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''Mastermind'' is a British television quiz show for the

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, currently presented by

Clive Myrie Clive Myrie (born 25 August 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader and presenter who works for the BBC. Since August 2021 he has been the host of the long-running BBC quiz shows ''Mastermind'' and '' Celebrity Mastermind''. Early life Myrie ...

. Its creator, Bill Wright, drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The show features an intimidating setting and challenging questions. Four (and in later contests five or six) contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a

general knowledge General knowledge is information that has been accumulated over time through various mediums and sources. It excludes specialized learning that can only be obtained with extensive training and information confined to a single medium. General kn ...

round. ''Mastermind''s theme music is "Approaching Menace" by the British composer Neil Richardson. The show was recorded, with original presenter

Magnus Magnusson Magnus Magnusson, (born Magnús Sigursteinsson; 12 October 1929 – 7 January 2007) was an Icelandic-born British-based journalist, translator, writer and television presenter. Born in Reykjavík, he lived in Scotland for almost all his life, a ...

, on location at UK universities. Later, it was recorded in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

at studios such as New Broadcasting House and

Granada Studios Old Granada Studios (known simply as Granada Studios and previously known as The Manchester Studios) is a television studio complex and events venue on Quay Street in Manchester with the facility to broadcast live and recorded television programm ...

, before moving to dock10 studios in 2011. The show relocated to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

for the 2019–2020 series.

Format

For the first round, each contestant in turn is given a set length of time, usually two minutes (one minute and a half in semi-finals), to answer questions on a specialised subject which they have chosen. The contestant scores one point for each correct answer and may pass as often as desired. If the contestant responds incorrectly, the questioner gives the correct answer before continuing to the next question; answers to passed questions are read out only after time has expired. In early series, the score and time were kept by Mary Craig who sat next to Magnusson. If time runs out while a question is being read, the questioner will finish it and give the contestant a few seconds to answer. This has led to the programme's

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "I've started so I'll finish." If a question has been read out in full when time expires, but the contestants have not yet given an answer, they are allowed a few seconds to do so. The contestant's score is displayed on screen; beginning with the 2016–17 series, the border around the score gradually turns blue (black in the 2019–20 series) during the final 10 seconds. During the second round, each contestant in turn answers a series of

questions. The rules from the first round apply, except that the time limit is extended (usually two and a half minutes since 2010, or two minutes in semi-finals and until 2010). Originally, the contestants played in the same order as in the first round; currently, they play in ascending order by first-round score. The winner is the contestant with the highest total score after two rounds. Ties are broken in favour of the contestant with the fewest total passes. If contestants have the same score and number of passes, a five-question tiebreaker is played. Each of the tied contestants answers the same set of questions individually, with the others exiting the studio so that they cannot hear the results. The contestant who gives the most correct answers is the winner. The winners advance to the next round, for which they must choose a different specialised subject. In the early years of the programme, finalists were allowed to reuse their first round subjects in the grand final. However, from 1992 onwards, the finalists are required to choose a third subject. The winner of the final of the BBC version is declared "Mastermind" for that year and is the only contestant to receive a prize, in the form of a

cut glass Cut glass or cut-glass is a technique and a style of decorating glass. For some time the style has often been produced by other techniques such as the use of moulding, but the original technique of cutting glass on an abrasive wheel is still u ...

engraved bowl. During Magnus Magnusson's tenure as presenter, the trophy was specially manufactured by

Caithness Glass Caithness Glass is a Scottish artistic glassware manufacturing company. It was established in Wick, Caithness, Scotland in 1961 by Robin Sinclair, 2nd Viscount Thurso. It was by George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie in 1966. Mackie was chairman ...

. A special guest would always be invited to present the trophy to the winner, with the exception of the final edition in 1997, in which Magnusson presented it himself. Every trophy used by the main series has been made by Scottish artist

Denis Mann Denis Mann (born 1935) is a Scottish glass artist. He studied under Helen Monro Turner at the Edinburgh Art College where he learnt the copper wheel engraving technique, which he used in his later career. After a short stint as an art teache ...

