TO viewers of The Chase – and its trembling contestants – Mark Labbett is the scariest of opponents, a 6ft 7in tower of knowledge with an icy stare.
But behind closed doors the brainbox nicknamed The Beast is just “a big teddy bear” who scores maximum points for caring cuddles, says his smitten new girlfriend.
On their budding romance, TV presenter Hayley Palmer, 41, revealed: “He’s the sweetest, kindest person, he really is. He’s such a gentleman.”
She began dating the game show star five months ago, after they met at last year’s National Television Awards.
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Mark, 57, was going through a tough time.
He split from his wife Katie, 30, mum of his five-year-old son Lawrence, during the pandemic in 2020 and was then struck with a bout of Covid.
He clicked with Hayley immediately, even though she had never seen The Chase.
She explained with a laugh: “I’m always out at 5pm.”
Friendship soon turned to love. “It’s still early days but we are both really happy,” she added. “It’s been such a lovely whirlwind.”
The couple recently spent time together in America, where Mark was filming the US show Master Minds in Los Angeles.
Hayley, who is a TV entertainment reporter, said: “He invited me to join him.
"He was working hard every day and I was reporting from Hollywood for GB News.
“He’d go off to work and I’d be doing my thing, then he’d come back and we’d go out for dinner.
“He’d be like ‘Do you want to go somewhere posh?’ and I was like ‘No, let’s just go to the diner and get some cheese toasties, a portion of chips’. We were just so happy.”
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It was food that brought them together.
Mark impressed Hayley at the National Television Awards with his Toby Carvery Gold Card, which allows celebrities to eat free at the roast dinners chain.
And on their first theatre date he bought Maltesers — her favourite choccy treat.
Even so, the ITV quizzer has lost 9st since embarking on a “complete nutrition overhaul” in 2020.
Hayley said: “He looks incredible. I’m so proud of him. He looks really good.”
The couple enjoyed their jaunt to America because they managed to be more private there.
Mark said about trying to keep their relationship quiet on this side of the pond: “People see me from 100 yards. I’m really easy to spot.”
And at 6ft 1in, Hayley now finds herself in the unusual position of not having to worry about towering over her partner, even more so when she wears high heels.
She explained: “I’ve always loved a tall guy because I’m a giant myself and can’t be wearing flat shoes. I want to wear my heels and feel elegant next to my man.”
Hayley has been bombarded with free shoe samples since the pair went public with their romance.
She explains with a laugh: “And they’re all high heels!”
So is ITV’s towering Chaser a bit of a beast in the bedroom too?
“That is really cheeky,” Hayley said with a giggle.
“So no comment to that one. But he’s really, really romantic and he treats me so well. He’s a big teddy bear. He gives the best cuddles.
When we were in LA he took me shopping and bought me a bag, which was lovely.
“We also got his and hers face creams and had our names engraved on the jars.”
And Mark’s geeky side does not bother her one bit.
Hayley said: “He’s always coming out with facts, but he switches off from it.
“When we were away, he’d be like, ‘I’m going to go on my iPad’, and I’d be like, ‘Cool, I’m going to sunbathe’.
“But he doesn’t spend all his time swotting.”
And while Mark is a font of knowledge, he struggled to read Hayley’s signals at the start of their relationship.
He said: “I can tell you what the capital of Estonia is — Tallinn — but what does it mean when that pretty girl fires you that funny half-smile?
“I couldn’t read women with the aid of a road map. I am utterly useless.”
Back home, the couple live apart, Hayley in West London and Mark in Rotherham.
But they plan to get together soon. Hayley says: “It’s my birthday coming up and then it’s his birthday, we are both Leos.
“I’ve been so overwhelmed by how much people have taken an interest in our relationship.
“Everyone has just come up to me and gone ‘How do we get a Toby Carvery Gold Card?
“Everywhere we go, everyone stops him, it just shows how much they love The Chase. The first time I’d ever seen him in action was when I went to watch him film Beat the Chasers, it was so good.”
And she is also on standby to help Mark with one of his biggest ambitions.
“He really wants to do Strictly,” she revealed. “And I used to be a dancer as well, so I’d be able to help him.”
