Mastermind viewers furious as contestant gets away with ‘banned’ specialist subject-Emily Bashforth-Entertainment – Metro

Viewers of Mastermind were left raging after one contestant’s ‘easy’ specialist subject.

Hosted by Clive Myrie, the quiz show involves players trying to pass through rounds answering questions on their chosen subject, plus subjects chosen at random, to acquire the most points.

Mastermind has been airing on BBC since 1972, so we’ve seen all kinds of specialist subjects over the years, from major historical events to the High School Musical franchise.

However, in the latest episode, audiences reckon the programme was somewhat ‘dumbed down’, given what contestants selected as their most knowledgeable topics.

Phil Nowek picked sitcom Blackadder as his specialist subject; Claire Reynolds chose British statesman Joseph Chamberlain; Rashmi Bhardwaj selected questions on actor Gregory Peck; and Lewis Jones chose video game Zelda. 

Up first, teacher Phil managed to score an impressive 11 points in his round, but it didn’t leave a good impression on those watching at home.

Teacher Phil Nowek chose Blackadder as his Mastermind specialist subject, despite it being banned (Picture: BBC)

Taking to X, viewers fumed that the questions just seem to be getting ‘easier’, which comes just weeks after backlash to another contestant choosing Friday Night Dinner.

‘I haven’t seen Blackadder in about five years, but I got four, so that set of questions was clearly far too easy’, wrote @Mysteron_Voice.

@adamkinseyactor added that Blackadder, which consists of 24 episodes and four specials, is ‘about 14 hours of TV’ to get clued up on, branding this ‘pathetic’.

‘I managed to answer all bar two of those and I’ve not seen any of it for years. So dumbed down now’, they vented.

@Kitty_B_Good also said: ‘Got all the #Blackadder questions right and my parents nearly did as well.’

Viewers were left raging after claiming the BBC show has become too ‘easy’ (Picture: BBC/Hindsight/Hat Trick Productions/William Cherry/Press Eye)

Echoing the thoughts that specialist subjects have become too vapid, @clarijo382109 posted: ‘Blackadder, Joseph Chamberlain, Gregory Peck and The Legend of Something video game. Mixed bag. Gone are the days of the Life of Viscount Alexander of Tunis, the history of the Eisteddfod Council, Dockland Settlements and cockroaches. We must move with the times.’

This is far from the first time Mastermind viewers have complained about specialist subjects—it’s actually been a hot topic of debate for a while.

Consequently, in 2018, bosses revealed a list of ‘banned’ specialist subjects because they had appeared on the show too many times.

Interestingly, Blackadder featured on this, as, given the short nature of the series, there wasn’t scope for any original questions to be written.

The BBC Two show’s producer, Mark Helsby, said at the time there must be at least ‘two good quality books’ on a chosen subject before it can be legitimately considered for the show.

Blackadder appeared in a list of ‘banned’ specialist subjects in 2018 (Picture: BBC)

‘Some of the shorter sitcom series—Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, and Father Ted, for example—have been exhausted for new questions,’ he explained.

Other banned topics included Roald Dahl and the Chronicles of Narnia.

Harry Potter was also blacklisted. The previous year, JK Rowling’s wizarding franchise was requested by a whopping 262 contestants, making it the most popular specialist subject.

Also at the time, 32 players wanted Fawlty Towers, 19 wanted Blackadder, and 22 wanted Father Ted.

‘Some of the very popular literary subjects, such as the Chronicles of Narnia or Roald Dahl, probably wouldn’t be agreed to for the same reason,’ added Mark.

‘As a minimum, we would want there to be at least two good quality books on a biographical or historical subject.

‘TV, film, and literary subjects are a bit more subjective, but we would never allow just one book or one film.’

The producer said even former host John Humphrys was able to throw out suggestions, given that he was the one asking the questions.

The Harry Potter franchise was also previously exhausted for questions (Picture: AP)

In a past interview with Radio Times, the presenter revealed that one contestant genuinely wished to have ‘meat’ as their specialist subject, before narrowing it down to ‘pork.’ Unsurprisingly, the Beeb said no.

‘I try very hard not to reject any subject out of hand,’ John said.

‘I’d rather work with the contender to find some common ground between what they are interested in and what we think we can write enough questions about.’

The BBC has been contacted for comment.

Mastermind airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More