Mastermind
Also known as	Supermind Mastermind Cup Final/Sport Mastermind International Mastermind Champions/Champion of Champions Junior Mastermind
Genre	Game show
Created by	Bill Wright
Presented by	Magnus Magnusson (1972–1997) Peter Snow (1998–2000) Clive Anderson (2001–2002) John Humphrys (2003–2021) Clive Myrie (2021–)
Theme music composer	Neil Richardson
Opening theme	Approaching Menace
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	48 (Regular) 3 (Supermind) 4 (Cup Final/Sport) 5 (International) 2 (Champions/Champion of Champions) 5 (Junior)
No. of episodes	980 (Regular) 3 (Supermind) 13 (Cup Final/Sport) 5 (International) 8 (Champions/Champion of Champions) 29 (Junior)
Production
Production locations	Dock10 studios (2011–2019) Blackstaff House, Belfast (2019–present)
Running time	30 minutes (Regular) 60 minutes (Series finals)
Production companies	BBC (1972–2015) BBC Studios (2015–2019) Hat Trick Productions andHindsight Productions (2019–present)
Original release
Network	BBC1 (1972–1997) BBC Radio 4 (1998–2000) Discovery Channel (2001–2002) BBC Two (2003–)
Release	11 September 1972 (1972-09-11) – present
Related
Celebrity Mastermind Disney Q Family Mastermind

Mastermind is a British televisionquiz show for theBBC, currently presented byClive Myrie. Its creator, Bill Wright, drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by theGestapo duringWorld War II.^[1] 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 ageneral knowledge round.

Mastermind's theme music is "Approaching Menace" by the British composerNeil Richardson. The show was recorded, with original presenterMagnus Magnusson, on location at UK universities. Later, it was recorded inManchester at studios such asNew Broadcasting House andGranada Studios, before moving todock10 studios in 2011. The show relocated toBelfast for the 2019–2020 series.

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. The contestant is not permitted to interrupt the host and give the correct answer while the question is being read out.

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^[2] 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'scatchphrase, "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 ofgeneral knowledge 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 acut glass engraved bowl. During Magnus Magnusson's tenure as presenter, the trophy was specially manufactured byCaithness Glass. 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 artistDenis Mann.^[3]

Mastermind (1972 to 1997), presented byMagnus Magnusson, aired onBBC1. It was originally broadcast late on a Monday 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 aLeslie Phillips sitcom,Casanova '73, 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.^[4] The original series was filmed in academic or ecclesiastical buildings. The last programme of the original series was filmed atSt Magnus Cathedral in Orkney.^[5]

The original series spawned many specials:

• Supermind was an annual playoff between either the first four champions ofMastermind or champions of other TV quiz shows (includingMastermind) 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 theMastermind Champion of Champions.^{[citation needed]}

BBC Radio 4'sMastermind (1998 and 2000) was hosted byPeter Snow.^{[citation needed]}

Discovery Channel'sMastermind (2001) was hosted byClive Anderson. 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 thered button viewers could play thegeneral knowledge 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.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, the currentBBC Two version premiered, hosted byJohn Humphrys. 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 inMediaCity inSalford. However, due to asbestos being found atGranada'sManchester studios parts of the 2006 series were filmed atYorkshire Television'sLeedsstudios).

• In 2008 there was a 10-part competition this time entitledSport Mastermind, hosted byDes Lynam.
• Mastermind Champion of Champions was a 2010 5-part competition that featured previousMastermind 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 theVolkswagen Beetle (heat) andJames Bondvillains (final). There was another series in 2005 (subjects included Black Holes and theStar Wars trilogy), which was won by Robin Geddes, whose specialist subjects wereThe Vicar of Dibley andA Series of Unfortunate Events, with a third series airing in 2006, won by Domnhall Ryan, and featuring subjects such asHarry Potter andChelsea Football Club, 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.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2021, Humphrys announced that after eighteen years at the helm of the show, he would leave the show. On 22 March 2021, it was announced thatClive Myrie would take over as host. Myrie made his debut on 23 August 2021.^[6]

In theUnited States, the game show2 Minute Drill on sports networkESPN had its roots inMastermind whenMichael Davies and Andrew J. Golder attempted to develop a U.S. version ofMastermind forABC.^[7][8] Contestants faced questions fired at them by a panel of four sports and entertainment celebrities for two minutes; likeMastermind, 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 hostKenny 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 theSuper Bowl orESPY Awards were also given, known as "ESPN Experiences". The show had three series over a 15-month period, from September 2000 to December 2001. LikeMastermind,2 Minute Drill featured a leather chair, dramatic lighting and sound effects. Willy Gibson ofColumbus, Ohio, was the grand champion of the first two series; he was defeated in the second round of the third and final series.^{[citation needed]}

The highest overallMastermind score is 41 points, set byKevin Ashman in 1995, his specialist subject being "The Life ofMartin Luther King Jr." Ashman went on to become six timesIQA world champion. In addition he holds the record for the highest ever score onBrain of Britain and has been a member of theEggheads since that series debut.

