This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Clive Myrie – Mastermind
“Quizzy Monday” is a much-loved hit on the BBC – why do you think we love quizzing so much?
We all love a quiz, don’t we? And “Quizzy Mondays” are about good family fun. Everyone can join in, testing their minds. It is a very British thing.
What can we expect from this series?
Yet again we have some brilliant contenders from all walks of life. Doctors, teachers, IT professionals, students, civil servants, librarians, bartenders, electricians and even a professional oven cleaner. What unites them all is a love of quizzing and a real competitive edge.
What keeps Mastermind fresh after all these years?
The thing about Mastermind is that it’s timeless, because the format is so simple and straightforward. It doesn’t need to be updated or changed. The variety of specialist subjects keeps the show interesting year after year. I’m constantly amazed by the range of choices – this year they cover everything from the Aztec empire, medieval English hermits and British and Irish cheeses, to the footballer Roy Keane, Transport for London “moquettes” and the music of George Michael and Iron Maiden. The topics are a rich reflection of everything British, serious-minded, but also quirky, offbeat and fun, too.
With the internet, is it easier to learn obscure knowledge, or has it done more damage to our attention spans?
It is easier to look something up and that’s undoubtedly a good thing. But for every quick fact you can find, there are plenty of other places online where you can go deeper. It’s up to the individual to make the effort. A short attention span isn’t going to get you far on Mastermind. This is a quiz show that’s all about how much you’ve learnt and absorbed.
What’s your most abiding memory of hosting Mastermind so far?
The first episode with me as interrogator five years ago involved the winner breaking down in tears, so important was that moment to him. It was then that I really understood what I’d taken on.
Victoria Coren Mitchell – Only Connect
Why do you think we love quizzing so much?
I’ve always said that the joy of a quiz – or a crossword, or a detective story – is the satisfaction of making order out of chaos. I don’t think anyone would argue that the world is feeling especially orderly at the moment. So our need to escape into quizzing may be at a high.
What can we expect this series?
More of it! We’re now 38 episodes long. It’s ridiculous. What keeps Only Connect fresh after all these years? It’s very hard for me to talk about Only Connect in purely positive terms – I’m too used to roasting it from the inside. But if you really forced me to answer this seriously, I would say that the answer is of course the intriguing questions, our wonderful teams and their willingness to join me in the quirky spirit of the thing. This year’s contestants are delightful; viewers will have a lot of immediate favourites.
Do you think the internet has made it easier to learn obscure knowledge, or has it done more damage to our attention spans?
Obviously the latter. The internet is making fools of us all. But it’s reassuring to see our younger, 20-something teams quizzing on full power, and be reminded that some members of the upcoming generation are still fully engaged with the world and able to hold data in their heads for longer than 10 seconds.
What’s your most abiding memory of hosting Only Connect so far?
Too many to count. The team that shouted “Cock, cock!” instead of “Cuckoo, cuckoo!” in the missing vowels round, leaving me with a really tricky adjudication. The team that turned up for their first ever TV appearance in a matching set of green cloaks. The husband of our head of production polishing glasses for a solid hour, in the role of barman for our “pub quiz special”. Or the dancing penguins we had a couple of Christmasses ago. It’s all Wonderland and I love it very much.
Amol Rajan – University Challenge
Why do you think we love quizzing so much?
Oh, I think it’s just such a deep, wonderful, addictive part of our culture. Part of it probably arises, like a lot of indoor sports, from the weather. It rains a lot, so we
head inside. Then there is our precious tradition of pubs, and the ancient right of all people in our country to a proper pub quiz. Above all it’s just the British love of knowledge. This is a country with one of the greatest rosters of scientists, writers and pedagogues anywhere in the world, and there is simply no better way to celebrate and indulge that tradition – that weird, constant joy in knowing things – than quizzing with vigour.
What can we expect this series?
The same unforgivingly high standards, the same hugely delightful young minds, and a new effort at sartorial brilliance from the host.
What keeps University Challenge fresh after all these years?
What makes it timeless is the format. All great television involves watching groups of people go on an emotional journey to a satisfying conclusion. Our quiz is exactly that, full of drama and jeopardy and tension, but with the added glory of participation. The questions pull you into the universe we create, but what keeps it fresh is the almost endless supply of wonderful, charming, erudite, passionate students. Oh, and the questions, written by our team – the best in the business.
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Have the questions changed?
In preparation for this dream job, I watched many old episodes with the great Bamber Gascoigne. I was struck by the number of questions that would be enjoyed most by students who had a classical education. In recent decades we’ve increased the proportion of questions on science and technology. We also now include questions on modern literature and gaming which, given their scale, is absolutely right.
Has the internet made it easier to learn obscure knowledge, or has it done more damage to our attention spans?
Like all technology, the internet is what we make of it. Of course it can hijack your attention, and indeed your attachments. But it is also a geek’s paradise, or rather, an infinite collection of paradises for geeks. I watch a lot of obscure lectures on economics, ancient civilisations, 19th-century German philosophy, Shakespeare and 1990s cricket. Whether these subjects are now more likely to come up in the questions, I can’t comment.
What’s your most abiding memory of hosting University Challenge so far?
I go running around Salford Quay after we finish filming each day. Once, I saw a team preparing for the next day. Their legs were dangling over the water. I heard them testing each other on what seemed to be the political economy of 13th-century Mongolia. It showed me the commitment of these magnificent young souls, and my heart skipped a beat. The other one is the young man from Northern Ireland who said his own father, who had served in the Troubles, had never said to him, “I’m proud of you, son” – until that son went on University Challenge. On hearing that, I went up to my hotel room and cried.
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Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge return on Monday 13 July on BBC Two and iPlayer.
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