Mastermind | 2023/24 Preview (BBC Two)

Mastermind is back in a new series that marks 51 years of the nation’s sharpest minds competing in a tournament for the ultimate quizzing honour of being crowned Mastermind Champion.

Hosted by BBC journalist and presenter Clive Myrie since 2021, the new series of Mastermind will see 96 contenders follow the tried and tested formula of facing two minutes of questions on their specialist subject, followed by two and a half minutes on general knowledge.

The winner of each heat qualifies for a place in the semi-finals, and six finalists then compete in the Grand Final, where only one of them will win the ultimate quizzing accolade of becoming the new Mastermind Champion and take home the coveted Mastermind Glass Bowl.

The specialist subjects are as eclectic as ever, with the last series ranging from Professor Stephen Hawking, Toy Dog Breeds and Guest Stars in the Sitcom Friends, to the Spanish Artist Francisco de Goya, Shakespeare’s Comedies and The Great Fire of London.

The very first series of Mastermind was won by Nancy Wilkinson, a 53-year-old lecturer from Cambridgeshire, while the most recent Mastermind champion, grandmother Alice Walker, is the oldest ever female winner at 66.

Mastermind returns to BBC Two on Monday 28th August.