Shaun Wallace reveals racist teacher told him he would end up 'in prison'

The Chase's Shaun Wallace reveals a careers adviser told him he would end up 'in prison' or 'at best packing shelves' when he announced he wanted to be a barrister. Photo / Supplied

Shaun Wallace has revealed he was told by his school's careers adviser that he'd end up a thief and in prison.

The star of The Chase explained he'd always wanted to become a barrister until the teacher "laughed in his face".

"When I was 11 years old I knew what I wanted to be in life, I wanted to be a barrister," he says in the documentary Racism: My Story.

"I used to watch programmes like Crown Court and my hero Rumpole of the Bailey. And when I was 11 alongside my classmate, we both wrote to the Bar council."

"And we got that letter back and it told us what we need to do qualify to be a lawyer."

He continues: "At the age of 15 you have to go and see your careers teacher, and I showed her that letter. She said 'You, Wallace? Lawyer? At best, you're going to end up a thief and in prison and at worst you'll probably end up packing shelves',"

Wallace spoke to Auckland students as part of his New Zealand tour last year. Photo / File

Wallace went on to become a lawyer and pass the Bar.

"I mean, she was right about me ending up in prison, only she forgot I was seeing my client and I could go home again."

Despite becoming a highly-regarded lawyer, he says he still faces racism.

"I was never ever told I can't go into these chambers because you're black, I was never told that to my face,' he explains. 'But there are subtle ways of you not being taken on."

'I remember when I got called to the Bar, it was the proudest moment of my life. There were black barristers who were practising in the so-called "ghetto chambers," they weren't in the top sets. We had to form our own chambers in order to get work."

In June Wallace revealed he has been stopped by police "countless times".

"I was coming out from Kingston Crown Court, with an assistant who happened to be white and I was approached by these plainclothes police officers who basically said that 'you fit the profile and description ... who just took place was involved in a robbery," he said during an interview on Good Morning Britain.

"I was simply taken aback and startled," Wallace said.

"He said to me 'where were you?' and I said 'well I was at Kingston Crown Court.' 'What were you doing there?' and I said 'well if you look inside my bag you'll see why.' When he saw my robes he was totally astonished."

It isn't the first time the quizmaster has been stopped by police on "suspicion of robbery" because of racial profiling.

"I was just getting off the train at Watford Junction and again I was approached by these two plainclothes police officers.

"I was a bit startled why they were coming up to me and again he said the same thing to me that 'you fit the profile of a person we want to talk to about a robbery'. I was totally startled and again I had to show them my wig and gown, and they weren't even apologetic in relation to their conduct and response."

Wallace has since vowed to support Black Lives Matter and aims to help young people who deal with racism on a day to day basis.

"What's happening in England has been happening far too long. The way in which young black boys in particular have been stopped and searched has been done so in a disrespectful fashion, and the way in which they've been treated is totally disregarded for their human rights."

"I say to young people, not anybody can be like me, in terms of the way in which you respond. I will say to young people if you are stopped and searched, you've got nothing to fear if you've done nothing wrong."

The documentary Racism: My Story airs 100 days after the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by police in Minnesota earlier this year.