Jenny Ryan, 37, spoke out in view of her 49,000 Twitter followers when a viewer suggested she and a number of her fellow Chasers are “unnecessarily rude” towards contestants. They also claimed Paul Sinha, 49, is the only Chaser from the team who is “genuinely warm and nice”. The Chase star was quizzed about the issue when she invited fans to ask her questions on the micro-blogging site on Friday with the hashtag “#AskTheVixen”. The disgruntled Twitter user wrote: “#AskTheVixen Hi Jenny, why do 4 out of the 5 Chasers feel the need to be unnecessarily rude and snarky towards the contestants?
“Everyone loves Paul Sinha for being a genuinely warm and nice guy, don’t the other chasers want to be liked, as it’s always a joy when they get beaten?”
The Vixen star retweeted the remark and shared her thoughts on the issue in a response.
Although the quizzer admitted she will “clap-back” on the ITV show when she is addressed in a rude manner by a contestant, the star also insisted all the Chasers “give credit where it’s due”.
She wrote: “I don’t agree. We all give credit where it’s due (even The Beast, despite the flat-track bully persona!) and I don’t think I’m ever particularly rude or unpleasant.
“I will clap-back if a contestant is rude first, though. #AskTheVixen.”
The TV personality then went on to add in a separate tweet: “We are also not there to be warm and fuzzy all the time.
“We are meant to be intimidating, appearing on the show is meant to be a challenge and contestants know what they are letting themselves in for. #AskTheVixen.”
Jenny’s The Chase co-star Anne Hegerty, 61, was quick to jump to her defence in the comments section of the tweet.
The Governess hit back in reference to the viewer’s claim: “Needing to be liked is a major reason why many women don’t fulfil their potential. Not a problem shared by Jenny or me.”
Fans joined Anne in supporting Jenny, with one writing: “Well I’ve watched you on The Chase since you started and I’ve never heard you being rude to any contestant.”
Another agreed: “Bit of bants makes it entertaining. All Chasers give credit where it’s due.”(sic)