The Chase’s Jenny Ryan is worlds away from The Vixen in unearthed clip from stint on rival BBC show
THE Chase’s Jenny Ryan is worlds away from The Vixen in an unearthed clip from a stint on a rival BBC show.
Jenny, 41, has been a Chaser on the hit ITV show since 2015, where she was given the nickname ‘The Vixen’.
Jenny’s incredible knowledge has come in handy on the show, but she also put it to good use on a number of other shows before joining The Chase.
The star’s first TV appearance was on University Challenge in 2003, followed by Mastermind – where her chosen subject was Buffy the Vampire Slayer – in 2006.
But now a clip has resurfaced of Jenny appearing on BBC show Only Connect in 2010.
Jenny was on a team called The Gamblers and the trio went on to win the third series of the show, which is hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell.
While Jenny is known for her red hair with full fringe and retro outfit as The Vixen, on Only Connect she sported shorter, dark locks and smaller, square glasses.
The brain box has also appeared on Are You an Egghead?, while she also wrote questions for shows including The Weakest Link and Fifteen to One before joining The Chase.
The Chase host Bradley Walsh gave Jenny her well-known nickname.
She previously told Lorraine Kelly about how her name came about.
She said: “So, when I first started I had a screen test in the studio with Bradley hosting as a sort of chemistry test.
“I had my hair in a big ponytail and the producers were trying to work out what my nickname should be. They wanted something animal-related because I like animal print.
“They suggested The Cougar and I said no, because I’m too young to be a Cougar.
“Bradley came up with The Vixen because of the red hair.”
She added: “It looks like a fox’s tail and foxes are really intelligent animals, are really cunning and can be quite fast.”
The Chase airs weekdays at 5pm on ITV1.