''Britain's Brainiest'' is a British television

quiz show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating whe ...

produced by

Celador CPL Productions (formerly Celador) is an independent television and radio production company run by Danielle Lux, Murray Boland and Janet Oakes. It was formed in the United Kingdom in 1981 as an independent television production company. It cr ...

and aired on ITV. The show originally aired as a one-off special ad ''Britain's Brainiest Kid'' on 9 August 2001, hosted by

Carol Vorderman Carol Jean Vorderman (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh broadcaster, media personality, and writer. Her media career began when she joined the Channel 4 game show ''Countdown'', appearing with Richard Whiteley from 1982 until his death in 2005, ...

. An adult series ran from 2 January to 6 February 2002 and a subsequent kids series aired from 9 to 31 December 2002.

Format

2001 special

The original featured four different rounds: * A set of 12 multiple choice questions, whittling down the number of male contestants from 12 to 3. * A set of 12 multiple choice questions, whittling down the number of female contestants from 12 to 3. * A subject-based round, where contestants answered questions on two subjects, this halved the number of competitors to 3. * A final round, where the remaining 3 contestants were tested on their own specialist subject and that of their fellow finalists The winner of the original special was Laura Hibbert of

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, whose specialist subject was

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

. Alex "Brains" Marshall was runner up. Marshall's specialist subject was the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

. Richard "Helium" Thomas came third. His specialist subject was the

Plantagenets The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angevi ...

2002 adult series

''Information needed''

2002 kids series

The show was resurrected, with ten half-hour heats and qualification to a 90-minute grand final show. The heats were presented by

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English television presenter and former model. Since 2004, she has co-presented the BBC One dancing competition show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Helen Elizabeth Daly was born o ...

, and the grand final by Carol Vorderman again. There was also a format change in 2002, with tie breakers being replaced by "Codexs" after the mammoth tie-break in the 2001 special. The winner of the 2002 series was Christopher Guerin, from Birmingham (specialist subject:

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

). He went on to receive three mathematics degrees including one at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and as of 2023 is a maths teacher and assistant secondary school principal.

International versions

Legend: Currently airing No longer airing Upcoming or returning version

References and notes

External links

* * *{{UKGameshow, Britain%27s_Brainiest ITV game shows Quiz shows 2000s British game shows 2001 British television series debuts 2002 British television series endings British children's game shows Television series about children Television shows shot at Elstree Film Studios