Anne Hegerty looked nothing short of sensational as she returned to The Chase for the Christmas celebrity special on Sunday.

The Chaser embraced the festive spirit as she ditched her usual grey suit and slipped into a stunning navy glittering dress which boasted mesh embellished sleeves.

She wore a glamorous palette of makeup accentuating her beauty and wore a pair of eye catching dazzling silver drop earrings.

The 66-year-old star was introduced by host Bradley Walsh and took her seat to face first contestant, McFly drummer Harry Judd.

Anne also caught the eyes of ITV viewers at home who quickly took to X to comment how ‘beautiful’ and ‘amazing’ she looked.

They wrote: ‘Finally, they get @anne_hegerty out of that horrid grey garb and into her sparkly party dress. Doesn’t she look amazing?;

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Anne Hegerty looked nothing short of sensational as she returned to The Chase for the Christmas celebrity special on Sunday

The Chaser embraced the festive spirit as she ditched her usual grey suit

‘Yes so love when @anne_hegerty glams up❤️ Anne looks so beautiful in her sparkly dress♥️ Also love Bradley and Anne’s chemistry together;

‘Anne looks beautiful; She does look lovely; She’s great, but tonight @anne_hegerty looked stunning; Ann looked absolutely stunning tonight, loved her dress’.

The Governess faced off against a panel of celebrities aiming to raise money for charity in this year’s festive special on ITV.

Waterloo Road actress Angela Griffin was joined by Strictly Come Dancing professional Kai Widdrington alongside EastEnders actor Shane Richie and McFly’s Harry.

It comes after Anne revealed her biggest fear about dating is having a man encroach on her personal space.

The quizzer, who was diagnosed with autism, confessed her struggles as she reflected on once unplugging her phone to stop a boyfriend being able to contact her.

Speaking to MailOnline at The Paul Strank Roofing Charity Gala in Kensington, London, she insisted she’d make a terrible partner.

Anne shared: ‘I really struggle with closeness and having anyone else in the house. I think an awful lot of autistic people don’t get married or settle down.’

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Anne wowed as she slipped into a stunning navy glittering dress which boasted mesh embellished sleeves

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Her dress boasted a daring thigh high split

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She wore a glamorous palette of makeup accentuating her beauty and wore a pair of eye catching dazzling silver drop earrings

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View gallery

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Anne also caught the eyes of ITV viewers at home who quickly took to X to comment how ‘beautiful’ and ‘amazing’ she looked

She continued: ‘I don’t even have pets for that reason and my capacity for living with other people is just diminishing. I need a huge amount of alone time.

‘I just always feel like I want more space than someone can possibly give me. If I wanted a relationship I’d go out and get it but I honestly don’t.’

Anne has previously revealed her longest relationship only lasted four months, and reflecting on that dalliance she confessed: ‘It only worked for those few months because I was in Manchester. I kind of maneuvered it into a place where it wouldn’t work.

‘I wrote to him in the end to call it off. I remember crying with relief and then crying with guilt.’

Anne had reached the end of her tether, however, as she explained: ‘Sometimes, I used to unplug the phone because he tried to call me everyday. I just wanted to get it over with.

‘I’d be sitting there just waiting for the phone to ring thinking “don’t phone, don’t phone, don’t phone!”

‘Other times, just to get over the suspense, I’d phone him and, of course, that made him think that I wanted to talk to him but I think I just wanted to get it over with. I didn’t want to talk to him or anyone!’

Yet Anne hasn’t been short of offers and joked she has admirers who seem to be drawn to her Mrs Trunchball-type Governess outfit.

She revealed: ‘I’m sure there are some who like the whole look of The Governess. I’m sure there are some that might be interested if they let me.

‘I do meet attractive men but it’s never going to work. My feeling is “it’s not fair on you because I will not treat you well.”

‘I always feel like I want more space they can possibly give me. If I missed it I’d go out and get someone but I don’t.

‘It’s much better not to do dating at all and I’ve always felt men make such good friends. I’m always drawn to men more than women.’

She added: ‘I was at a quiz back in June and at the end of the day a woman I knew was leaving and said to me, “isn’t it weird we were the only two women in the room?” and I’d never even noticed. I just automatically started talking to my friends and they were men.’