Bradley Walsh on The Chase
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The Chase star Bradley Walsh on his first ‘love’ and how life could’ve turned out very differently

The TV star originally trained as a Rolls-Royce apprentice

The Chase star Bradley Walsh has made his name on TV and has a string of hit shows to his name.

But it seems Bradley’s life could have taken a very different path if he had pursued his first passion as a career instead of showbiz.

Bradley Walsh mid conversation during This Morning
The Chase host Bradley Walsh has made his name on TV (Credit: ITV)

Bradley Walsh dreamed of building a 007-style supercar

After leaving school at 16, the 62-year-old quiz show host originally trained as a Rolls-Royce apprentice engineer in Watford.

And he told Great British Life earlier this year: “I trained to build jet engines for helicopters for the British Armed Forces and my love for engineering began.”

Cars were a huge first love for Bradley, it seems, and the star revealed that his boyhood dream was actually to design and then build his own supercar – preferably something like one of James Bond’s luxury rides.

The presenter is a big fan of the suave spy and apparently fancied he could become something of a real-life Q.

The Chase host Bradley Walsh’s boyhood dreams come true

Things ramped up after he took a spin in an Aston Martin DB5.

Bradley realised that while he loved the classic car he would have liked it better with some modern features.

So, recently, away from his TV work, he quietly continued with his early love of cars as a hobby.

I’m proud of what I achieved.

Bradley decided he would come up with an idea for his own ideal car, combining the best of a classic and a modern vehicle.

He met with some designers and engineers and, after some “blood, sweat and tears”, the result was the BAE Vantare.

“I’m proud of what I achieved,” The Chase star admitted as his boyhood dream comes true.

Only 10 will be made, with prices starting at £275,000, it was reported last year.

Bradley, of course, drives one.

Bradley Walsh hosting Beat the Chasers on ITV
Bradley is best known for The Chase (Credit: ITV)

Third time’s a charm for Bradley

Meanwhile, it appears that a career in front of the camera wasn’t even Bradley’s second choice of career.

The star wanted to be a professional footballer, but various ankle fractures meant an end to that dream.

That doesn’t stop him regularly taking part in Soccer Aid, though.

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A post shared by BAEVANTARE (@bae_vantare)

Thankfully for fans of The Chase, Bradley Walsh finally saw sense and looked into a career in TV after a stint as a holiday rep.

At school, after all, he was voted most likely to become a TV host by his peers!

He can also sing and act, with roles in The Larkins and Coronation Street among the many strings to his bow.

How different life could’ve been for Bradley – and his legion of fans – had he stuck with his first love, eh!

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Julia Hunt
Freelance Writer

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