Versions

''Mastermind'' (1972 to 1997) presented by

aired on television channel

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. It was originally broadcast late on a Sunday night and was not expected to receive a huge audience. In 1973 it was moved to a prime-time slot as an emergency replacement for a

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

sitcom, ''

Casanova '73 ''Casanova '73'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1 in September and October 1973. Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the series starred Leslie Phillips as wealthy womaniser Henry Newhouse (the English translation of "casa nova"). Backg ...

'', which had been moved to a later time following complaints about its risqué content. The quiz subsequently became one of the most-watched shows on British television. Magnusson's catchphrase "I've started so I'll finish" was also the title of his history of the show. The original series was filmed in academic or ecclesiastical buildings. The last programme of the original series was filmed at

St Magnus Cathedral St Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town of Orkney, a group of islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. It is the most northerly cathedral in the United Kingdom, a fine example of Romanesque architecture built ...

in Orkney.As described on the BBC website's ''Mastermind'' page The original series spawned many specials: * ''Supermind'' was an annual playoff between either the first four champions of ''Mastermind'' or champions of other TV quiz shows (including ''Mastermind'') from 1976 or 1977. It ran for three years between 1976 and 1978. * ''Cup Final Mastermind'' was an annual playoff between experts and supporters from the FA Cup Finalist teams they are supporting. It ran from 1978 and 1980. * ''Mastermind International'' was an annual playoff between winners of various international versions of the show (or the nearest equivalents in some countries) and ran for five years between 1979 and 1983. * ''Mastermind Champions'' was a 1982 3-part competition where the first ten champions of the show compete to become the ''Mastermind'' Champion of Champions.

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's Mastermind (1998 and 2000) was hosted by

Peter Snow Peter John Snow (born 20 April 1938) is a British radio and television presenter and historian. Between 1969 and 2005, he was an analyst of general election results, first on ITV and later for the BBC. He presented ''Newsnight'' from its laun ...

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

's Mastermind (2001) was hosted by

Clive Anderson Clive Stuart Anderson (born 10 December 1952) is an English television and radio presenter, comedy writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts durin ...

. The commercials shortened the amount of time available for answering questions and lasted just one series. This was also the first to go 'interactive'. By using the

red button Red button may refer to: *Red Button (digital television), a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the United Kingdom and Australia, and used to access interactive television services **BBC Red Button, a digit ...

viewers could play the

section throughout the series. These questions had been written specifically to afford both standard and multiple-choice format in presentation. There was a one-off competition between the four highest scoring viewers. In 2003, the current

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

version premiered, hosted by

John Humphrys Desmond John Humphrys (born 17 August 1943) is a Welsh broadcaster. From 1981 to 1987 he was the main presenter for the '' Nine O'Clock News'', the flagship BBC News television programme, and from 1987 until 2019 he presented on the BBC Radio 4 ...

. Whereas the original series had kept talk to a minimum (asking contestants only their name, occupation and specialist subject), the new run had at first included some conversational elements with contestants, at the start of the General Knowledge round (normally about the contestant's specialist subject). But these have been dropped since the 2011 series. Instead there is now a brief monologue from the winner at the end of each episode about how pleased they are to have won. There is no discussion with the other contestants. It is also distinguished from the original BBC TV series because many more of the specialist subjects come from popular culture. This probably reflects cultural changes in the British middle classes in recent years. Unlike the original version, this version is studio-based. It is now made in MediaCity in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

. Although, due to asbestos being found at Granada's

studios parts of the 2006 series were filmed at

Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery ( ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

). * In 2008 there was a 10-part competition this time entitled ''Sport Mastermind'', hosted by

Des Lynam Desmond Michael Lynam, (born 17 September 1942) is an Irish-born television and radio presenter. In a broadcasting career spanning more than forty years, he has hosted television coverage of many of the world's major sporting events, presentin ...

. * ''

Mastermind Champion of Champions Mastermind Champion of Champions is a pair of special series of BBC quiz program Mastermind Mastermind, Master Mind or The Mastermind may refer to: Fictional characters * Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), a fictional supervillain in Marvel Comics, a ...

'' was a 2010 5-part competition that featured previous ''Mastermind'' champions. * ''Junior Mastermind'', also hosted by John Humphrys, is a children's version of the quiz programme and has the same format, the difference being that the contestants are only ten and eleven years old. The programme aired across six nights on BBC One, ending on 4 September 2004. The winner was Daniel Parker, whose specialist subjects were the

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle—officially the Volkswagen Type 1, informally in German (meaning "beetle"), in parts of the English-speaking world the Bug, and known by many other nicknames in other languages—is a two-door, rear-engine economy car, ...

