The Chase's Anne Hegerty spills on iconic show moment which was almost axed

recalled a now infamous moment on which almost didn't make it into the final edit.

The professional quizzer, 66, joined the show in 2010 and is now known to contestants and viewers as The Governess.

Reflecting on some of the most memorable contestants to have appeared on The Chase, Anne revealed Keith Allen was amongst her favourites. The Welsh actor, 71, took part in the celebrity edition of the show alongside Matt Allwright, Louise Minchin and in 2016.

Speaking to Express.co.uk at the Pride of Britain Awards, Anne said: "Some celebrity contestants stick in my mind. I very much enjoyed the celeb episode that Keith Allen was on."

The TV star recalled: "Before I went up, the writer at the back of the stage said, 'I've got this great line. You'll never get it past the edit but see if you can slot it in at some point to see if you can amuse the audience.'"

The one-liner was related to Fat Les, the British band consisting of Keith, Blur bassist Alex James and Damien Hurst. When the opportunity came up, Anne delivered a hilarious remark which left the four contestants crying with laughter.

Referencing Keith's pop career, Anne said: "Do you find that people shout Fat Les at you in the street? Because they do to me."

Anne admitted the joke was incredibly well received by Keith, adding: "He laughed so much I thought he was going to soil himself. I'm very proud having made him laugh that much."

Despite being told there was minimal chance the joke would stay in the show, Anne revealed how one of the producers did everything in her power to make sure viewers got to see it.

"Then when I came downstairs, the producer was there and said she was going to do whatever she could to keep that in and it did stay in," the chaser said.

Anne also opened up about her first audition, revealing she pleaded with the job centre to pay for her train fare so that she could make it.

Recalling the audition process, Anne said: "I had to do four auditions. When I found out they were definitely doing a second series, I contacted the producer as I understood they were looking for a female chaser.

"I checked a few months before and then we exchanged three emails that morning and she asked me to come down. A friend of mine had also been asked to audition but didn't bother going because they weren't paying the train fare."

The I'm A Celebrity star continued: "So I knew they would not pay the train fare for the first audition so I actually went to the job centre and said, 'Please pay my train fare'. And they actually did.

"So the first audition was paid for by the job centre and the next three they actually paid for me to come down."