The Chase star Mark Labbett ‘can’t believe’ he’s with girlfriend and says he's a 'very lucky man'

The Chase star Mark Labbett has opened up about his relationship, admitting he ‘can’t believe’ he’s with girlfriend.

Also known as ‘The Beast’ from the ITV quiz show, he says he’s a ‘very lucky man’.

The 58-year-old has been one of the chasers on the show hosted by Bradley Walsh since 2009.

During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Labbett split from his wife Katie, with whom he shares five-year-old son Lawrence.

He and Katie (his second cousin) married back in 2014. He previously opened up about her affair and that he’d attempted an open marriage with her but it didn’t work.

And now Labbett is very happily in a relationship with Hayley Palmer, 42.

He started dating the GB News entertainment reporter nine months ago.

And while she lives in London, The Chase star stays based in Rotherham close by to Lawrence.

Ricky Vigil / Stringer / Getty Images

The pair first met at the National Television Awards and he apparently woo’d her by showing off his Toby Carvery Gold Card - yes the coveted card allowing people to eat for free at the roast dinner chain.

Labbett is often bowled over by Palmer, telling The Sun: “I mean, look at her.

“I keep finding myself going, ‘Hang on, we’re actually going out?’.

“I don’t want to make her blush, but 15 years ago I was a maths teacher, I was 29st.

“I’m a very, very lucky man. I’ve got the job I was born to do and, in Hayley, someone to share it all with.”

The chaser often wows fans with his incredible weight loss, having lost a whopping 10 stone in recent years.

Instagram/@markthebeastlabbett

Palmer has also previously gushed over this, saying: “He looks incredible, I’m so proud of him. He looks really good."

But of course, Labbett still has kept his love for food and joked in the interview: “The most important rule of all is we get on really well.

“But our golden rule is we don’t share chips. There might be the odd occasion with a sharing platter, but we’ve had the argument.

“I’m a big believer in truffle and Parmesan fries whereas Hayley’s a chunky chips girl."

Having previously met Palmer’s parents, Labbett said they’re ‘both just really happy together’.

The GB News reporter has also met his fellow Chasers, saying: “I’ve met the other Chasers - Anne really has made me feel so welcome.

“We’ve been out together and get on so well.”

Topics: The Chase, Celebrity, TV and Film, Sex and Relationships

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_