Brain of Britain
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English |
| Home station | BBC Radio 4 |
| Hosted by | Russell Davies |
| Original release | 1953, became a regular programme in 1967. – present |
Brain of Britain is a BBC radio general knowledge quiz, broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
It began as a slot in What Do You Know? in 1953. The main part of the show was the "Brain of Britain" quiz itself, originally called "Ask Me Another". There were also several other quizzes on the show, most of which were eventually sidelined to allow "Brain of Britain" a longer running time, though the popular write-in competition "Beat the Brains" is still played as part of Brain of Britain today. It became a programme in its own right in 1967.
It was chaired by Franklin Engelmann until his death in 1972.
Four contestants compete on each programme, in alphabetical order by surname. To begin the competition, the first contestant is asked a question; a correct answer within 10 seconds awards one point and control for the next question. An incorrect answer at any point ends the contestant's turn, and the question is offered to the others a toss-up via silent buzzer. Regardless of who answers correctly, control then passes to the contestant after the one who initially missed it. If a contestant correctly answers five questions in a row, one bonus point is awarded and control passes to the next contestant. Each contestant is also asked one question based on a sound clip.
The contestant with the most points at the end of the programme wins. If there is a tie for high score, the contestant with the most bonus points (for five-in-a-row and correct answers on questions missed by others) is the winner. If the tied contestants are still level in this respect, the first to answer a toss-up question correctly wins.
The competition is normally split into a series of 12 heats, with the winners of these heats and the four highest scoring runners-up entering the four semi-finals. The winners of these semi-finals make it to the grand final, and the winner of the grand final becomes champion. In the 2015 contest, the fifth highest scoring runner-up qualified after the death of one of the heat winners. In the 2016 contest, five runners-up ended with the same high score. To decide which four went through to the semi-finals, a play-off took place that was not broadcast.
The show also features "Beat The Brains," a segment in which two questions submitted by a listener are read. The submitter wins a book token if the contestants are unable to answer at least one question. The submitter is "awarded" with the consolation prize of a round of applause from the audience if both questions are answered correctly. At one point, the prize was a Brain of Britain quiz book, but was replaced by the book token when the book was out of print.
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