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The Chase stars hold out for work visas

Anne Hegerty and Mark Labbett unable to get to Australia for filming.

The Chase stars Anne “The Governess” Hegerty and Mark “The Beast” Labbett are having difficulty securing visas to resume filming.

Hegerty recently told Scottish television presenter Lorraine Kelly that she was originally meant to fly out to Australia in March.

”And then it didn’t happen,” she said. “It was suggested that I go next month.

“The thing is, those in Australia can’t get a work visa for me, they can’t get work visas for me or Mark. We’re kind of a little bit stuck at the moment. But again, we’d like to get out there as soon as we can.”

Filming on the Seven quiz recently resumed with host Andrew O’Keefe and Australian Chasers. It’s not clear if the visas are held up due to COVID-19 impact.

“I miss recording The Chase, we had a load of programs we were going to record and those have been postponed and that has been irritating, but apart from that to be honest, it suits me,” Hegerty continued.

“I’m absolutely loving it but I’m aware there are a lot of people not loving it. But I’m having a great time.”

Source: Starts at 60

15 Responses

  1. We were promised new episodes that featured social distancing some months ago but every ep lately has been a repeat. I’ve stopped recording the Chase until we get something new.
    PS – they don’t need the two from England – give Tiger Mum a call and get her to share between Issa, Matt and Brydon. But – please – give us some new episodes.

  2. I hope they can return asap, but in the meantime, surely there are a couple of Aussie Quiz champs from Million Dollar Minute, or Sale/Temptation, or even Millionaire that could be utilised 🤔

  3. Another option would be to have them appear on a big screen instead of in person.
    With modern communications it wouldn’t be a massive hurdle to cross.

    1. Unfortunately don’t think that would work out so well (I presume you mean some sort of Zoom setup?). The Chase is a time sensitive quiz show so any lag/buffering etc would really stuff up “the chase”. Yes Jason, other shows have adapted but those shows to a Zoom setup. The Chase is definitely not suited.

  4. When production starts again in the UK, they could always film some episodes using Anne and Mark and Aussie contestants living in the UK with Bradley Walsh hosting, that would mix it up a little…

  5. My understanding is that our border is only open for returning Australians and others coming in for essential reasons. While I like Mark and Anne, I’m not sure them coming to film a quiz show is essential in the current climate.

  6. A possible reason is that the UK chasers could have previously entered Australia under the subclass 457 visa temporary skilled worker program. This visa was usually valid for 2 years. The visa was withdrawn possibly in March 2018, being replaced by a new subclass 482 visa (temporary skill shortage) which requires the Australian employer to show that they can’t source an appropriately skilled Australian worker. It might be that this is the spanner in the works for the UK chasers.

  7. So the only thing that’s stopping them coming out here is work visas? That’s interesting. So obviously they are prepared to isolate for 2 weeks prior to filming and 7 is prepared to cover the cost? I just assumed they wouldn’t appear at all for the foreseeable future.

    1. Such an important program leading into the 6pm News? Of course Seven will cover the costs. But whether the two Chasers are prepared to be holed up in a hotel room under quarantine for fourteen days is the real question. I would think that is the “visa” problem Anne is referring to.

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