The Chase star Mark Labbett has revealed that following his stint on Celebs Go Dating and the gruelling hours, there’s one thing he’s going to change in his TV contracts.
Mark Labbett has revealed that he got ‘frustrated’ on the set of Celebs Go Dating amid the show’s long filming hours, leading to him apologising to his co-stars for bursts of anger on set.
The Chase star told Mirror that despite having spent 16 years on television, he found himself struggling with the demands of filming reality TV, which is much less structured than the quiz show he’s used to. “I’m used to being in a pre-planned environment on The Chase , where timings are strict, but reality TV can go on for longer and the days end up ending later than you think,” he explains.
“For me, the one thing I found was that you need a social battery recharge, and as someone on the spectrum, that’s something I really need,” continues Mark. He previously shared that he believes he is on the autism spectrum but hasn’t had a confirmed diagnosis. It comes after filming for the show was halted as Mark was hit on a health scare on set.
READ MORE: The Chase’s Mark Labbett forced to halt Celebs Go Dating filming after health scareREAD MORE: ITV The Chase’s Anne Hegerty on real reason she hopes no new Chaser joins show
Admitting that the long hours got the better of him, the trivia whiz – who is also known as The Beast – continues, “I got quite grumpy on set. I did apologise to everyone, but, in the future, I’d definitely have it in my contract that I need breaks to have a nap and recharge.”
“I’m very used to doing The Chase where it runs like clockwork, but coming into a location-based reality show where timing is a lot more flexible, like I said, I got moody. I’m also diabetic, so, I wear a glucose monitor and on one of the nights, my glucose level went off the scale,” says Mark, as his co-star Kerry Katona interjects, “And Mark went off the scale too!”
“Yeah, I did. And I did apologise to everyone afterwards, but, I realised that maybe that’s happening in my personal life also – when I can lose it a little. So, that was a learning curve.”
Despite his struggles with the filming schedule, Mark said he is looking forward to the show’s release, which will see him look for love on TV via the celebrity dating agency. It comes a rior to his relationship with Hayley, Mark was married for seven years to Katie Labbett,
The couple split in May 2024, just a week after celebrating their one year anniversary. P rior to his relationship with Hayley, Mark was married for seven years to Katie Labbett, and shares son Lawrence, who was born in 2018, with her. The former couple, who discovered they are second cousins years into the relationship, parted ways in 2020.
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