The Chase's Anne Hegerty asked blunt question by co-star after 'beating him'

The Chase's Anne Hegerty has said she was asked a blunt question by one of her ITV co-stars while at a quizzing competition.

Anne, who turns 67 today, was talking to Clayton Bjelan on his podcast Towards Understanding discussing her career when she discussed bumping into one of her colleagues who told her about a new programme he was filming for ITV. She said: "[One] month I went to the British end of the world championships in which I did pretty well and I went to the bar to get a drink before lunch.

"As I stepped inside the bar I was greeted by what I've since described as the largest man I've ever seen in my life and he said 'Hi! My name's Mark Labbett, you beat me last month, who are you?'

"He said, 'I've just finished recording the pilot series for this show' and he described the format."

Since Anne joined The Chase, the show Mark had filmed the pilot series for as one of the Chasers in 2010, she has become a fan favourite and continued to remain on the show.

Anne signed up to The Chase one year after Mark made his debut in 2009 and together they now have significant public profiles.

She has also appeared on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! and discussed the impact of an unplanned rise to fame, one which includes a lot of socialising.

She told Best magazine: "There are times when I would like to have a less social life than I do. The thing is, I could say 'No' more, so really, that's on me. I'd quite like it if things were not so busy, but then if they weren't so busy, I'd worry."

Anne, who also appears on the Australian version of The Chase with Mark, has also discussed how her autism diagnosis affects her personal life.

In an interview on The Chasers Road Trip she talked about one relationship of hers that lasted four months and how she felt about her approach to romantic dynamics.

She said: "He was a lovely bloke but I am just not good with the sort of attention that people need."

In another interview with OK! Magazine she added: "I fall in love with historical or fictional characters. People I can put a bit of distance between.

"I get overwhelmed in the presence of actual people and everything shuts down. I've found that with sex, too. It's like I can't be fully in it. That much intimacy, I almost zone out."