The Chase’s Darragh Ennis explains why an Irish edition of the show is unlikely
Fans of The Chase hoping for a local version in Ireland may be disappointed, as Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis admits such an edition is unlikely to ever get off the ground.While Darragh, who originally hails from Rathcoole, said he would jump at the chance to be a chaser in an Irish edition of The Chase, he told Dublin Live that the UK version is a victim of its own success. “It actually costs quite a lot to make a new version and it probably wouldn’t get that many more viewers,” he said.“From an economic point of view it doesn’t make much sense, but it’s something I’d absolutely love to do because there’s a lot of people that would like to go on the show.”Currently, The Chase is only open to contestants resident of the United Kingdom, as the tax-free prize money creates complications for awarding Irish residents. However, there have been other versions of The Chase around the world, such as in Australia, Germany, and even China.“I know they did a version in New Zealand recently which would be very similar to Ireland in terms of population, they normally have the UK version, and I think they could possibly do that for Ireland where they do a small number of episodes and commission them specifically but the market is so small that it's very hard to justify the cost,” he said.As a lifelong lover of quizzes, before becoming a chaser himself Darragh was actually a contestant on the show back in 2017 where he took in an impressive £9,000 in his Cash Builder and ultimately defeated Paul Sinha in the final. Having proved his talents as a trivia master, he soon received a call from the producers who asked if he'd be interested in joining the series himself.When Darragh first joined The Chase in 2020 he retained his job working in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford, where he specialised in research relating to insect brains. He said balancing the two meant long periods where he had no days off, as he filmed the show during the week and caught up on science work over the weekends.Luckily, Darragh says “The Chase is very much not a full-time job” as he only appears in one out of every six episodes, with his fellow chasers sharing the work. “We record in blocks and there’s a huge amount of time off,” he said.Darragh joked that he sees a lot more of the production crew and host Bradley Walsh than he ever sees the rest of the Chasers. “We don’t see each other that much, but everyone thinks we live in a house together,” he said.This downtime means Darragh can pursue other opportunities, such as the spin-off series Beat the Chasers and has even floated the idea of hosting a revival of the 1990s Irish quiz show Blackboard Jungle. Originally airing on RTE2, then known as Network 2, this game show hosted by Ray D’Arcy saw students from two competing secondary schools face off against one another for a chance to win their school a minibus.“Irish people love watching quiz shows, but we don’t make that much of them. But, Blackboard Jungle is a show that everyone over a certain age will remember. It was really popular and is a show the whole family can watch because there’s teenagers taking part,” Darragh explained.While there are few very programmes that bring the whole family together these days, Darragh said it's quiz game shows that are the exception. "I get told by a very large number of people that they tune into The Chase every day with their family, their kids, their grandmother," he said.Darragh casually mentioned he’d love to bring back Blackboard Jungle on the Off the Ball podcast back in August and hasn’t been able to get the idea out of his head since, stating it would be a cost-effective show that gives Ireland their own answer to series like The Chase. Darragh believes he would be a great host and said his experience as an expert quizzer would set him apart from the average TV show presenter.“My brother is a primary school principal and he says that he spends a very large amount of his budget on transport for children because they don't have a minibus. The fact that the show's prize was a minibus is just perfect,” he said.A Blackboard Jungle revival isn’t the only idea Darragh has to get quizzes back on Irish TV, as his proposition of an all-Ireland pub quiz series could get the whole country talking. “They’d be a team from all 32 counties and because it’s 32 it sets itself up for a knockout format,” Darragh explained.“There’s knockouts and then you go straight through to the final. I think people would tune in to support their county, whether it’s Dublin, Westmeath, Donegal or anywhere. It could be become like a regional competition.“You could have people represent their pub team, their village, or the town they are from. I think it could be a really fun idea and people would really get on board with the pub quiz format. This isn’t University Challenge.”Darragh’s plans to revitalise the TV landscape even extend beyond game shows, as he expressed an interest in utilising his science background to get more educational content on television. “There’s so many people who think the moon landing is fake, we scientists have really dropped the ball when it comes to informing the public,” he said.With Darragh discovering his love of natural sciences watching David Attenborough programmes, he thinks there’s currently a gap in the market for truly informative scientific content on television. “Even if it doesn’t make money, as just pure societal benefit there should be some,” he said.Darragh has already made an effort share his scientific knowledge with the public, as he published his first book in 2024 titled The Body: 10 Things You Should Know. He said he's already busy at work with his second book, which focuses on memory, which will likely come out next year.Viewers may know Darragh primarily for his work on The Chase, but he’s honed his skills as a host with live events as he tours ‘The Ultimate Pub Quiz’ which sees audiences test their skills a high-energy, pub-style setting. This all culminates with one member from the winning team going head-to-head and facing off against Darragh himself.“I’ll be in the Laughter Lounge in Dublin and the Black Box in Belfast in February. It’s an interactive quiz with an app so you can play along with your friends. You don’t have to whisper because the quicker you answer the more points you get,” he said.Darragh said this format eliminates people’s tendency to cheat on quizzes and nobody needs to be “quietly whispering in each other’s ears” to not give away answers. “In between rounds the audience gets to ask me question and see what I know,” he said.“It's an interactive entertainment thing and then I do loads of Q&A and sometimes people ask me quiz questions but sometimes people just ask me the maddest stuff. Like would you rather eat a mouldy sandwich or get kicked in the arse by a donkey.”Darragh’s Irish dates for ‘The Ultimate Pub Quiz’ include:Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. 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