17 November 2023 , 17:00
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Hayley Palmer has revealed the 'ice breaker' moment she met Mark 'The Beast' Labbett and why she was left so 'impressed' by his 'fun' talking point.
The TV presenter has been dating the ITV The Chase's quiz master since last year, after the pair exchanged numbers following a pleasant encounter on a red carpet in London. Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Hayley has now opened up about their first ever conversation and the unlikely date that followed.
The 42-year-old host was introduced to Mark at the National Television Awards in 2022 through their mutual agent, and was instantly enthralled by his witty humour. It was the 58-year-old's 'random' pocket accessory, however, that truly set off sparks - and an excuse for the smitten pair to meet again.
Hayley Palmer has revealed the 'ice breaker' conversation topic she shard with Mark Labbett when they first met (Splash News / Shutterstock 2023)“The agent was like, ‘Mark meet Hayley, Hayley meet Mark.’ And he just literally was like, ‘Oh, hiya.’ And then got out a Toby Carvery card and was like, ‘I’ve got this Toby Carvery card.’ I was like ‘Who’s got that?'" Rather than be put off by the voucher for the traditional British restaurant chain, Hayley was admittedly swooned.
"I’d never seen it in my life before," she said, before adding, "It was really impressive." The card even led to some playful banter between the pair, with Hayley jokingly stealing it off Mark before he offered to take her to Toby's himself.
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"It was a fun kind of ice breaker," she recalled. "Then he messaged me the next day, and we were having a little chat, and he was like, Maybe I’ll take you that Toby Carvery." She has confirmed they have since been to the roast-focused dinery, but at the time of Mark's proposition, Hayley believed it was purely platonic.
Hayley said something 'clicked' when they walking together on a beach in Portsmouth (markthebeastlabbett/Instagram)
Hayley Palmer and Mark Labbett at the press night for Dirty Dancing at the Dominion Theatre in London (Brett Cove/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)"I was just laughing about it, I thought we were just friends," she explains. It wasn't until an unplanned date after Mark appeared as a guest on her show, Saturday Night with Hayley Palmer, that sparks truly began to flicker. Once their interview had wrapped, Hayley invited the former mathematics teacher to accompany her to a Dirty Dancing press night across the road. After the show, the GB News host said that he looked her straight in the eye and revealed, "Do you know what, I like you."
Struck by this 'upfront' approach but feeling the mutual attraction, Hayley recalls, "I said, 'I like you too'....It was so sweet." The former dancer then says that Mark suggested driving down to Portsmouth, where she was visiting her mother the following weekend, to meet her for a second date.
"That's when it clicked that there was more to it," she explains. "We were walking along this beach, and I was like, he's a really nice guy, such a kind gentleman. I feel really safe with you. It was a simple moment. Whatever this is, this is really nice. It's really special because we were friends first."