Mark Labbett on The Chase

Mark Labbett has opened up about his dating struggles (Image: UK)

Mark Labbett has revealed that he finds dating “tough” but tries his “best” while contending with a hidden condition. His admission came to light in a recent interview in which the Chaser, also known as ‘The Beast’ on the ITV quiz show, noted that he was “terrible” at two fairly vital aspects of dating.

Mark, who has joined the line-up of stars on Channel 4’s ‘Celebs Go Dating’, previously disclosed that he’d been “single most of my life”, but later married his second cousin, Katie Labbett, in 2014. They had a son, Lawrence, in 2018, but parted ways in 2020. In 2023, he started dating Hayley Palmer, but Mark broke things off with the TV presenter in a “three-minute” phone call. Now, when asked what he’s actually like on a date, Mark confessed that it’s “tough” for him.

 

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Mark previously disclosed that he’d been “single most of my life” (Image: Getty)

Mark told Heat Magazine: “I would say I was terrible, but according to the agents, I did a bit better than that. But I’m terrible at flirting or eye contact. I’m a little bit on the autistic spectrum. You try your best, but it’s tough for me.

“Unfortunately, I can intimidate people just by walking by them, what with being so big. So, you almost have to make yourself smaller so you’re not scary.”

Joining the likes of Kerry Katona, S Club 7’s Jon Lee and Too Hot To Handle’s Louis Russell, Mark reportedly hopes to find his ideal match on the Channel 4 dating show.

Speaking to the Express Online, he explained that he’d “never done” TV like this previously, but it offered an opportunity for him to “branch out a little bit” and see the “other side” of the business.

He also revealed that he’d gotten “very comfortable” being single but thought he would “give it a try”. He also shared hints about his early dating life.

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Mark has joined the line-up of stars on Channel 4’s ‘Celebs Go Dating’ (Image: Getty)

Mark said: “Going back to Oxford [University] because I was quite a late developer, and let’s just say it didn’t last long, and we’ll leave it at that.”

In other news, Mark recently walked off the set of ITV spin-off series Beat The Chasers (Sunday, August 31) after losing £100,000 to a fortunate contestant, quipping: “I’ll get my coat”.

He gave contestant Gavin the chance to take on him, Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis, Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha, Anne ‘The Governess’ Hegerty and Jenny ‘The Vixen’ Ryan for the massive prize.

Mark dubbed the other offers “stingy” before declaring: “I’m going reduce the time to 40 seconds on our clock and you’ll be playing for £100,000!”

However, Gavin made his way through the questions and landed the life-changing sum with four seconds left. As he fell to his knees in disbelief, the Chasers applauded him.

Host Bradley Walsh said: “Beastie, you’d best leave now.” Mark added: “Firstly, well played, Sir. Secondly, I’ll get my coat!” The Beast then got up and exited.