GOVERNESS GETS LUCKY 'I'VE GONE FROM RAGS TO RICHES!'

Anne Hegerty opens up about her endless supply of admirers and her surprising next career move

- Helen Vnuk

Three years before she found fame as "The Governess" on The Chase UK, Anne Hegerty was hauling a suitcase full of dirty clothes through a Manchester park when a mugger accosted her.

She recalls, "I was walking across the park to the laundrette because I was so broke that I couldn't afford to get my washing machine fixed. This kid on a bicycle with a scarf covering his face rode up beside me and said, 'If you give me your bag in 20 seconds, I won't get my weapon out. I said, 'I'm not f**king giving you my f**king bag - f**k off!"

These days, Anne can afford to buy any number of new washing machines. And that fearlessness she showed in standing up to the mugger has helped make her one of the most popular Chasers in both the UK and Aussie versions of the quiz show.

"One of the reasons I could be The Governess is I don't get nervous before the Final Chase," she explains. "I just look at people and think, 'Yeah, I could take you."

At 65, Anne is the oldest Chaser. She started her working life as a journalist, then did a brief stint in children's publishing, where she wrote two books released under the name of late author Richard Scarry - "They weren't actually very good," she insists - before moving into academic publishing, working as a freelance editor.