In August 2010 during an edition ofMastermind Champion of Champions, the 2010 series champion,Jesse Honey, 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 toPat Gibson 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.

OnJunior Mastermind in February 2007, an 11-year-old schoolboy called Callum scored 19 points on his specialist subject, cricketerAndrew Flintoff. However, he did not win, being beaten by one point after achieving a final score of 32.

The current record for the lowest score in the specialist subject round is jointly held byTroy Deeney andDana on 22 December 2023,Harry Pinero on 2 February 2024 and Aaron Evans on 16 February 2024, all of whom scored no points when answering questions on theSam Raimi trilogy ofSpider-Man films, UK hit singles of 1969–76,Lewis Hamilton and cephalopods respectively.

The current record for the overall lowest score is 2 points, set on 5 November 2022 in a Celebrity edition byGogglebox's Amy Tapper who scored two points overall; one on her specialist subject of the films ofAdam Sandler and another in the general knowledge round.

Prior to these, the record for the overall lowest score was five points, set on 29 January 2010 by software analyst Kajen Thuraaisingham, scoring four points for his specialist subject of the life ofMustafa Kemal Atatürk.^[9] Previous to this, the lowest attained score had been seven 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 two for his specialist subject,angels.^[10]

Mastermind Champion of Champions was televised Monday to Friday at 7:30pm onBBC Two in the first full week of August 2010. It featured the winners of previous series ofMastermind.

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 aprisoner of war in World War II.^[5] The original black chair was given to Magnus Magnusson as a souvenir when he retired from the show,^[12] and is now owned by his daughterSally Magnusson who inherited it following her father's death in 2007. In 1979 the original black chair was taken by a group of students during the BBC crew's evening meal break, and held to ransom to raise money for charity; this delayed the recording of two programmes. The BBC 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.^{[citation needed]}

The current chair, since 2003, is anEames Soft Pad Lounge Chair, designed byCharles and Ray Eames in 1969.^[12]

A video game adaptation was released for theZX Spectrum in 1984 byMirrorsoft.^[13] A companion game titledMastermind Quizmaster was released at the same time and was meant to be used in conjunction with the first game. It allowed the user to write their own questions.^[14]Home Computing Weekly reviewed both games and gave them two out of five stars and said: "I have no doubt that someone, somewhere, will find these two programs of use."^[15]ZX Computing also reviewed both games and the computer's ability to recognise key words in the answers was praised but the loading times in a four-player game were criticized as too long.^[14]

The programme has been the target for many television spoofs, including aTwo Ronnies sketch written byDavid Renwick (a less polished version had previously appeared in the Radio 4 series "The Burkiss Way") in 1980, featuringRonnie Barker as Magnus Magnusson andRonnie Corbett as a contestant named Charlie Smithers, whose specialist subject was "answering the question before last". A different sketch featuredMonty Python alumniMichael Palin as Magnusson andTerry Gilliam as a contestant whose speciality was "questions to which the answer is two."

In 1974,Morecambe and Wise performed a sketch based onMastermind, which featured Magnusson and the black chair. The format was different, however, with Wise, then Morecambe, being asked ten questions each.

In 1975The Goodies featuredMastermind in the episode "Frankenfido" when a dog (Bill Oddie 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' Sunday lunchtime radio 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 being a bald lump of uninhabited rock in the eastern Atlantic.

The 2003-onwards version has been spoofed by theDead Ringers team, withJon Culshaw playing John Humphrys. In one send-up, which appeared on the television edition ofDead Ringers, the contestant offered to answer questions onMary Queen of Scots, 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 theIraq War. One episode includedMastermind: The Opera.^[16]

Another spoof was featured inArmando Iannucci's2004: The Stupid Version, where a contestant's specialist subject was "The television seriesThunderbirds and Lady Penelope's Cockney chauffeur".

