David Clark was the winner of Mastermind in 2007 (broadcast in 2008) in a nailbiting final. He had appeared once before in 2006, and has appeared on other shows, including Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Are You an Egghead. He is a teacher, regular quizzer and writes the popular "life after mastermind" blog.
"What are your earliest memories of Mastermind?"
My earliest memories of Mastermind are watching it when I was little in the early days of the Magnus Magnusson era. I think Liz Horrocks in 1974 was the first winner I can remember. I remember really rooting for Sir David Hunt in 1977, after he got through to the repechage semi despite losing his first round. And of course, everyone wanted Fred Housego to win in 1980.
We used to watch it together as a family, and none of us ever did that well on any of the specialist subjects, but it was always a race to try to be the first to come out with the answer to the GK questions.
"What made you apply in the first place?"
My Nan once predicted that I would go on it, and more than that, that I would win it ! Like a precocious little twerp I said that I wouldn't go on it till I was in my 40s, when I'd still be quick, but would know a lot more. Then I've played in quizzes for over 20 years. I was gutted when they took the show off. In 2004 I was invited to take part in a team going on a show , and although we didn't do well, I really loved it. My son told me in 2005 that you could apply on line, so I thought that the time had come, and applied for the 2006 series.
"How did you choose your specialist subjects?"
My original choices for specialist were very different from what I did. I chose writers, then was told at the audition not to do them because they were connected to my work as an English teacher. So I chose the Olympic games because its something I'm very interested in. Far too wide as a subject , though.
When I reapplied in 2007, my first 2 subjects were the ones I would have used if I'd got to the semis and final the previous year. In both cases, Henry Ford and The Prince Regent were people I found interesting. They were also subjects I already had books about, and they were doable within a space of time. For my final subject I had read a brilliant book on the History of London Bridge, and I thought it would be a great subject.
"What was the audition process like?"
The first audition , the 2006 one was in a hotel room in Cardiff, and very similar to some other ones I have taken part in. The worst part was the horse trading over the specialist subjects. Its also quite hard answering 20 GK questions, and not being told what you've got right or wrong. generally very good fun though, very friendly and quite relaxed. In 2007 we did it over the phone, and it was even quicker and easier.
"How far did you realistically think you would get?"
Realistically I thought I was good enough to get to the semis. I was a bit gutted to be beaten in the first round in 2006, although it was alright because I was beaten by a very good quizzer, Kath Drury, who had been to the semis before, and who went on to get the highest score in the semi. Being invited to go to the semis as a stand in for 2006 was great, and convinced me that I had a realistic chance of doing well if I tried again. So I did.
"How did you go about revising?"
I'm afraid I was quite anal and methodical about revising. For each subject I had three books to work through. I'd pick my main book, then work through it chapter by chapter, page by page. Every time I found something which I thought could be made into a question I would put a little asterisk by. At the end of each chapter/section I would turn each asterisk into a question on a flashcard - question 1 side, answer on the other. Then I'd use these to test myself. With the other books I would read them, but make an asterisk if I found new information not in the other book, and turn these into questions. For each subject I learned about 800 questions, although more than a thousand for the Olympic Games.
"What are your recollections of filming?"
Well on my first show I went third, and both Neil and Kath, who have remained friends ever since with me, who went first scored 17. I felt like I was staring down the barrel of a gun ! Then in the 2007 semi final John Humphrys messed up accidentally in Sheila Altree's GK round, and it took them well over 20 minutes to set it right. That was horrible. In the 2007 final, I was counting along with the very last GK round. Derek needed 14 to win, 13 to go to a tie break. I counted that he'd scored 13, but Sandra Piddock grabbed hold of me and told me that I'd done it - and the moment that John Humphrys said the 't' of 29, I knew she was right. That was weird - but good.
"Any encounters or experiences relating to your performance or afterwards you would like to share?"
