The Chase's Jenny Ryan reveals the chaser nickname she was almost given

She always graces our screen in her black and purple leopard print dress with her iconic glasses and red hair teased back into a beehive, but The Chase star Jenny Ryan (AKA The Vixen) has left fans surprised after she made a startling admission about her original chaser nickname.

While discussing her onscreen persona on the UK chat show Lorraine, the much-loved Chaser revealed ITV bosses originally wanted a different name for her.

Jenny remarked: "When I first started I had a test run, a bit of a screen test in the studio with Brad hosting. Just as a chemistry kind of test really. And I had my hair in this big ponytail.

READ MORE:
• The Chase host Bradley Walsh was left in hysterics again over cheeky question
• The Chase's Jenny 'The Vixen' Ryan impresses Celebrity X Factor judges with Queen cover

"The producers had been trying to work out what my nickname should be, and they wanted something animal-y because I like a lot of animal print. And they suggested 'The Cougar', and I said, 'no, because I'm too young to be a cougar'.

After refusing to accept the name, the 40-year-old brainiac added: "Brad came up with 'The Vixen', because of the red hair, it looks like a fox's brush. And foxes are really intelligent animals and really cunning, and could be quite fast."

The Chaser also revealed she had previously written questions for the show before becoming one of the quizmasters eight years ago.