HE’S the formidable quizzer who has proven his brainy credentials on television for two decades.
Though Mastermind champion and The Chase star Shaun ‘The Dark Destroyer’ Wallace, is a household name, he insists he’s still the same man he was before finding fame and has no interest in its trappings.
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The 64-year-old will soon celebrate 40 years as a barrister and has successfully juggled his legal career with his television work for close to two decades.
He calls his foray into TV a “fortunate accident” and is determined to use his platform for altruistic reasons rather than personal gain.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun on behalf of The Department for Education’s Teach in Further Education campaign, Shaun says he’s never been “seduced” by the bright lights.
“Fame hasn’t changed me. Never will do,” he explains. “I control it. It doesn’t control me.
“One day I might say, you know what? F**k it. I’m not interested in it anymore. See ya.
“That’s how comfortable I am with my life. That’s how comfortable I am with my own skin. That’s how comfortable I am with the way in which I stay in control of my destiny.
“God’s given me only one life, one chance in life. Guess what? I’m going to take it and use it to the best of my abilities.
“For me, it’s always about trying to use your fame in an altruistic way. That’s how I enrich myself. Because it enriches others.”
Not one to rest on his laurels, Shaun continues to nourish his mind and build his skillset.
Committed to his profession, he had his head buried in notes for a big legal case prior to this interview and legal work always takes precedence over his television career, which he calls a “hobby”.
“I’m happy with my life,” he says. “I’m very fortunate and grateful to be where I am. But you know, guess what? I’ve got to keep on going.
“Got to keep on inspiring. Got to keep on moving. People put me on a pedestal.
“I don’t like to be put on a pedestal. Because as I say, I’m human like everybody else. I make mistakes.
“And the fall from grace can be swift and unrelenting. And like Humpty Dumpty, I might not be able to be put back together again.”
In an unrelenting industry where you can be flavour of the month one minute and cast out the next for saying the wrong thing, it would be understandable if Shaun were to put a guard up and live a more reserved life than he used to.
But that’s simply not the case.
“Listen, my life has not changed from the moment I became famous,” he says. “I’ve just come back from a boys holiday in Portugal.
“The guys I grew up with. Seven nights, complete debauchery and raving, having a great time. That’s it. Those are my boys. We have a great time. We have a great laugh.
“And I can let my hair down. Well, whatever hair I’ve got left on my head.”
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DEFYING EXPECTATIONS
Shaun’s philosophy is that hard work ultimately pays off and is the key to changing circumstances.
It’s a blueprint that worked for him as a working class London boy who defied the odds (at 15 he was told he’d end up working in a factory or in prison) to pass the Bar.
He jokes: “They were right about me ending up in prison. Only they forgot to say that after having seen my client, I can go home again.”
A desire to inspire others has been engrained in Shaun from a young age. Prior to becoming a legal professional he worked as a teacher in Hackney.
He continues to mentor kids to this day, delivering lectures and talks in schools, colleges and other establishments to help motivate young people to succeed.
One of his key messages is don’t be afraid to fail.
He says: “I published an autobiography called Chasing a Dream. And one of the reasons I wrote that book is because I want people to realise that when people see you in the public eye, they think you’re born rich, they think you’re born famous, they think you’re born clever.
There’s a backstory. Forty-three years ago, when my friends were going to university and my grades weren’t good enough, I burst out into tears.
“I told everybody as an 11 year old kid, I’m going to be a lawyer, I’m going to be the greatest. If you’re talk the talk in life, you’ve got to be able to walk the walk. So you know, guess what? The one thing about a failure, as I say to people, or when you have setbacks, it doesn’t mean to say that your future‘s behind you.
“It doesn’t mean to say that you are a failure. You’ve got to develop that own personality of perseverance and determination.
“No man is an island. I’ve had support from people to encourage me to sort of get up off my ass and move on. But ultimately, it’s got to come from within. Because if it doesn’t come from within, nobody’s going to push you.
“So I suppose one of my sort of strengths is perseverance, determination, and the refusal to allow anybody to control my destiny. And the only way I can ensure that is to have an educated mind.”
CAREER CHANGE
Shaun’s pivot into television came in his 40s and makes him perfectly placed to encourage others to give something new a try in middle age.
New research has found one in four people aged 44-59 want to make a change to their career, with many eager to pursue a more fulfilling role.
The Chaser has now teamed up with the government to persuade people to try their hand at teaching.
He says: “I’m supporting the campaign because I think it’s very, very important, especially if people do have experience and skills in industries across the board, ranging from heavy industries into technology, to actually use those skills in a transferable way.
“The one staple I’ll give to them is this, that tomorrow doesn’t belong to anybody. But you know, guess what, there’s nothing wrong with having a dream in terms of having future goals and aspirations.
“And those dreams should be limitless. You shouldn’t put a ceiling or a block on those dreams. And if you do have a visual presence, especially somebody like me, who’s well known and in the public eye, and has that genuine altruistic attitude of wanting to help you when you need to succeed, then I think it’s important that people like me and like-minded people like me in the industry, who are looking for that career pivot, who are looking for that career change, and who do want to actually put something back in terms of teaching the next generation, then they should be inspired by that.”
To find out more about how you could share your existing industry skills by teaching in further education, visit gov.uk/teach-in-further-education.
