The Chase star struggled to film ITV show as he opens up on heartbreaking death
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The Chase star Darragh Ennis has revealed he struggled to film the ITV gameshow after his dad died from dementia. Darragh, who is also known as The Menace, appeared on Loose Women on Wednesday (January 22) to discuss his father's battle with the neurological disease.
After losing his dad in July 2024, Darragh shared that was "playing to a script" while going about his daily life, especially when he returned to The Chase. "In the end it was quite sudden. He had been physically quite well but then I got a phone call, and I barely made it home in time," he said, adding that he was left "broken" inside.
"We had a natural break in filming, but when I did go back to work, I was put under that stressful situation," Darragh continued. He revealed that he struggled to answer questions under time restraint, saying: "Normally when I start making mistakes, I'd naturally be able to handle it.
"I'd just plant my feet and keep going, but this time when I went to put my feet down, there was nothing underneath them. They just fell away.". Darragh also shared that he got "camera shy" as the pressure completely "overwhelmed" him. "I had a couple of episodes like that, where every time I tried to reach for that part of myself that's normally very calm under pressure, it wasn't there anymore," he continued.
Darragh explained that the producers quickly clocked onto his struggles and offered him extra time off. They've also arranged for counselling. When he was first offered help, Darragh initially "shrugged it away" as he didn't want to admit that he was struggling. Once he accepted the support, he acknowledged that it felt like he was being saved from "drowning".
