Fifteen to One
I applied for the first series of Fifteen to One in 1999 and travelled to an audition in Poole, Dorset, my first ever quiz audition. It was over pretty quickly, as I recall and I was sunk by a question on the Japanese word for Government. (I still don’t know that one!)
So, when the opportunity came up to try again for the slick 2014 reboot with Sandi Toksvig I couldn’t resist and auditioned once more in a North London hotel.
This time, I did somewhat better and a month later found myself greeting 2012 Mastermind champion Gary Grant at the entrance to the Elstree studios. Easy competition, then!
After a fairly short wait, it was down to the studio and on with the quizzing, but feeling a bit under the weather I wasn't sure I was at my best.
Bizarrely, after doing so well on questions about the Gladiators just a few weeks earlier, I was thrown straight away by a question I should've got right in my sleep: “Which UK series features contestants Wolf and Jet?”
My mind went completely blank and I ummed and errred for far too long. I couldn’t even visualise the programme, so that was my first life gone. Oh dear.
The second question was prefixed with the dreaded word, ‘Physics’. One of my bogey subjects. (Harry Benson, I’m sorry, I really wish I’d tried harder in your lessons).
Cue a question about the inventor of the photocopier that left me stumped. Later on, I learnt that Charles Carlsen used his Xerox millions in philanthropy.
Next round was a new day and a new look to things. Feeling a lot fresher and back to my usual self, I was a bit more confident this time around. The first question was an easy Superman question while the second was a 'gimme' on Elton John's directorship of Watford. As a Hornets fan, Chris, the Blockbuster contestant next to me, looked gutted that he’d not had the chance to answer that one.
So, onto the third round. Felt good – next up was a question on the Black Sea. Then the Equinox, and then a question about the Buddha.
Unfortunately I found myself in a Battle Royale with Howard. Not good, as the more questions you have, the more chance you have of getting a brutal question.
And so it proved – "Which conductor and cellist performed at the Berlin Wall?" and then the killer question, "Which alliterative female character featured in the Dandy? The only character I could think of was Minnie The Minx, but I knew it was the wrong answer as she’s certainly in the Beano, so out I went on my second show. (Beryl the Peril was what they were looking for).
So, onto the third show and things kicked off with a on nasty question on Green Park. Damn. I should have got that one. Then it was a question on what links the leader of an orchestra and a material that electricity can travel along. Phew - I was through!
The next question was on the broadcast location for the first ever BBC show. An easier one - Alexandra Palace. Unfortunately I went into a battle with Michael Frankl, an Oxford University graduate and Mastermind semi-finalist.
Having observed Michael slip through to the final three by barely answering any questions, getting into another ‘ping pong’ battle was what I wanted to avoid in the second round. And it wasn’t good. "Which French female philosopher wrote 'The Second Sex'? " had me searching through the memory bank and I could only get as far as the letter ‘S’. It was Simone De Beauvoir. Terrible start. Next up came Ancient History – what’s the name of the Roman winter festival. I spluttered out ‘Ides of Winter’ in some semblance of an answer, but I knew that the game was up and it was ' lights out'.
So, this one was amazing experience from a number of perspectives. Great to see so many faces from the world of Brain of Britain and Mastermind. The enthusiasm for quizzing was palpable. In the green room, before recording, when I was reading out questions from Dan Smith's quiz compendium as a tester, it was a VERY rare moment to hear silence. These people know their onions! The final, played out between Dave McBryan, David Stainer and Dr Euan Thomas was a thrilling affair, with Dave a worthy winner.
I applied for the first series of Fifteen to One in 1999 and travelled to an audition in Poole, Dorset, my first ever quiz audition. It was over pretty quickly, as I recall and I was sunk by a question on the Japanese word for Government. (I still don’t know that one!)
So, when the opportunity came up to try again for the slick 2014 reboot with Sandi Toksvig I couldn’t resist and auditioned once more in a North London hotel.
This time, I did somewhat better and a month later found myself greeting 2012 Mastermind champion Gary Grant at the entrance to the Elstree studios. Easy competition, then!
After a fairly short wait, it was down to the studio and on with the quizzing, but feeling a bit under the weather I wasn't sure I was at my best.
Bizarrely, after doing so well on questions about the Gladiators just a few weeks earlier, I was thrown straight away by a question I should've got right in my sleep: “Which UK series features contestants Wolf and Jet?”
My mind went completely blank and I ummed and errred for far too long. I couldn’t even visualise the programme, so that was my first life gone. Oh dear.
The second question was prefixed with the dreaded word, ‘Physics’. One of my bogey subjects. (Harry Benson, I’m sorry, I really wish I’d tried harder in your lessons).
Cue a question about the inventor of the photocopier that left me stumped. Later on, I learnt that Charles Carlsen used his Xerox millions in philanthropy.
Next round was a new day and a new look to things. Feeling a lot fresher and back to my usual self, I was a bit more confident this time around. The first question was an easy Superman question while the second was a 'gimme' on Elton John's directorship of Watford. As a Hornets fan, Chris, the Blockbuster contestant next to me, looked gutted that he’d not had the chance to answer that one.
So, onto the third round. Felt good – next up was a question on the Black Sea. Then the Equinox, and then a question about the Buddha.
Unfortunately I found myself in a Battle Royale with Howard. Not good, as the more questions you have, the more chance you have of getting a brutal question.
And so it proved – "Which conductor and cellist performed at the Berlin Wall?" and then the killer question, "Which alliterative female character featured in the Dandy? The only character I could think of was Minnie The Minx, but I knew it was the wrong answer as she’s certainly in the Beano, so out I went on my second show. (Beryl the Peril was what they were looking for).
So, onto the third show and things kicked off with a on nasty question on Green Park. Damn. I should have got that one. Then it was a question on what links the leader of an orchestra and a material that electricity can travel along. Phew - I was through!
The next question was on the broadcast location for the first ever BBC show. An easier one - Alexandra Palace. Unfortunately I went into a battle with Michael Frankl, an Oxford University graduate and Mastermind semi-finalist.
Having observed Michael slip through to the final three by barely answering any questions, getting into another ‘ping pong’ battle was what I wanted to avoid in the second round. And it wasn’t good. "Which French female philosopher wrote 'The Second Sex'? " had me searching through the memory bank and I could only get as far as the letter ‘S’. It was Simone De Beauvoir. Terrible start. Next up came Ancient History – what’s the name of the Roman winter festival. I spluttered out ‘Ides of Winter’ in some semblance of an answer, but I knew that the game was up and it was ' lights out'.
So, this one was amazing experience from a number of perspectives. Great to see so many faces from the world of Brain of Britain and Mastermind. The enthusiasm for quizzing was palpable. In the green room, before recording, when I was reading out questions from Dan Smith's quiz compendium as a tester, it was a VERY rare moment to hear silence. These people know their onions! The final, played out between Dave McBryan, David Stainer and Dr Euan Thomas was a thrilling affair, with Dave a worthy winner.
