Sandi Toksvig presided over this early-evening quiz in which three hopefuls answered questions built around a single topic per episode, from human biology to politics, hoping to bank cash by recalling the sort of trivia that clings to pub ceilings. Each 30-minute instalment offered four categories, a rapid-fire final and a maximum prize of £3,000, though most contestants left with rather less.
The format never bothered the ratings top ten, yet it gave Channel 4 a low-cost strip between property shows and served as a useful platform for contributors such as Dawn Harper on medicine, Jon Snow on politics and Countdown veterans Susie Dent and Rachel Riley on words and numbers. Thames Scotland produced the 60 episodes at BBC Pacific Quay, Glasgow, filming blocks of ten so that Toksvig could still present The News Quiz on Radio 4.
After two series the quiz was quietly shelved in May 2013, freeing the presenter to head for QI and, later, the Bake Off tent. Episodes now surface sporadically on weekday afternoons when the schedule needs padding, a fitting afterlife for a programme whose very title promised surplus information.
Production Details
Channel 4 / 2 Seasons / 60 Episodes / 2012
Producer(s): Louise Smith
Main Cast
Sandi Toksvig as Self - Presenter
Dawn Harper as Self
Jon Snow as Self
