The Chase’s Jenny Ryan admits ‘I have a lot of bitterness’ after explosive rant about co-stars
The Chase star Jenny Ryan has been a fixture on the ITV quiz show since 2015 but she was once left furious by a quiz show after being tactically knocked out
Matt Jackson Trendswatch Content Editor
14:42, 25 Mar 2026
Jenny Ryan was ‘furious’ after an appearance on a TV quiz show(Image: ITV)
The Chase favourite Jenny Ryan admits she was “furious” with her fellow competitors after being knocked out of a well-known quiz programme. The 41-year-old became part of the smash-hit ITV series as The Vixen in 2015, following years competing on the quiz scene.
Yet it wasn’t Jenny’s debut venture into television territory. She reached the semi-final of University Challenge more than two decades ago and even triumphed on Only Connect in 2010.
But it was during her stint on The Weakest Link that Jenny found herself incensed by her co-contestants. Speaking on the Final FronTia podcast with Drag Race favourite Tia Kofi, Jenny disclosed she barely missed securing a place in the final, reports the Mirror.
This emerged after Tia shared how she was eliminated early when she featured on the programme. She detailed how Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills dealt the crushing blow following her mix-up between ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard and comic Frank Skinner.
Jenny revealed: “You gave an answer, which is better than a lot of contestants. I still have a lot of bitterness about The Weakest Link because I went on that as a civilian many years ago and I was voted out second to last, so just missed the final and I’d been the strongest link every round.”
Jenny is known as The Vixen on The Chase(Image: ITV)
When questioned whether she thought it was a strategic elimination, Jenny responded: “It really was. They knew I was better and I was furious.
“I gave a really good exit interview, I was really mean about them, I couldn’t help it in the moment. Then I walked out and said, ‘I don’t know why I did that, they were alright.”
Jenny went on to disclose that she had “been on the quiz scene” for a while before she started appearing on TV. She continued: “It wasn’t an easy process, I’d been on the quiz scene for quite a long time and I’d known The Beast [Mark Labbett] for many years before he got the job.
The Chasers(Image: Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images)
“I’d kind of seen everybody else come through the ranks of the competitive quiz world and wondered where my audition was. It was a really tough process, there were six months of auditions to decide that I got the job.
“There were other people in the running as well. So after six months of weekly tests and interviews and auditions and meeting all the top brass at ITV, you had to do a screen test with Brad [Walsh] to see what the chemistry was like, even then it was a couple of months before they told me I got the job, and the other two they hadn’t.”
Jenny joined The Chase in 2015(Image: ITV)
Jenny quipped that securing her position on the programme was “harder than getting into MI6”. She was the second-most recent Chaser to join the formidable lineup, with Paul Sinha and Anne Hegerty having already joined original quizzers Shaun Wallace and Mark. Darragh Ennis was the final addition to the team in 2020.
Jenny makes her return to television screens from 7pm tonight (March 25) with Celebrity Puzzling on ITV One. She featured on the quiz programme, which is presented by Radio 2 star Jeremy Vine, alongside team captains Sally Lindsay and Carol Vorderman as well as fellow competitor, Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock to tackle a series of mind-boggling challenges.
