He is best known for his quick wit, impressive general knowledge and his intimidating Dark Destroyer persona on the popular ITV game show.
Before he made a name for himself on The Chase, Shaun Wallace also showcased his mind-boggling talent when he won Mastermind back in 2004 and ranked 276th in the World Quizzing Championships in 2010.
But away from the camera’s, the professional quizzer, 61, leads a very different life and rarely opens up about his surprising career outside of his work on intense daytime quiz shows.
In addition to his role as a Chaser on Bradley Walsh’s quiz show, he also works as a barrister and a lecturer in his spare time.
As the TV star prepares to celebrate his 62nd birthday, Daily Star has taken a look inside his real job away outside of the studio.
Barrister and lecturer
(Image: Instagram)
Away from the cameras, Shaun works as a qualified barrister and continues to practice law as he continues to juggle his work as a criminal defence lawyer with his role on the ITV show.
Called to the Bar in 1984, Shaun completed his pupillage in 1986 and has gone on to lead a successful career in law as a barrister.
In an interview with Law.ac.uk the professional revealed he was inspired to take up the profession by watching TV shows such as Rumpole Of The Bailey in his youth.
(Image: London Met Alumni)
The telly star described his legal career as “interesting, at times disheartening, but in the greater scheme of things, worthwhile” with the publication.
Shaun also works as a lecturer and regularly devotes a large part of his time to social enterprise work, lecturing on aspects of law in schools, colleges and other institutions.
Legal fine
(Image: Instagram)
But it hasn’t always been plain sailing for Shaun in the courtroom after he was handed a £2,500 fine several years ago when he failed to properly advise a knifeman in a “vigilante” case.
In 2013, the star faced the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service after he failed to properly advise Jamie McCarthy, 22, while representing him in court.
McCarthy, from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, was jailed for nine years after he admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and having an offensive weapon.
He went on to launch a High Court appeal in July 2015, alleging his case was “incompetently prepared by his trial representatives.”
(Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Following his appeal, McCarthy’s sentence was reduced to a total of six years after the wounding with intent charge was reduced to a lesser offence.
The tribunal heard Wallace accepted that holding pre-trial conferences with McCarthy without a solicitor being present or notified constituted professional misconduct.
He admitted four counts of failing to act conscientiously, diligently and with reasonable competence.
Wallace was fined £250 each for holding conferences with a client without a solicitor present and for failing to adequately explain the strength of the prosecution’s case.
He was fined a further £1,000 each for failing to record his client guilty plea and for failing to ensure his client understood the charge he was pleading guilty to.
‘Fake’ wife
(Image: ITV)
The TV star prefers to keep his private life out of the spotlight since he became a familiar face on the silver screen.
He recently became embroiled in a bizarre story after false claims about his personal life were published on Wikipedia.
His page on the popular site falsely claimed he was married to a woman named Matilda Bray.
But the problem with the site is that the page can be updated by any user so it’s unclear where the false information came from.
Luckily, the false comment has subsequently been removed from the site who is believed to be single.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