(heat) and

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

villain A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character a ...

s (final). There was another series in 2005 (subjects included Black Holes and the ''Star Wars'' trilogy), which was won by Robin Geddes, whose specialist subjects were ''

The Vicar of Dibley ''The Vicar of Dibley'' is a British sitcom which originally ran on BBC One from 10 November 1994 to 1 January 2007. It is set in a fictional small Oxfordshire village called Dibley, which is assigned a female vicar following the 1992 changes ...

'' and ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. After their p ...

'', with a third series airing in 2006, won by Domnhall Ryan, and featuring subjects such as

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

and

Chelsea Football Club Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. ...

, and a fourth series in 2007 won by Robert Stutter and a fifth series later that year won by David Verghese. The Junior version was cancelled after the two 2007 series. In February 2021, Humphrys announced that after 18 years at the helm of the show, he would leave the show. On 22 March 2021, it was announced that

would take over as host. Myrie made his debut on 23 August 2021. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the game show '' 2 Minute Drill'' on sports network

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

had its roots in ''Mastermind''. Contestants faced questions fired at them by a panel of four sports and entertainment celebrities for two minutes; like ''Mastermind'', there were two rounds of questions, but the first round had each panellist's questions representing a different sports category pertaining to their area of expertise, and the second round had no categories and the contestant could not control who asked the questions; they were fired at random. The contestant with the highest score after two rounds would win a cash prize, and would have a chance to double those winnings by correctly answering the untimed "Question of Great Significance," as host Kenny Mayne called it, from a speciality category chosen by the winner (usually a particular athlete or sports team from the past). In each series, winners advanced in a bracket-style playoff format, with cash prizes increasing from $5,000 in the first round to $50,000 (doubling to $10,000–$100,000 by answering the final question) in the final round. Prizes such as trips to the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

ESPY Awards An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

were also given, known as "ESPN Experiences". The show had three series over a 15-month period, from September 2000 to December 2001. Like ''Mastermind'', ''2 Minute Drill'' featured a leather chair, dramatic lighting and sound effects. Willy Gibson of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, was the grand champion of the first two series; he was defeated in the second round of the third and final series.

Records

Highest scores

The highest overall ''Mastermind'' score is 41 points, set by

Kevin Ashman Kevin Clifford Ashman (born 2 November 1959) is an English quiz player. He is often considered one of the greatest quizzers in the world, and since 2002 has been a professional quizzer; he has been an '' Egghead'' since 2003. He has won most o ...

in 1995, his specialist subject being "The Life of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

" Ashman went on to become six times IQA world champion. In addition he holds the record for the highest ever score on ''

Brain of Britain ''Brain of Britain'' is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4. History It began as a slot in ''What Do You Know?'' in 1953. The main part of the show was the "Brain of Britain" quiz itself, originally called "Ask Me An ...

'' and has been a member of the '' Eggheads'' since that series debut. In August 2010 during an edition of ''

'', the 2010 series champion,

Jesse Honey Jesse Honey (born 1977) is an English urban planner and quiz player from South London, best known for winning the ''Mastermind'' series 2010 and holding one of its records, becoming a member of the English National quiz team la ...

, scored 23 out of 23 on "Flags of the World" in the specialist subject round, an all-time record. He finished as runner-up with a combined score of 36 points, losing out to

Pat Gibson Patrick Gibson (born 19 July 1961) is an Irish quizzer. On 24 April 2004 he became the fourth contestant to win the £1m jackpot on the quiz show ''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?''. He is a multiple world champion in quizzing and one of the wo ...

by having two more passes. Honey's score was equalled by Iwan Thomas, who scored a record 23 (in two-and-a-half minutes) in the general knowledge round in 2010. On ''Junior Mastermind'' in February 2007, an 11-year-old schoolboy called Callum scored 19 points on his specialist subject, cricketer

Andrew Flintoff Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff (born 6 December 1977) is an English television and radio presenter and former international cricketer. Flintoff played all forms of the game and was one of the sport's leading all-rounders, a fast bowler, middle-ord ...

