The Chase star Darragh Ennis shares rare insight into private home life with wife and children

The Chase star Darragh Ennis has opened up about his family life in Oxfordshire with his wife Joan and two children.

In a recent interview, the professional quizzer revealed what a typical Saturday looks like for him and his family, revealing that his daughter regularly plays soccer with friends from school while his five-year-old son hasn't yet developed a passion for sport and "just wants to watch YouTube on a Saturday morning".

Darragh also revealed that his wife Joan, whom he met whilst studying at Myanooth University, is an excellent baker. "I love Italian and Mexican food and I bake bread including homemade pita bread," he told The Irish Examiner.

"My wife Joan makes a brilliant soda bread. We met in Maynooth when we were studying. We set up the surf club and were really good friends. We're together 16 years now, married for 12."

Darragh has previously spoken about his relationship with Joan, who also studied Biology at Maynooth. "We were very, very, good friends for a long time, and we lived together as housemates before we got together," he previously told the university. "She worked about five doors down the corridor in the Callan Building on South Campus."

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While Darragh likes to keep photos of his family away from his social media pages, he has opened up about certain aspects of his life with fans.

During an appearance on ITV's Loose Women in January, the Irish TV star shared his grief after losing his father to dementia in July last year. The 44-year-old revealed that after struggling to cope with the high-pressure environment of The Chase, he decided to take some time off.

"I was broken inside and I didn't realise," the neuroscientist revealed, explaining that he didn't return to work for a while afterwards.

"We had a natural break in filming. But when I did go back to work, I was put in those stressful situations," he continued. "On The Chase, there is a two-minute gap right at the end - the last thing we do is really, really high pressure, just by nature," he continued. "Normally when I start making mistakes, naturally I'd be able to handle it. I'd just plant my feet in my head psychologically and go, 'I made a mistake' and keep going.

"This time when I went to put my feet down, there was nothing underneath them. I just fell away. I weirdly got stressed and camera shy, which I never do. The pressure overwhelmed me completely."

Darragh went on to reveal that the show's producers suggested he take some time off and arranged counselling for him.

"They arranged for counselling, with a sports psychologist, which might sound strange to some people, it's a high-pressure situation where a lot of people are watching, and these are really helpful," said the dad-of-two.