Vixen Jenny Ryan is on the Chase

But it's not the first time she has been in front of a camera — as a law student, she helped her University of Leeds team reach the semi-final of University Challenge in 2003. She has also appeared on Fifteen to One and The Weakest Link.

The 33-year-old, dubbed 'The Vixen', joins Anne 'The Governess' Hegerty, Mark 'The Beast' Labbett, Paul 'The Sinnerman' Sinha and Shaun 'The Dark Destroyer' Wallace on the ITV programme hosted by Bradley Walsh.

Jenny said: "Being a Chaser is a dream job for a quizzer. I had to do a load of auditions and tests before I was accepted — they had to make sure that they had the right person.

"Being on The Chase feels like a different ball game compared to normal quizzes. You sit in that chair in front of the camera and you have to have total confidence that your knowledge will cover 95 per cent of what is asked. On top of that you have lines to remember and producers in your ear telling you what you should be offering. You have to do a lot of things at once – although knowledge is the top priority."

In the popular ITV show, the Chasers are tasked with catching each contestant by answering general knowledge questions. The players have a chance of winning a cash prize if they beat the Chaser — and Jenny says she is yet to feel threatened by a contestant.

Before she could take her rightful place in the Chasers' chair, Jenny had to get into character.

She said: “I play in a Bolton quiz team with Anne Hegarty. She heard a rumour that producers were looking for a new Chaser and she asked if she could put my name forward.

"The Vixen was just a name that they came up with because it's snappy and they make my red hair look like a fox's tail. It's like putting on a costume for a character.

"They had a discussion about developing the character's look, such as whether I wear glasses or contact lenses. When they decided they took me to a bespoke frames shop in Covent Garden and these were the first frames that they saw. We thought we may as well go big or go home."

Jenny, who grew up in Horwich, comes from a family of eager quizzers — but her main inspiration was from her grandfather Kevin Ryan who she said would be "very proud" of her success.

She said: "It is a family hobby. We are all nerds and we all like to quiz. In my quiz team there is usually at least one other member of my family on there, along with Anne (Hegarty) of course.

"When we all get together we'll watch University Challenge or when we have a party we will get competitive and have a quiz with makeshift buzzers. My mum's dad, my granddad, was a big quiz influence. He would have been very proud."

Jenny, who splits her time between Bolton and London where she films the show, says she has a "natural aptitude" for remembering information that she is interested in.

She said: "I think people's brains work in different ways. There are people that have the knack for remembering anything and everything — but then there are others that can't remember what they ate yesterday.

"I have a memory like a sponge. I remember where I was when I was told something and who told me. I am very visual and contextual. I have a natural aptitude for remembering things that I have an interest in, but things I'm not fussed about are trickier to learn."

Jenny believes the show's success is down to the characters, the questions — and the host.

She said: "It's different from other quiz shows. You get a lot of bang for your buck. It's non-stop and fast paced with a wide range of questions. And of course there's Bradley Walsh.

"I've had some good chats with Bradley since I started. He's brilliant and you can tell he enjoys his job. He advised me to be myself as that's the best way to come across on screen. He's the one who called me the Bolton Brainiac. But with my accent, I don't think there's any getting away from where I'm from, is there?"

The Chase is on weekdays at 5pm on ITV.