The Chase has swiftly become one of the nations favourite ITV game show's of all time.
On the programme, contestants must face one of seven professional quizzer's known as 'chasers' – who will do anything in their power to prevent players from winning a cash prize.
Due to the popularity of the show, quizzers Mark Labbett (The Beast), Shaun Wallace (The Destroyer), Anne Hegerty (The Governess), Paul Sinha (The Sinnerman), Jenny Ryan (The Vixen) and in more recent times Darragh Ennis (The Menace) have all rocketed to stardom, with many appearing in spin-off TV series as a result.
The chaser's have become such an intriguing bunch with viewers wanting to know increasingly more about their lives off of camera.
One star in particular has attracted a lot of attention due to a whopping 10 stone weight loss but what do we really know about The Beast who signed up to the programme in 2009.
So here… the Daily Star explores the secret life of Mark Labbet's private life – from wedding his cousin, an incredible transformation and a shocking diabetes diagnosis, we have it all.
In the beginning
In 1965 Mark was the first born child of Carolyn and Jon Labbett and has two younger brothers Paul and Philip.
The family lived in Tiverton, Devon before moving to Monmouthshire in 1998 which was soon followed by another transition to Newport in 2003.
By way of education, the TV star has obtained quite a stack of certificates, having received a Master of Arts degree in mathematics at Exeter college in Oxford and a legal CPE and LPC qualifications from the University of South Wales.
Initially Mark began his career in Farnborough as a secondary school supply P.E teacher before taking up another teaching opportunity in South Wales.
Butlins
Quite contrary to all of his achievements, Mark would later take up a job with British holiday park Butlins – which is where his love of quizzing arose.
His £55 wage packet each week wasn't enough to make do.
Instead, Mark would gamble with a small amount of change each week, playing the quiz machines on site which paid dividends.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2007, he explained: "I really enjoyed playing and it was also lucrative.
"At the beginning of the week I banked my £55 wage, except for £3 or £4 which I played on the machines. By the end of the week, I'd have £200 in coins."
TV career before The Chase
After using the machines as a cash injection, he obtained a breadth of knowledge and was able to strike up a deal with Redtooth quiz company and wrote trivia questions for them.
In 1999, the TV icon better known as The Beast made his first on-screen appearance on Mastermind answering questions in relation to the Olympic games.
Fast forward one year and he was back, this time tackling the specialist subject of the cartoon series The Simpsons.
2000 proved to be a busy year for Mark, featuring on Countdown too but narrowly lost his first match during a crucial conundrum.
His TV career is endless and includes: BrainTeaser, Face Off, SUDO-Q and Millionaire Live – where he bagged himself £32,000.
As a result of his persistence Mark was ranked UK's 17th top quizzer before he had even found fame on the ITV game show.
Private life
After five-years in the limelight Mark married his wife Katie, who was 27 years his junior.
The pair also share a three-year-old son Lawrence who they prefer to keep away from the cameras and social media.
Mark and Katie didn't realise until after they'd said 'I Do' that they were actually related to one another.
It later became apparent to the pair that their dad's were first cousins – making them both second cousins.
During an episode of Loose Women, Mark told the panel: "It wasn't something we were aware of at the time – it was one of those things that happened."
Marriage breakdown
However in 2019 their marriage was put under strain when it was claimed that Katie had an affair with a 30-year-old Scott Bate.
According to reports, Katie's love affair was only exposed after she'd appeared on ITV's Loose Women alongside her quiz star husband and was noticed by Scott's friends.
In an interview with The Sun, Mark explained that he'd had his suspicions something was going on.
He told the publication: "When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling."
Mark and Katie attempted to give it another go, deciding to try an open marriage.
However, despite their best attempts to keep their family together, it all became too much and the pair agreed to formerly divorce last year.
Jaw-dropping transformation
Following his marriage break down, Mark went on quite the health kick journey and the pounds have just been falling off.
Having shed over 10 stone in weight fans speculated that his drastic overhaul was due to the stresses of his divorce to wife Katie.
However, Mark has always credited his busy lifestyle and his love of walking his Golden Retriever for his whopping weight loss.
The ITV Chaser of the 5pm favourite, recently revealed that his lifestyle overhaul was actually spurred on after he'd been diagnosed with diabetes in 2017.
Had an eagle-eyed nurse not shot a swift glance at his legs, he might not have known about his hidden illness.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mark said: "I've never had a diabetic episode.
"I've got skin that doesn't heal properly in my lower legs. A nurse looked at me and she asked, 'Are you sure your not diabetic?'"
"They took a test and she said, 'Yes, you're diabetic,'" he added.
It was at this point in 2017 that Mark was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes which kick-started his transformation process.
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