Shaun Wallace, otherwise known as The Dark Destroyer, surprised his followers as he announced a new move away from The Chase. The barrister has been a regular face on the ITV quiz programme for the past 15 years having made his debut in 2009. The 65-year-old was flooded with messages of support on Monday when he made a candid announcement. The quizzer revealed he will be starring in a brand new show called The Great Escapers.

The Great Escapers is a new ITV show where celebrities from shows like Coronation Street, I’m a Celebrity, The Chase and Loose Women go on holiday together, competing to plan the best day out. He will also be joined by two other fan favourites including Chasers Mark Labbett, who is best known as The Beast and Jenny ‘The Vixen’ Ryan. While the trio have no plans to leave The Chase it is not uncommon for the quizzers to take part in other projects.

In view of his 89,800 followers on X, Shaun penned: “Very excited to be filming in Rhodes for a new show called ‘The Great Escapers’ with Mark @MarkLabbett and Jenny @jenlion. Looking forward to having a lot of fun with those two [thumbs up emoji]. Doing a spot of fitness in the sunshine, before we get going.”

He accompanied the post with a candid clip as he gave fans a glimpse of his surroundings.

The ITV favourite said: “Well here I am back in one of my favourite islands in the world. The island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese.

“I’m about to take part in a wonderful exciting holiday adventure called The Great Escapers.”

One fan gushed: “Have a swell time,” while another commented: “Hope you win your episode, Shaun!”

Katie Rawcliffe, Director of Entertainment & Daytime ITV said: “We’ve got some of ITV’s best-known faces flying out to the most gorgeous destinations in this brand-new series. We can’t wait to see the cast of Corrie, I’m A Celeb…, The Chase and Loose Women in all of their holiday glory!”

The Great Escapers is in partnership with Jet2, one of the UK’s largest tour operators.

The series will air on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player later this year.