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60 free British Quiz Shows trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Britain has produced more famous quiz shows per head than anywhere on Earth, and this quiz is about the shows themselves: the hosts, the catchphrases, the formats and the scandals. Forty-five questions cover Mastermind's black chair and Gestapo-inspired origins, University Challenge's three quizmasters, Countdown as Channel 4's first ever programme, Pointless, The Chase and its Chasers, Only Connect's hieroglyphs, Eggheads, QI, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and the coughing major, The Weakest Link, Blockbusters, Fifteen to One, Bullseye, Family Fortunes, Catchphrase, The Krypton Factor, Tipping Point, Taskmaster, Have I Got News for You, Blankety Blank, The Generation Game and Going for Gold. Easy questions ask who hosts The Chase and what you shout on Blockbusters; the hard ones want the American show University Challenge was based on, the French original behind Countdown, the composer of the Going for Gold theme and which UK city was 'the quiz of the week' punchline. Ideal for pub quizzes, TV nostalgia nights and anyone who has ever said 'I've started so I'll finish'. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the individual programmes, and each question carries the sentence that backs it up.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01In which year was Mastermind first broadcast on the BBC?
1972
Creator Bill Wright drew on his experience of being interrogated by the Gestapo in World War II.
Q 02Who was the original presenter of Mastermind?
Magnus Magnusson
He hosted from 1972 to 1997; Humphrys took the revived BBC Two version in 2003 and Myrie took over in 2021.
Q 03Complete the Mastermind catchphrase: 'I've started so I'll ...'
finish
It is said when the buzzer goes mid-question; the contestant is allowed a few seconds to answer.
Q 04Mastermind's creator drew inspiration for the format from being interrogated by whom?
The Gestapo
Bill Wright's wartime experience explains the spotlight, the black chair and the relentless questioning.
Q 05Who was the original quizmaster of University Challenge, from 1962 to 1987?
Bamber Gascoigne
Only three people have hosted the show in more than 60 years.
Q 06Who succeeded Jeremy Paxman as host of University Challenge in 2023?
Amol Rajan
Paxman had hosted since the BBC revived the show in 1994.
Q 07University Challenge was based on which American quiz show?
College Bowl
The British version is still produced under licence from the College Bowl Company.
Q 08David Nicholls' novel and film about a University Challenge contestant is called what?
Starter for Ten
James McAvoy starred in the 2006 film, with Mark Gatiss playing Bamber Gascoigne.
Q 09Who presented Countdown for 23 years until his death in 2005?
Richard Whiteley
It was the first programme ever broadcast on Channel 4, on 2 November 1982.
Q 10Countdown is based on which long-running French show?
Des chiffres et des lettres
The French original ran almost continuously from 1965 to 2024.
Q 11What is the name of Countdown's final buzzer round, a nine-letter anagram?
The conundrum
Contestants also play ten letters rounds and four numbers rounds.
Q 12Which lexicographer became a permanent fixture in Countdown's Dictionary Corner in 2003?
Susie Dent
She first appeared in June 1992 and became the permanent Dictionary Corner lexicographer in 2003.
Q 13What prize does the reigning champion's conqueror receive on Countdown?
A teapot shaped like the clock
The programme's famous 30-second clock has been part of the set since 1982.
Q 21Only Connect takes its title from a line in which novel?
Howards End
E. M. Forster's 1910 epigraph reads 'Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted'.
Q 22Which Egghead was the first Briton to win £1,000,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Judith Keppel
She won on 20 November 2000 and sat on the Eggheads panel from 2003 to 2022.
Q 23Who chaired Eggheads when it began in 2003?
Dermot Murnaghan
Jeremy Vine shared the job from 2008 and later became sole presenter.
Q 14Who hosted Pointless from its launch in 2009?
Alexander Armstrong
Richard Osman was his co-presenter for 27 series before stepping down in 2022 to focus on writing.
Q 15What was Pointless originally going to be called?
Obviously
The 2009 concept came from Endemol producers including Richard Osman, who only became co-host after filling in for a BBC demonstration.
Q 16By how much does the Pointless jackpot rise for each pointless answer given outside the Final?
£250
If nobody wins it, the jackpot rolls over and grows by £1,000.
Q 17Who hosted The Chase when it launched on ITV in 2009?
Bradley Walsh
By 2025 the show had six Chasers, including Mark Labbett and Shaun Wallace, who had been there since series one.
Q 18Which Chaser is known as 'The Beast'?
Mark Labbett
He was a runner-up on Brain of Britain and part of a winning Only Connect team before joining The Chase.
Q 19Who presented Only Connect from its launch in 2008?
Victoria Coren Mitchell
The show ran on BBC Four for six years before moving to BBC Two in 2014.
Q 20Only Connect's questions are chosen using symbols from which ancient writing system?
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Two reeds, lion, twisted flax, horned viper, water and the eye of Horus replaced the Greek letters in series 4.
Q 24Who presented QI from its start in 2003 until 2016?
Stephen Fry
Palin was the original choice; Fry took over as host with Davies as the only regular panellist.
Q 25Who was QI's only regular panellist from its 2003 launch?
Alan Davies
He sits to the immediate right of the host and joins three rotating guests each episode.
Q 26What are QI's researchers known as?
The QI Elves
They decide how many points are given and, more often, taken away.
Q 27Who hosted the original run of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? from 1998 to 2014?
Chris Tarrant
Jeremy Clarkson fronted the 2018 revival for the show's 20th anniversary.
Q 28How did Charles Ingram cheat his way to £1 million on Millionaire in 2001?
Coughing from an accomplice
Fellow contestant Tecwen Whittock coughed on the correct answers; one cough came from Ingram's wife Diana.
Q 29How many contestants had won £1 million on the British Millionaire by the end of 2025?
Seven
Judith Keppel was the first, on 20 November 2000.
Q 30Who presented the original British Weakest Link, saying 'You are the weakest link. Goodbye!'?
Anne Robinson
She also hosted the American version; Romesh Ranganathan fronted the 2021 celebrity revival.