Kirsty Rowland

"What are your earliest memories of Mastermind?"
I used to watch it with my father, because as a child I'd asked him to teach me 'general knowledge'. It, along with University Challenge, became 'our' time togther.

"What made you apply in the first place?"
I never really wanted to go on the show, but one of my Guides (I am a leader in Girlguiding UK) applied to Junior MM. Her specialist subject was to be Girlguiding and I was coaching her. She narrowly missed getting on the show, but I encouraged her to apply again the following year. She came to a Guide meeting a few weeks later clutching an application form for me for the adult MM. I felt there was no way I could encourage her to apply again if I wasn't prepared to have a go myself. Little did I believe I would actually make it on!

"How did you choose your specialist subjects?"
Honestly... well after a few glasses of wine one evening I plucked up the courage to apply and picked some topics I was interested in, but actually didn't know a vast amount about!
My first round was "Women of the Special Operations Executive", as I had just read a book about Vera Atkins. I hadn't a clue how many female agents there really were - I guessed about a dozen. It turned out there were 39 in the F Section alone...
My semi-final subject would have been "Olave Baden-Powell, World Chief Guide". This was a subject I knew much more about and was the one I wanted as my first round, but the MM team thought otherwise!
My final subject would have been "The Female pilots of the Air Transport Auxilliary". Thank God I didn't get this far as I still know very little about these amazing ladies!
"What was the audition process like?"

"How far did you realistically think you would get?"
I never expected to get through the auditions.

"How did you go about revising?"
For the SOE, I bought or borrowed every book I could get my hands on - the majority of which are out of print, so ebay, amazon and the library were my sources. I used what limited information is available on the internet. I kept this information on little cards, and wrote articles on wikipedia.

"What are your recollections of filming?"
It was fantastic! I really enjoyed the experience. Little did I realise that I was pregnant with my son (now 4 months old), but when I went back to Manchester to watch James Corcoran's semi (we had met via fb and helped each other revise) and to London for the final, I knew. My son was born the week before my programme was aired. I have a lovely photo of me holding Alexander with Mastermind on the tv behind us!

"Any encounters or experiences relating to your performance or afterwards you would like to share?"
I am very proud to have said "FANY" on the BBC!

"What were the reactions of your friends and family?"
Everyone was amazed and proud.

"How did you feel seeing yourself on TV?"
I was shocked at how I looked and sounded, but was surprised how eloquent I came across during the chat with JH.

"Why do you think people are attracted to quizzing? Is there something specifically that attracts certain people - and is it healthy?"
I think it's an excellent way to keep your brain ticking over and to find out more about the world.

"What did you think of this year's series?"
Excellent!

"What's your thoughts on the future of the show?"
Long may it continue!

"Are you going to give it another go?"
Of course... am trying to think of subjects how, in between nappies and feeding the baby!