chase, you being yourself.’ A lot of people say that and I’ve never really understood why that is. You can’t be yourself from the outside-in really, can you?”
He continued: “They just said, ‘Be Issa. Australia love it, hopefully the UK will as well.’ What you see is what you get, I’m no actor.”
Schultz, who is nicknamed the Supernerd, has been with The Chase Australia since the show began in 2015, taking on contestants alongside UK Chasers Hegerty and Mark Labbett.
He is an eight-time winner of the Australian Quizzing Championships and has appeared on Hell’s Kitchen Australia, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and The Einstein Factor.
Beat the Chasers airs on ITV later this year. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
The latest issue of Radio Times is on sale now – subscribe now to get each issue delivered to your door. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.