THE Chase’s Beast has been tamed by a glamorous television presenter – 16-years his junior.
Pals said Mark Labbett had wooed Hayley Palmer on a string of dates.
It comes three years after Mark ended his seven-year marriage to nurse Katie, who he met online in 2010.
A friend close to the new couple said: “It is very early days but Mark and Hayley are having a really good time together.
“They have been friends for some time and recently things developed into something more.
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“Mark and Hayley share similar interests and have a lot of fun together.
“It has become clear to Mark’s friends that he is smitten and Hayley is said to be really taken with him too.”
Mark, 57, and Hayley, 41, went public for the first time on Tuesday and were seen enjoying the sunshine on the beach in Southsea, Portsmouth.
The source added: “Mark and Hayley have kept things low key but this week they headed out on a day-date.
“The beach was busy and there were lots of people around but they both felt comfortable with people seeing them as a couple, not just friends.
“Although it’s all very new they both feel they have a connection.”
Hayley is a television presenter who hosts music shows At Home With Hayley and Saturday Night With Hayley Palmer.
She was introduced to Mark through her work on TV.
He has been on The Chase since 2009 and appeared on US and Australian versions of the show.
Mark revealed he had ended his marriage to his wife Katie in 2020.
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He blamed the 27-year age gap between them and said the lockdown had added to their marital woes.
It was later revealed the pair, who have a son together, were in an open relationship towards the end of their marriage as Mark agreed to try anything to make it work.
Following their split, Mark told The Sun: “All that matters is what is best for our son.”
He also revealed why he chose to allow another man into his relationship, after opening up about Katie’s romance with a senior design engineer called Scott.
In an exclusive interview, Mark explained: “When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I’d had an inkling.”
“But right from the start, my attitude was quite pragmatic — this was spilt milk, what could we do about the situation to make it OK?
“We had a family. We couldn’t just throw that away lightly. There were other considerations.”
Earlier this year Mark insisted he was enjoying his single life and said romance is hard because he is away from home 150 days each year filming for the ITV game show.
He also admitted that he was “married to his work” and said it would be difficult to squeeze in a romantic relationship with his busy work schedule.