. However, he did not win, being beaten by one point after achieving a final score of 32.

Lowest scores

The current record for the lowest score in the specialist subject round is jointly held by Simon Curtis, Steve Ferry,

Nancy Lam Nancy Lam (born in Singapore in 1948) is a Singaporean celebrity chef famous for her Southeast Asian cuisine and television appearances. Beginnings Nancy Lam moved to London, United Kingdom from Singapore at the age of 22. After originally tra ...

and Amy Tapper, all of whom only scored 1 point when answering questions on the life and films of

Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...

, the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

and the films of

Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...

respectively. The current record for the overall lowest score is 2 points, set on 5 November 2022 in a Celebrity edition by

Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for thei ...

’s Amy Tapper, scoring 2 points overall, 1 on her specialist subject of the films of

and another in the general knowledge round. However, parasport athlete Kadeena Cox - who scored 3 points on 21 December 2016 in a Celebrity edition - scored all 3 points on her specialist subject of Arsenal F.C and she is currently the only ever contestant to score no points in a round. Prior to these, the record for the overall lowest score was 5 points, set on 29 January 2010 by software analyst Kajen Thuraaisingham, scoring 4 points for his specialist subject of the life of

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

. Previous to this, the lowest attained score had been 7 points which was first set by Colin Kidd in 2005. His specialist subject was "The World Chess Championships". The score was equalled in November 2009 by gas fitter Michael Burton; he only scored 2 for his specialist subject,

Angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

Champions

Regular

Supermind

Cup Final/Sport

International

Champions/Champion of Champions

''Mastermind Champion of Champions'' was televised Monday to Friday at 7:30 pm on

in the first full week of August 2010. It featured the winners of previous series of ''Mastermind''.

Junior

Chair

Contestants sit in a black leather chair, lit by a solitary spotlight in an otherwise dark studio. The inspiration for this was the interrogations faced by the show's creator, Bill Wright, as a

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

in World War II. The original black chair was given to Magnus Magnusson as a souvenir when he retired from the show, and is now owned by his daughter

Sally Magnusson Sally Anne Magnusson (born 1955) is a Scottish broadcast journalist, television presenter and writer, who currently presents the Thursday and Friday night edition of BBC Scotland's ''Reporting Scotland''. She also presents ''Tracing Your Roots' ...

who inherited it following her father's death in 2007. On one occasion the original black chair was stolen by a group of students during the BBC crew's evening meal break, and held to ransom to raise money for charity. This prank delayed the recording of two programmes. The BBC subsequently commissioned a duplicate chair which was kept locked in the scenery truck at every recording to thwart similar ransom demands. The duplicate chair was never used on air, except in the title sequence, which was recorded in London while the main chair was on the road. Its current whereabouts are unknown. The current chair is an Eames Soft Pad Lounge Chair designed by

Charles and Ray Eames Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...

in 1969.

Parodies

The programme has been the target for many television spoofs, including a ''

Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...

'' sketch written by

David Renwick David Peter Renwick (; born 4 September 1951) is an English author, television writer, actor, director and executive producer, best known for creation of the sitcom ''One Foot in the Grave'' and the mystery series ''Jonathan Creek''. He was awar ...

(a less polished version had previously appeared in the Radio 4 series "

The Burkiss Way ''The Burkiss Way'' is a BBC Radio 4 sketch comedy series, originally broadcast between August 1976 and November 1980. It was written by Andrew Marshall and David Renwick, with additional material in seasons 1 and 2 by John Mason, Colin Bostoc ...

") in 1980, featuring

Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. ...

as Magnus Magnusson and

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

as a contestant named Charlie Smithers, whose specialist subject was "answering the question before last". A different sketch featured ''

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

'' alumni

Michael Palin Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries. Palin w ...

as Magnusson and

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including ''Time Bandits'' (1981), ''B ...

as a contestant whose speciality was "questions to which the answer is ''two''." In 1974,

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...

performed a sketch based on ''Mastermind'', which featured Magnusson and the black chair. The format was different, however, with Wise, then Morecambe, being asked 10 questions each. In 1975

The Goodies The Goodies were a trio of British comedians: Tim Brooke-Taylor (17 July 1940–12 April 2020), Graeme Garden (b. 18 February 1943) and Bill Oddie (b. 7 July 1941). The trio created, wrote for and performed in their eponymous television comed ...

featured ''Mastermind'' in the episode " Frankenfido" when a dog (

Bill Oddie William Edgar Oddie (born 7 July 1941) is an English writer, comedian, songwriter, musician, artist, birder, conservationist, television presenter and actor. He was a member of comedy trio The Goodies. A birder since his childhood in Quinto ...

in a suit) appeared on the show and managed to correctly answer questions asked of it as they all had answers that could be represented by growls, such as 'bark' and 'ruff'. In the late 1970s,

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...

