The Chase star ‘overwhelmed with pressure’ on ITV series after family loss

The Chase’s Darragh Ennis has opened up astir the grief helium suffered aft a devastating household loss.

The 44-year-old ITV star, who joined The Chase successful 2020, appeared connected Wednesday’s Loose Women, wherever helium spoke astir losing his begetter successful July to dementia, which he’d been suffering from for much than 15 years.

He bravely opened up astir needing to instrumentality immoderate clip distant from the Bradley Walsh-fronted gameshow aft feeling similar the ‘pressure overwhelmed’ him.

Speaking to the likes of Ruth Langsford and Judi Love, Darragh said helium had been ‘hiding’ his grief aft his father’s decease contempt being ‘broken inside’.

He went on: ‘When I did spell backmost to work, and I was enactment successful those stressful situations connected The Chase, there’s a two-minute spread close astatine the end, the past happening we bash is truly precocious pressure, conscionable by nature. 

‘Normally erstwhile I commencement making mistakes, people I’d beryllium capable to grip it.

‘I’d conscionable works my feet successful my caput psychologically and spell “I made a mistake,keep going.”

‘This clip erstwhile I went to enactment my feet down, determination was thing underneath them, I conscionable fell away.  

‘I weirdly got stressed and camera shy, which I ne'er did. The unit conscionable overwhelmed maine completely. 

‘I had a mates of episodes similar that, wherever each clip I tried to scope for that portion of myself that usually is calm nether pressure, it wasn’t determination anymore.’

Darragh, nicknamed The Menace connected The Chase, went connected to accidental helium was offered counselling midway done filming the shows by producers, and though helium thought helium could ‘shrug it off’ initially, helium realised helium couldn’t, truthful helium opted in.

‘They arranged for counselling with a sports psychologist, which mightiness dependable unusual to people, it’s a precocious unit concern wherever a batch of radical are watching, and these are truly good, truthful that’s been truly helpful’ helium continued.

Speaking astir accepting the assistance helium was offered, helium added: ”The archetypal clip I was offered it, I shrugged it away, I truly didn’t privation to. I didn’t privation to admit myself I was failing.

‘I truly didn’t privation to accidental “I’m not bully capable here, I’m not doing what I should to the level I should be,” which is simply a silly happening to do,a knee-jerk reaction.

‘The 2nd clip I was grateful, it was similar I was drowning and idiosyncratic was holding maine on.’

Darragh is present an ambassador for foundation At A Loss, aiding radical with bereavement enactment and well-being.

The TV star, who besides works arsenic a postdoctoral researcher astatine Oxford, antecedently told Metro astir keeping a level had nether pressure during his clip connected The Chase.

He said: ‘Obviously you person to person bully cognition but, too that, you request to beryllium capable to judge getting pushed backmost without losing your intelligence flow.

‘You request to support a level caput nether pressure.’

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm connected ITV1. The Chase airs weekdays astatine 5pm connected ITV1.

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