Also in 2004,Johnny Vaughan'sBBC Three showLive at Johnny's featured a version calledMastermind Rejects — the premise being that the specialist subjects were too ludicrously obscure even forMastermind. 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 ofMastermind. The specialist subject wasThe History of the Home Video Recorder, 1972 to 1984.^{[citation needed]}

On their 2005 Christmas Special, comedy duoFrench & Saunders parodied the show withJennifer Saunders 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'sThe Now Show 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 parodiedMastermind onThe Benny Hill Show on at least two occasions. In one of the parodies the show was called "Masterbrane". In each, Benny played the role of Magnusson whileJackie Wright played the hapless contestant.

Spitting Image used theMastermind format in a sketch where a Magnus Magnusson puppet asked questions of aJeffrey Archer 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 showHave 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 captainsIan Hislop andPaul Merton were asked questions; Hislop on "The Life and Lies ofJeffrey Archer", 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 routinesBill Bailey would often parody theMastermind 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.

TheChannel 4 Prank programmeBalls of Steel parodiedMastermind with its sketchThe Alex Zane Cleverness Game, in which experts were quizzed on their specialist subjects (included were "The Life ofAnne Frank", "Eurovision Song Contest Winners", and "Hercule Poirot"). Unbeknown to the experts, the show was a hoax, and incorrect answers were included to frustrate them whenever they supplied the correct answer.

TheBBC Three comedy showSnuff Box had the two main charactersRich Fulcher andMatt Berry both appear onMastermind. Berry chose his specialist subject asAlton Towers 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', though displays no knowledge of the subject and makes up answers such as "Toto fromThe Wizard of Oz" and "Elvis", and scoring no points.

In 2011,The Chris Moyles Show onBBC Radio 1 parodied the show with a feature called "Disastermind". Using the back-up chair from theMastermind 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 ofGlee;UK dialling codes;U2; Husky Dogs andBack to the Future.

In 2013,Mastermind featured on theITV showAnt & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, as part of an Ant Vs Dec segment whereAnt andDec had to answer questions based around a school challenge they took part in. Ant won.

Start and end dates for all series prior to the 29th were taken from theRadio Times magazine.

Region or country	Local name	Network	Host	Broadcast
Australia	Mastermind	ABC	Huw Evans	1978–1984
	Mastermind	SBS	Jennifer Byrne (2019–2021) Marc Fennell (2021–)	2019–present
	Celebrity Mastermind Australia		Jennifer Byrne (2020) Marc Fennell (2021)	2020–2021
Bangladesh	Mastermind Family Bangladesh[22][23]	Duronto TV	Nobonita Chowdhury	2019–2020
Estonia	Mälumaraton	TV3	Teet Margna	2023–present
Iceland	Meistari	Stöð 2	Helgi Pétursson	1986
India	Mastermind India	BBC India Miroshka	Siddhartha Basu	1998–2002
	Disney Q Family Mastermind	Disney Channel India	Benjamin Gilani	2013
Ireland	Mastermind	TV3	Nora Owen	2011
Israel	מקבילית המוחות Makbilit hamokhot	Channel 1	Yitzhak Shimoni Michael Dak	1990–1996
Kazakhstan	Зерде Zerde	Khabar	Bopesh Zhandayev	2018–2019
Netherlands	Megabrein	KRO	Erik van Muiswinkel	1991-1993
New Zealand	Mastermind	TVNZ 1	Peter Sinclair Peter Williams	1976–1991 2016
Russia	Властелин ума Vlastelin uma	Bibigon	Andrey Urgant	2007
	Гений Genij	Russia-K	Alexei Begak	2017–2018
Turkey	Mastermind Türkiye	NTV	Altan Erkekli	2013
United States	2 Minute Drill	ESPN	Kenny Mayne	2000–2001
Wales	Mastermind Cymru	S4C	Betsan Powys	2006–2007, 2020–2021
	Mastermind Plant Cymru			2008–2009, 2020–2021
	Celebrity Mastermind Cymru			2006–2009, 2020

• Raw, Mary-Elizabeth (1990)"--And no passes". Newmarket: R & W PublicationsISBN 0951660403 (by the 1989 winner)

• Mastermind atBBC Online
• Junior Mastermind
• Sport Mastermind
• Mastermind atIMDb
• Mastermind at theBritish Film Institute^{[better source needed]}
• Mastermind atUKGameshows.com

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