' radio Sunday lunchtime show featured a send-up called "Musty Mind" where a phone-in contestant would be asked ludicrous questions on a parody of a serious subject, such as the "Toad Racing" or, on another occasion, "The Cultural and Social History of Rockall" –

Rockall Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...

being a bald lump of uninhabited rock in the eastern Atlantic. The 2003-onwards version has been spoofed by the '' Dead Ringers'' team, with Jon Culshaw playing John Humphrys. In one send-up, which appeared on the television edition of ''Dead Ringers'', the contestant offered to answer questions on

Mary Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...

, but when an answer was given, John Humphrys was shown saying "Yes, but you sexed that answer up". The sketch was a reference to the controversy caused by the aftermath of the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

. One episode included ''Mastermind: The Opera''. Another spoof was featured in

Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...

's '' 2004: The Stupid Version'', where a contestant's specialist subject was "The television series '' Thunderbirds'' and Lady Penelope's Cockney chauffeur". Also in 2004,

Johnny Vaughan Jonathan Randal Vaughan (born 16 July 1966) is an English television and radio presenter and a film critic. He was the main presenter of ''Capital Breakfast'' alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011. Vaughan currently pr ...

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

show ''Live at Johnny's'' featured a version called ''Mastermind Rejects''—the premise being that the specialist subjects were too ludicrously obscure even for ''Mastermind''. In the final show of the series, Magnus Magnusson took over as the quizmaster—it was the last time he would utter the catchphrase "I've started so I'll finish" on any form of ''Mastermind''. The specialist subject was ''The History of the Home Video Recorder, 1972 to 1984''. On their 2005 Christmas Special, comedy duo

French & Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is a ...

parodied the show with

Jennifer Saunders Jennifer Jane Saunders (born 6 July 1958) is an English actress, comedian, singer and screenwriter. Saunders originally found attention in the 1980s, when she became a member of The Comic Strip after graduating from the Royal Central School of ...

playing Abigail Wilson, a pensioner whose special subject is ceramic teapots. She passes on all but one question, which she answers incorrectly. In 2005, the show was spoofed on BBC Radio 4's ''

The Now Show ''The Now Show'' is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs hosted by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis. The show used to feature regular appearances by J ...

'' where the specialist subject was "Britishness", relating to the proposed test immigrants may have to take, to prove they can fit in with British society.

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double ente ...

parodied ''Mastermind'' on ''

The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...

'' on at least two occasions. In one of the parodies the show was called "Masterbrane". In each, Benny played the role of Magnusson while

Jackie Wright John Wright (24 September 1904 – 11 January 1989), credited professionally as Jackie Wright, also nicknamed Little Jackie and Uncle Jackie, was a Northern Irish comedian. He is best known for being the bald-headed sidekick of Benny Hill on h ...

played the hapless contestant. ''

Spitting Image ''Spitting Image'' is a British satirical television puppet show, created by Peter Fluck, Roger Law and Martin Lambie-Nairn. First broadcast in 1984, the series was produced by 'Spitting Image Productions' for Central Independent Television ov ...