I don't think anyone is ever going to get a media career out of winning Mastermind again, as happened once or twice in the Magnusson era - Fred and Chris Hughes, for example. However there's still a level of interest , especially amongst those of us in our 40s and older. I had a very nice civic reception in the Mayor's Parlour in Neath, I was invited to spend a day in my old school, and to present the prizes and make the speech in the annual prizegiving. Through answering questions on London Bridge I was invited as a guest to the Gala Luncheon for the 800th anniversary of the bridge in Fishmonger's Hall - and this was a wonderful occasion. I also do some voluntary work for the London bridge Educational Trust and Museum website, which is really enjoyable.
"What were the reactions of your friends and family?"
Family and friends were delighted for me. Anyone who knows me that well knows my quiz obsession, so I suppose that it didn't really come as a total bolt from the blue. Having said that I think my mum was totally bowled over by it. Speaking of which , people of a certain age do go a bit funny when you show them the bowl. First reaction is that they don't want to touch it, as if merely making contact with it will cause it to shatter. Although having said that, when I took it into work the head of the office staff very nearly did smash it - by trying to clear a table it was sitting on. I nearly had a heart attack.
"How did you feel seeing yourself on TV? Plus how was the filming of your 'build up' video for the final?"
I hate watching myself on TV ( reaction from family when I told them this - 'we hate watching you on TV too ! ' ) But making the film for the final was great fun. I did hope that they were going to fly me to Lake Havasu in the USA, where the previous London Bridge is now situated, but no, just a day out in London. But having said that it was a great day. Filming in St. Magnus church was good fun, and getting to film in the Museum of London after hours was terrific. It wouldn't appeal to everyone, but it was right up my street.
"Why do you think people are attracted to quizzing? Is there something specifically that attracts certain people - and is it healthy?"
Quizzing is a broad church. Anyone can take part, and if you think of pub quizzes throughout the length and breadth of the country, a huge spectrum of people of different ages, interests and ability levels do. I think there is the same attraction that there is on any other form of competition - testing yourself against your past performance, and against others. There's also the added attraction of possibly learning something. Healthy ? I think it is possible to get to the stage where it becomes work rather than fun - if I wanted to get to the standard of the 2 Mastermind champions who preceded me , Pat Gibson and Geoff Thomas, - then I'd have to work incredibly hard, with no guarantee that I'd ever get there. Likewise I think if you're not careful winning can become so important that you don't enjoy it any more, and start to beat yourself up mentally every time you get beaten. Now that's not healthy.
"What did you think of this year's series? Was it difficult to watch as you are now not allowed to take part?"
I loved this year's show ! I thought that the semi finals, for example , were brilliant - better than my series to be honest, and so the line up for the final was extremely strong. Nancy was a great contender throughout the whole series, and despite me tipping someone else , she was a very worthy winner. I think that its great that there should be some good publicity for the series coming from the fact that she's the first woman to win since 1997. I never wished I was back in the chair while I was watching, no. I miss having the sense of purpose you get from having a subject to learn and a very short time to learn it, but I look back on the show with huge affection and satisfaction. Now, if they ever did a tournament of champions . . . well, I wouldn't stand a cat in hell's chance of winning, but it would be fun to do.
"What's your thoughts on the future of the show? Can it survive with the prevalence of "Deal or No Deal" style non question based quiz shows?"
Can the show survive ? God, I hope so. I think that part of the problem is that BBC schedulers have no faith in it at all, and thus change the broadcast day each series, and drop it for a week or fortnight at a time at the drop of a hat. University Challenge proves that there is an audience for a serious quiz show out there - in fact pairing the two shows for a Monday Night quiz hour would make sense to me. I think there are some changes in the series they are filming at the moment which will help. The series will be shorter, because six semi final places are going to the six highest scoring runners up - and this is a change which is highly overdue. Also the chat with John Humphrys between rounds is disappearing. No disrespect to John, but I hated sitting through these as a contender who just wanted to get on with it - and I can't say that I enjoy them that much as a viewer.
Its interesting that a DOND format - the Colour of Money - failed dismally on Prime time Saturday Night. I think that quizzes , particularly serious quizzes , will never be prime time again for a very long time - and even then only shows like Millionaire. But I do think that there is room in the schedules for a Mastermind. I hope so. But I have to say it worries me when I can ask good quizzers who play in one of the teams I play in whether they watched the final, and they say that they didn't even know it was on.
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