Darragh Ennis

Irish scientist and quizzer

Darragh Ennis (born 1980)[1] is an Irish entomologist, neuroscientist, quizzer, and television personality. He is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show The Chase. He is nicknamed The Menace and alternatively The Dublin Dynamo. He was a contestant on the show in 2017. In April 2020, Ennis became the first ever contestant in the UK to become a new Chaser. His Chaser debut aired on 19 November 2020.[2][3]

Early life and science career change

Ennis grew up in Dublin, Ireland and studied at Maynooth University, graduating with a BSc in biology in 2002, and a PhD in ecology in 2008. After completing his doctorate, he worked as a biomedical scientist at ICON plc for a year before undertaking postdoctoral research at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada from 2010 until 2012. Since 2013, he has worked as a lab manager and research technician at the University of Oxford, where he specialises in researching the brains of insects.[3][4][5]

Television change

In 2017, Ennis was a member of a winning team on The Chase. He earned £9,000 in his Cash Builder round and defeated chaser Paul Sinha to take that money into the Final Chase. The other three contestants also advanced, but each of them took negative low offers from Sinha so that the final prize total was £6,300.[6] Outraged viewers set up a GoFundMe campaign to compensate Ennis for his share of the money lost through his teammates' decisions.[7] Ennis requested for all money to be donated to charity.[7]

In April 2020, Ennis was announced as the sixth chaser on The Chase, alongside Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty, Paul Sinha and Jenny Ryan.[8][9] His Chaser-debut episode was aired on 19 November 2020. His debut brought in 4.9 million viewers, making it the most watched episode of The Chase ever.[10]

Personal life change

Ennis is married to his "university sweetheart", and they live together in Oxford with their two children. Ennis supports Dublin GAA and Liverpool FC.[11][12] Ennis can speak German and Irish.[13]

References change

  1. "The Chase unveils new Chaser Darragh 'The Menace' Ennis". Oliver Grady. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 20 Nov 2020.
  2. "The Chase | Who is new Chaser Darragh Ennis?". ABC 14 News. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-05-03.[permanent dead link]
  3. 3.0 3.1 "The Chase recruits former contestant Darragh Ennis as first new Chaser in five years". amp.heart.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  4. "The Chase | Who is new Chaser Darragh Ennis?". ABC 14 News. 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2020-05-03.[permanent dead link]
  5. Nickell, Amy (2020-12-18). "Inside The Chase stars' real lives as new chaser Darragh Ennis is announced". OK! Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  6. "New Chaser Darragh Ennis a former contestant who refused donations after huge loss on the show". NZ Herald. 2020-04-17. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  7. 7.0 7.1 admin. "New Chase recruit Darragh Ennis has lost thousands of people in a disastrous round as a candidate | FR24 News English". Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  8. "The Chase: Darragh Ennis joins ITV quiz show as new chaser | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV | Express.co.uk". www.express.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  9. "Irish scientist Darragh Ennis joins The Chase as new Chaser". Her.ie. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  10. "The Chase breaks record with highest rating show ever". Press Centre. 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  11. Ennis, Darragh [@bones_giles] (21 November 2020). "Fun fact: having two small children means someone in that household will be sick on average for 29 weeks of the year. So there's more time when someone is ill each year than when everyone is healthy" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2021 – via Twitter.
  12. McCoid, Sophie (2021-05-29). "Darragh Ennis' life away from The Chase with uni sweetheart". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  13. "Darragh Ennis". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 June 2021.

Other websites change