'' used the ''Mastermind'' format in a sketch where a Magnus Magnusson puppet asked questions of a

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...

puppet whose specialist subject was himself. The twist was that Archer's puppet, being incapable of answering questions about himself without exaggeration or evasion, ends the round with zero points. The BBC's satirical current affairs quiz show '' Have I Got News for You'' has parodied the show several times, by turning the lights down – except for spotlights above select chairs – and playing the theme tune, before subjecting at least one of the panel to some rigorous questioning. The first occasion was on the 1995 video special, when only regular captains

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, writer, broadcaster, and editor of the magazine ''Private Eye''. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes and has been a team captain on the BBC quiz show ...

and

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...

were asked questions; Hislop on "The Life and Lies of

", and Merton on "Absurd Newspaper Stories Between 1990 and 1995". The second occasion was in 1998, when Magnus Magnusson appeared as a guest. All four panellists were asked questions on this occasion. In his early routines Bill Bailey would often parody the ''Mastermind'' music, finding it very sinister. He would then play the music on keyboard with an over-the-top hellish sounding climax. In the last episode of " Is It Bill Bailey?" he followed on from this performance with a sketch where he was a contestant on Mastermind, and it was implied that his specialist subject was the microwave cooking instructions on supermarket ready meals. As the camera panned out it became evident that the chair itself was on a platter, slowly turning in a giant microwave oven. The

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

Prank programme '' Balls of Steel'' parodied ''Mastermind'' with its sketch ''The Alex Zane Cleverness Game'', in which experts were quizzed on their specialist subjects (included were "The Life of

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

", "

Eurovision Song Contest Winners 69 songs written by 139 songwriters have won the Eurovision Song Contest, an annual competition organised by member countries of the European Broadcasting Union. The contest, which has been broadcast every year since its debut in 1956 (with t ...

", and "

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

"). Unbeknown to the experts, the show was a hoax, and incorrect answers were included to frustrate them whenever they supplied the correct answer. The

comedy show ''

Snuff Box A decorative box is a form of packaging that is generally more than just functional, but also intended to be decorative and artistic. Many such boxes are used for promotional packaging, both commercially and privately. Historical objects are u ...

'' had the two main characters

Rich Fulcher Richard Fulcher (born November 18, 1968) is an American comedian, actor and author. He played Bob Fossil and other characters in the British comedy series ''The Mighty Boosh'', and Edward Sheath in the American series '' Jon Benjamin Has a Van'' ...

and

Matt Berry Matthew Charles Berry (born 2 May 1974) is an English actor, comedian, musician, and writer. He is best known for his roles in comedy series such as '' The IT Crowd'', ''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace'', ''The Mighty Boosh'', ''Snuff Box'', ''What ...

both appear on ''Mastermind''. Berry chose his specialist subject as

Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...

and only scored 3 points before a blackout, in which he apparently shoots the host after being told to sit down. Fulcher chooses '

Anglo-Saxon architecture Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with that ...

', though displays no knowledge of the subject and makes up answers such as 'Toto from The Wizard Of Oz' and '

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

', and scoring no points. In 2011, ''

The Chris Moyles Show ''The Chris Moyles Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as Radio 1 Breakfast from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012 before transferring three years later on 21 ...

'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

parodied the show with a feature called 'Disastermind'. Using the back-up chair from the ''Mastermind'' studio, each team member chose a specialist subject, only to have them swapped before being questioned in the chair on their randomly selected subject and general knowledge. The specialist subjects were The World of ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

''; UK Dialling Codes; U2; Husky Dogs and ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...

''. In 2013, ''Mastermind'' featured on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

show ''

Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ''Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway'' (referred to simply as ''Saturday Night Takeaway'' or ''SNT'') is a British television variety show, created and presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially known as Ant & Dec), an ...

'', as part of an Ant Vs Dec segment where

Ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

and Dec had to answer questions based around a school challenge they took part in. Ant won.

Transmissions

Regular

Supermind

Cup Final/Sport

International

Champions/Champion of Champions

Junior

Specials

International versions

References

BBC Genome project references

External links

*
''Junior Mastermind''

''Sport Mastermind''
* * * {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2020 1972 British television series debuts 1970s British television series 1980s British television series 1990s British television series 2000s British television series 2010s British television series 2020s British television series BBC television game shows 1970s British game shows 1980s British game shows 1990s British game shows 2000s British game shows 2010s British game shows 2020s British game shows English-language television shows Television series by BBC Studios Television series by Hat Trick Productions Lost BBC episodes

Format

Versions

Records

Highest scores

Lowest scores

Champions

Regular

Supermind

Cup Final/Sport

International

Champions/Champion of Champions

Junior

Chair

Parodies

Transmissions

Regular

Supermind

Cup Final/Sport

International

Champions/Champion of Champions

Junior

Specials

International versions

Further reading

References

BBC Genome project references

External links