The Chase's Darragh Ennis inundated with support after revealing heartbreaking truth about break from show

Darragh Ennis has been inundated with support from fans after his recent appearance on ITV's Loose Women, where he revealed the truth behind his break from the game show.

The Chase star, who's nicknamed 'The Menace', opened up about his grief after losing his dad in July to dementia.

The 44-year-old quizzer explained that after the sudden death of his dad, he struggled to cope when faced with the high-pressured environment of the show and had to take some time off.

"I was broken inside and I didn't realise," the neuroscientist told panellists Ruth Langsflord, Judi Love, Sally Dynevor and Kelle Bryan.

When asked if he returned to work straight away, Darragh explained: "Not for a little while afterwards. We had a natural break in filming. But when I did go back to work, I was put in those stressful situations.

"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. 

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"I had a couple of episodes like that, where every time I tried to reach for that part of myself that is calm under pressure, it wasn't there anymore," explained the TV star.

He went on to reveal that the show's producers offered him some time off and arranged counselling.

"At that point, the producers talked to me and said 'would you like to take a break?'" said Darragh. "We still had a couple of episodes to film. They offered rather than told.

"So the first time it happened, I tried to see if I could shrug it off but I couldn't," he continued. "So 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."

After his appearance on the show, fans rushed to social media to share their support for Darragh, who has since become an ambassador for the bereavement charity AtaLoss.

One fan penned on X: "Just caught up on this, lovely to see the 'non-Chaser' side of you, so good to open up and show others it's not a failing to ask for help. So sorry about your dad," while another added: "Just saw your piece on ITV's Loose Women, and wanted to send my best wishes in your journey processing grief. One thing you said hurt my soul. When you said you'd started failing it really resonated with me. You hadn't 'failed' you'd just faced a new challenge."