''Round Britain Quiz'' (or ''RBQ'' for short) is a

panel game A panel show or panel game is a radio broadcasting, radio or television game show in which a panel of celebrities participates. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on ''The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity conte ...

that has been broadcast on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

since 1947, making it the oldest

quiz A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which players attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several specific topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth ...

still broadcast on British

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

. It was based on a format called ''Transatlantic Quiz'', a contest between American and British teams on which

Alistair Cooke Alistair Cooke (born Alfred Cooke; 20 November 1908 – 30 March 2004) was a British-American writer whose work as a journalist, television personality and radio broadcaster was done primarily in the United States.United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

play in a tournament of head-to-head battles. In a half-hour programme, each team is given four multi-part cryptic questions, each worth up to six points, to be awarded on the host's judgement. The parts of the question are generally centred on a common theme, and a degree of lateral thought is necessary to score full marks. One question for each team has a music or sound component, and another is submitted by listeners. Points are awarded to each team by the host/quizmaster. Team members may ask questions, to narrow the field; but the more they ask, or the more clues the host supplies to assist them, the fewer marks the team will score. Until 1995, there was a "resident London team" which was challenged by teams from other parts of the UK (and sometimes the Republic of Ireland). There were two hosts, one with each team. In the 1950s, the hosts were

Gilbert Harding Gilbert Charles Harding (5 June 1907 – 16 November 1960) was a British journalist and radio and television personality. His many careers included schoolmaster, journalist, policeman, disc jockey, actor, interviewer and television presenter. He ...

and

Lionel Hale Lionel Ramsay Hale (26 October 1909 – 1 January 1977) was an English critic, broadcaster and playwright. Life Hale was born in Beckenham, Kent. In the 1940s, Hale presented the radio quiz ''Transatlantic Quiz'' and an early television q ...

. Later hosts, in various combinations, included

Roy Plomley Francis Roy Plomley, ( ; 20 January 1914 – 28 May 1985) was an English radio broadcaster, producer, playwright and novelist. He is best remembered for devising the BBC Radio series ''Desert Island Discs'', which he hosted from its inception i ...

Jack Longland Sir John Laurence Longland (26 June 1905 – 29 November 1993) was an educator, mountain climber, and broadcaster. After a brilliant student career Longland became a don at Durham University in the 1930s. He formed a lifelong concern for the we ...

Anthony Quinton Anthony Meredith Quinton, Baron Quinton, FBA (25 March 192519 June 2010) was a British political and moral philosopher, metaphysician, and materialist philosopher of mind. He served as President of Trinity College, Oxford from 1978 to 1987; and ...

, Louis Allen, and, for many years, Gordon Clough. The programme was formally taken out of production after the death of Gordon Clough in 1996, but was revived a year later with a single chairman and a new format of six teams playing four matches each. From 1997 it was hosted by broadcaster

Nick Clarke Nicholas Campbell Clarke (9 June 1948 – 23 November 2006), was an English radio and television presenter and journalist, primarily known for his work on BBC Radio 4. Biography Clarke was born in 1948 in Godalming, Surrey, and educated at Westb ...

until his death in 2006. He was succeeded at the start of the 2007 series by Tom Sutcliffe. In January 2022 the BBC announced that

Kirsty Lang Kirsty Lang (born July 1962) is a British journalist and broadcaster who works for BBC Radio and Television. Earlier in her career, she was on the staff of ''The Sunday Times'' and ''Channel 4 News'', working as a presenter and reporter. Lang wa ...

would take over hosting from the series starting in March 2022 Regional contestants have included

Irene Thomas Elsie Irene Ready (28 June 1920 – 27 March 2001) was a British radio personality, well known for her participation in quiz shows and panel games from the 1960s until shortly before her death. Early life and education Thomas was born in Feltham ...

John Julius Norwich John Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich, (15 September 1929 – 1 June 2018), known as John Julius Norwich, was an English popular historian, travel writer, and television personality. Background Norwich was born at the Alfred House Nursing ...

Fred Housego Fred Housego (born 25 October 1944, Dundee, Scotland) is a former London taxi driver who became a television and radio personality and presenter after winning the BBC television quiz ''Mastermind'' in 1980. He did not give up his taxi licence when ...

Brian J. Ford Brian J. Ford HonFLS HonFRMS (born 1939 in Corsham, Wiltshire) is an independent research biologist, author, and lecturer, who publishes on scientific issues for the general public. He has also been a television personality for more than 40 ...

, Patrick Hannan and

Philippa Gregory Philippa Gregory (born 9 January 1954) is an English historical novelist who has been publishing since 1987. The best known of her works is ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2001), which in 2002 won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Roman ...

. Current contestants include

Marcus Berkmann Marcus Berkmann (born 14 July 1960) is a journalist and author. Life Berkmann was educated at Highgate School and Worcester College, Oxford. His younger brother is the DJ Justin Berkmann. He began his career as a freelance journalist, contribut ...

, David Edwards,

Adèle Geras Adèle Daphne Geras (née Weston; born 15 March 1944) is an English writer for young children, teens and adults. Early life Geras was born in Jerusalem, British Mandatory Palestine to British Jewish parents. Her father (later a lawyer and H ...

Stuart Maconie Stuart Maconie (born 13 August 1961) is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark ...

Val McDermid Valarie "Val" McDermid, (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. Biography M ...

Paul Sinha Supriya Kumar "Paul" Sinha (born 28 May 1970) is a British quizzer, comedian, doctor and broadcaster. He has written and performed extensively on Radio 4, and is one of the six Chasers on the ITV game show '' The Chase''. Early life Supriya ...

and Frankie Fanko. The original theme tune was "Radioscopie" by

Georges Delerue Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for ''A Little Romance'' (1980), three C� ...

. The current theme tune is "Scherzo and Trio" performed by the

Penguin Cafe Orchestra The Penguin Cafe Orchestra (PCO) were an avant-pop band led by English guitarist Simon Jeffes. Co-founded with cellist Helen Liebmann, it toured extensively during the 1980s and 1990s. The band's sound is not easily categorized, having elemen ...

. On one occasion

woke up naked and terrified in the

North British Hotel The Balmoral Hotel, originally built as the North British (Railway Station) Hotel, is a luxury hotel and landmark in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the heart of the city at the east end of Princes Street, the main shopping street beneath ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, his one-night stand having stolen his wallet, his clothes, and all the questions for that week’s Round Britain Quiz. Puzzles like those in ''Round Britain Quiz'' (a series of cryptic clues linked by a common theme) have appeared in written form in publications such as ''

BBC MindGames Magazine ''BBC MindGames'' was a British magazine devoted to puzzles, brainteasers and articles concerning the mind. It was published every four weeks. Its name was taken from the BBC Four show, ''Mind Games''. History and profile The magazine was laun ...

''.

External links

*
Brief historyUK Game Shows - Round Britain Quiz

References

1947 radio programme debuts BBC Radio 4 programmes British radio game shows 1940s British game shows 1950s British game shows 1960s British game shows 1970s British game shows 1980s British game shows 1990s British game shows 2000s British game shows 2010s British game shows {{BBC-radio-stub