ITV The Chase's Anne Hegerty shares truth behind 'criminal' dad's 'fake identity'

Anne Hegerty shared that her late dad liked to think he had a "criminal" past and would "romanticise" his life by pretending to be someone else. The quizzer, famous for her persona of The Governess on ITV's The Chase, opened up on her childhood in a brand new episode of the tea time show.

Host Bradley Walsh welcomed on four new players - Joseph, Lynda, Patrick and Lesley - as Anne shared a snippet into her life before finding fame.

Giving the rare insight into her childhood and family life, Anne told Bradley: "My father got his collar felt because he was using the alias 'John Marcombe'. Don't ask me why my father had an alias."

She explained: "He wasn't a criminal, he just thought it was romantic to appear to be a criminal."

Stonefaced, Bradley replied: "My dad was a roofer." Anne expanded more on her family history as she continued: "Well my dad was technically a carpet fitter and also a mini cab driver, but he liked to romanticise that he was something far more interesting than that."

The 66-year-old quizzer previously opened up on her relationship with her dad, branding him a "deadbeat" as she revealed that he left the family via a letter. In an episode of ITV’s DNA Journey, the 65-year-old opened up about her childhood.

She revealed: ”My dad left home just before Christmas. He left my mother a note saying, ‘For Christmas 1970, one house free from husband’."

Anne has often spoken in the past about her father, who died in September 2017 at the age of 90.

Whilst on the White Wine Question Time podcast with Kate Thornton, she said: “In many ways, my dad was a deadbeat.

“He was a man who spent his entire life doing his best never to have more than £6,000 at a time, because if you had more than that then you couldn’t get the money from the social.

“To him, the function of life was to live on the welfare state. He basically felt ‘Why should I work when the government will give me money to not work?’”

However, she also shared that her dad was once a huge part of her support system - especially when she was diagnosed with Aspergers at the age of 47.

She told The Mirror in 2019: “My dad was the one who told me ‘You can do this’ and ‘I’m sure one day you will accomplish something.’

“He died last September. I got on well with him. He was such a pain in so many ways but he was the only person who told me I could do things.

"He was thrilled about my success and I wish I had more time to spend with him. He would have liked that.”

The Chase airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX from 5pm