Mark Labbett

Mark Andrew Labbett (born 15 August 1965) is a British quiz contestant television personality. He is a "chaser" on the ITV game show The Chase, starting in 2009. He subsequently appeared on the American version as their sole chaser in 2013 and as one of six chasers on the Australian version since 2016. His nickname on these shows is "The Beast".

Labbett has appeared as a contestant on several other television quiz shows and is a regular in quizzing competitions.

Mark Andrew Labbett was born in Tiverton, Devon, to Carolyn and Jon Labbett. He has two younger brothers, Paul and Philip.

Labbett obtained a Master of Arts degree in mathematics from Exeter College, Oxford, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) in secondary education from the University of Exeter and legal CPE and LPC qualifications from the University of Glamorgan (now the University of South Wales).

Teaching

Labbett taught school as a mathematics and physical education supply teacher.

Quizzing

Labbett became interested in quizzing when working at Butlins holiday camp, where he supplemented his income with winnings from the quiz machines. His pub quiz team won a weekend in Paris in April 2001 after competing in the national competition Jumbo Quiz.

He works as a question writer for Redtooth, a quiz company from Barlborough near Chesterfield in Derbyshire. After two years of part-time work as a promoter for them, he moved to South Yorkshire in 2013 in order to work more often with them, but he no longer lives there.

Labbett appeared on Mastermind in 1999, where his specialist subject was the Olympic Games. He appeared again on Mastermind in 2000, with the animated television show The Simpsons as his specialist subject. Also in 2000, he competed on Countdown, narrowly losing his first game on a crucial conundrum. In 2001 he appeared on Stake Out, where he was the second contestant eliminated during the Face Off round. In 2003, he appeared on Grand Slam, where he lost against Clive Spate in his first match.

In 2004, he won £500 on the Channel 5 show BrainTeaser, and a year later he won £1,500 on BBC One's SUDO-Q. In 2005, he won £32,000 on Millionaire Live, a live version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? that toured seaside resorts throughout the summer. As captain, he led the Welsh quiz team to fifth place in the 2006 European Quizzing Championships. In 2007, he was ranked as the 17th top quizzer in the country.

Labbett's team, the Rugby Boys, won BBC Four's Only Connect in 2009. Other television appearances include The National Lottery People's Quiz (2007) where he came second in the grand final, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, where he won £32,000, University Challenge and Are You an Egghead?.

In 2012, Labbett was ranked 89th in the World Quizzing Championships.

In 2016, Labbett took part in the three-part ITV series Sugar Free Farm, when he revealed he has false teeth, as a result of eating too much sugar. That same year, it was announced that he would become a producer for Hull-based wrestling promotion New Generation Wrestling (NGW).

The Chase

Labbett is one of the "chasers" in the ITV teatime quiz The Chase, first broadcast in 2009 and hosted by Bradley Walsh. In the show, his nickname is "The Beast", a two-pronged nickname referencing both his stature and his surname (Labbett sounds like the French la bête, meaning "the beast").

In August 2013, Labbett appeared as the only chaser on the U.S. version of The Chase on Game Show Network. He also appears as one of the seven chasers on the Australian version of The Chase on the Seven Network, alongside fellow UK chasers Anne Hegerty and Shaun Wallace. His weakest subject revolves around horse racing and soap opera. He noted that the American version posed far more difficulties for him, as American game shows typically allow far more competent contestants than British or Australian shows; he stated that his most challenging opponent was James Holzhauer, co-winner of the American version of The Chase and later a famous Jeopardy! contestant.

Labbett moved to Caldicot, Monmouthshire, in 1998 and then to nearby Newport in 2003 before moving to Moorgate, Rotherham, in 2013. He resides in or near Herefordshire. He is Type-II diabetic.

Labbett married his wife, Katie, who is his second cousin and 27 years his junior, in October 2014 at Arundel Cathedral. They have a son. The couple reportedly separated in 2019 but reconciled for the sake of their son.

Labbett's favourite football team is Sheffield United.

Guest appearances

• Mastermind (1999, 2000) – contestant
• Countdown (2000) – contestant
• Stake Out (2001) – contestant
• Grand Slam (2003) – contestant
• BrainTeaser (2004) – contestant
• SUDO-Q (2005) – contestant
• University Challenge – contestant
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (2006) – contestant
• The National Lottery People's Quiz (2007) – contestant
• Are You an Egghead? (2008) – contestant
• Only Connect (2009) – contestant
• Sugar Free Farm (2016) – participant
• Tipping Point: Lucky Stars (2016) – contestant
• Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief (2017) – participant
• Celebrity Juice (2017) – participant