About this season
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness. Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a general knowledge round. Wright drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II. The atmosphere is helped by Mastermind's famously ominous theme music, "Approaching Menace" by the British composer Neil Richardson. The quiz programme originated and was recorded in Manchester at studios such as New Broadcasting House and Granada Studios, before permanently moving to MediaCityUK in 2011.
Episodes (31)
1. Episode 1
Aired 4 November 2011 • 30 min
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind gets under way once more as John Humphrys questions four contenders on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Topics in this first heat are the life of Robert Bruce Lockhart, human parasites, the siege of Malta and the life and work of AC Swinburne.
2. Episode 2
Aired 18 November 2011 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The topics are: the Sandman graphic novels of Neil Gaiman, the life and work of Gerard Hoffnung, the Scottish Enlightenment and wines of the Loire Valley.
3. Episode 3
Aired 25 November 2011 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: Maximilian I, The Russian Revolution, Led Zeppelin and British speedway 1945-1970.
4. Episode 4
Aired 2 December 2011 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: The Richard Hannay novels of John Buchan; the Peak District; aircraft of World War II; Billboard no 1 singles, 1955-1994.
5. Episode 5
Aired 9 December 2011 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: Field Marshal Montgomery, the life and career of former world chess champion Tigran Petrosian, the Cathars and the Chicago Bears 1920-1970.
6. Episode 6
Aired 16 December 2011 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: The Life and Work of George Orwell, The Life of Sir Francis Walsingham, The West Wing and The Valley of the Kings.
7. Episode 7
Aired 6 January 2012 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Topics include the Cambridge Apostles, the life and work of Antonia Forest, the French Revolution and the life and work of Gustav Mahler.
8. Episode 8
Aired 6 January 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are major battles of World War II, Football League grounds, Watergate and the fall of Richard Nixon and the satirical works of Juvenal.
9. Episode 9
Aired 20 January 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are The Archers from 1980 to the present day; the Apollo space programme; the history of China from 1919-1989; and the life and music of Nick Drake.
10. Episode 10
Aired 27 January 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are the history of New York, the Women's Institute, the life and work of Augustus Pugin and Wimbledon Singles since 1990.
11. Episode 11
Aired 3 February 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are the life and work of Mori Ogai, the Anglo-Zulu War, the life of Mary Eleanor Bowes and the films of Clint Eastwood.
12. Episode 12
Aired 3 February 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Fleetwood Mac 1967 to 1977, the lost railways of Yorkshire, astronomy and the novels of John Updike.
13. Episode 13
Aired 10 February 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Bing Crosby, Eastenders, Joseph Banks and Britain's last hangman Albert Pierrepoint.
14. Episode 14
Aired 10 February 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are the seven wonders of the ancient world, Enoch Powell, the TV comedy Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, and the life and work of Mary Wollstonecraft.
15. Episode 15
Aired 17 February 2012 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The topics are: the Franco-Prussian war, primitive boats, the detective novels of Agatha Christie and the life and music of Kate Bush.
16. Episode 16
Aired 17 February 2012 • 30 min
Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The topics are: the children's fiction of Rudyard Kipling, world passenger liners 1939-79, Motorhead, and the life and work of Federico Fellini.
17. Episode 17
Aired 24 February 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are: the life and work of Thomas Jefferson Hogg, The Diggers, the life and short stories of Raymond Carver, and Luton Town FC 1965 to present.
18. Episode 18
Aired 24 February 2012
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: the human body, the life and work of James Brindley, the Soviet space programme, and the television career of Victoria Wood.
19. Episode 19
Aired 2 March 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: the sitcom Porridge, Queen Victoria's family, the Golfing Stories of PG Wodehouse and the life and times of Eliza Lynch.
20. Episode 20
Aired 2 March 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: the Coast to Coast Walk, pop music of the 1980s, the satirical works of William Hogarth and the life and works of Ralph Vaughan Williams.
21. Episode 21
Aired 9 March 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are: the Life and Career of Peter Cook, French Impressionists 1863-1890, Haydn in England and the History of FC Barcelona.
22. Episode 22
Aired 16 March 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions. The subjects are: the Life and Times of Harold Wilson, Eleanor of Aquitaine, the sitcom Seinfeld, and Ludvig van Beethoven.
23. Episode 23
Aired 23 March 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are: Nirvana, the Thirty Years' War, the Roy Grace novels of Peter James and the history of Everton FC since 1992.
24. Episode 24
Aired 23 March 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are: the life and works of William Yeates Hurlstone, the Olympics in London, the What Katy Did novels of Susan Coolidge and the life of Lord Byron.
25. Episode 25
Aired 30 March 2012 • 30 min
In the first semi-final of the series, John Humphrys invites five contenders to answer questions for a place in the Grand Final. Subjects include the novels of Martin Amis; the Life of Lady Jane Grey; the Emperor Caligula; British birds of prey; and rock band The Who.
26. Episode 26
Aired 30 March 2012 • 30 min
In the second semi-final of the series, John Humphrys invites five contenders to answer questions for a place in the Grand Final. Subjects include the life and career of Herbert Chapman; the life and times of Benjamin Disraeli; railways of Great Britain in the 20th century; the life and career of Edward Jenner; and the Blandings stories of PG Wodehouse.
27. Episode 27
Aired 6 April 2012 • 30 min
In the third semi-final of the series, John Humphrys invites five contenders to answer questions for a place in the Grand Final. Subjects include the life and times of Thomas Wolsey, the apostle Peter in the New Testament, heraldy of Britain, the history of the Monaco grand prix and Catherine the Great.
28. Episode 28
Aired 13 April 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to five more contenders in another semi-final. A place in the grand final awaits the winner. Subjects include the US Masters, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, the River Clyde steamers, classical mythology and the East African campaign of World War I.
29. Episode 29
Aired 20 April 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to five more contenders in the penultimate semi-final of the series. A place in the Grand Final awaits the winner. Subjects are - Route 66, Flanders and Swann, the Italian national football team since 1978, the Ramage Novels of Dudley Pope, and British owls.
30. Episode 30
Aired 27 April 2012 • 30 min
John Humphrys puts the questions to five more contenders in the last semi-final of the series with the only remaining place in the Grand Final awaiting the winner. Subjects are the life and times of Harold Macmillan, Sir Isaac Newton, the history of the Cayman Islands, the TV series Band of Brothers and the British Civil Wars in the 17th century.
31. Grand Final
Aired 11 May 2012 • 60 min
John Humphrys asks the questions as six contenders battle it out to become the nation's Mastermind in this series' Grand Final. Subjects include: the life and works of JMW Turner; alchemy; the life and music of Tom Lehrer; the Diggers; whales, dolphins and porpoises; and the history of Azerbaijan 1917 - present day.