The Chase star Mark Labbett has split from his wife, who is also his second cousin, after their open marriage failed to work.

The 55-year-old TV quizzer and Katie, 28, have been married for seven years and have a three-year-old son together.

Labbett, known on the quiz show as The Beast and thought to live in Herefordshire, told The Sun On Sunday that "it's got to the point now where I realise it is better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly".

He said the couple spent the past 18 months trying to make their unconventional marriage work after Katie told him about an affair.

"When Katie first came clean to me about her boyfriend, I'd had an inkling," he said.

"But right from the start, my attitude was quite pragmatic - this was spilt milk, what could we do about the situation to make it OK?

"We had a family. We couldn't just throw that away lightly. There were other considerations.

"But Covid provided the perfect storm. My mental health suffered and the differences in our ages became magnified.

"It's got to the point where I realise it's better for us to go our separate ways and remain friendly, without the stress factor of living together."

Katie said: "I want everyone to know what's what and that we are all happy. I just want Mark to be happy."

The pair previously revealed that they discovered, after getting together, that they are second cousins, but "it wasn't something we were aware of at the time".

Labbett's agent David Hahn said in a statement: "We can confirm Mark and Katie have split but will not be making any further comment. "