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 5 October 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys presents the first heat of the series. The specialist subjects are The Levellers, Julie Andrews, Black Books and Isabella of Castile.
2. Episode 2
Aired 12 October 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys presents the second heat of the classic quiz. The specialist subjects are Manchester United, the novels of Toni Morrison, Berthe Morisot and William Tyndale.
3. Episode 3
Aired 19 October 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. Tonight's specialist subjects are Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, Blackadder, the Boxer Rebellion and Blake's 7.
4. Episode 4
Aired 26 October 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys presents the fourth heat of the classic quiz. Tonight's specialist subjects are the Montgomery Bus Boycott, The Crown, the history of anaesthesia and Stormzy.
5. Episode 5
Aired 2 November 2020 • 30 min
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind continues as John Humphrys tests four more contenders. Tonight's specialist subjects are Vanessa Bell, Rachmaninoff, Sherlock and David Bowie.
6. Episode 6
Aired 16 November 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts the classic quiz where contenders take the famous black chair. The specialist subjects are the Weimar Republic, Alex Higgins, the bridges of London and UK cheeses.
7. Episode 7
Aired 30 November 2020 • 30 min
Four more contenders brave the famous black chair. Specialist subjects are Joe Calzaghe, The Beach Boys, Joseph Stalin and the Gospel of John.
8. Episode 8
Aired 7 December 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts the classic quiz. Tonight's subjects are freshwater fish of the British Isles, Nick Cave, the history of Scouting in the UK and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
9. Episode 9
Aired 14 December 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts the classic quiz where contenders take the famous black chair. Specialist subjects are John Singer Sargent, The Sopranos, Jane Austen novels and Nick Drake.
10. Episode 10
Aired 21 December 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts the classic quiz where contenders take the famous black chair. Specialist subjects are Lyndon B Johnson, A Song of Ice and Fire, seabirds and children's TV.
11. Episode 11
Aired 28 December 2020 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts another heat of the classic quiz. Tonight's specialist subjects are Kenneth Williams, UK hit singles 2000-2004, Ada Lovelace and the Rugby World Cup.
12. Episode 12
Aired 4 January 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts another heat of the classic quiz where contenders take to the black chair. Tonight's subjects include Life on Mars, the Titanic, Barbara Castle and the Periodic Table.
13. Episode 13
Aired 11 January 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another heat where the contenders answer questions on Marlene Dumas, Edward Thomas, Guy Burgess and The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
14. Episode 14
Aired 18 January 2021 • 30 min
Four more contenders take to the black chair to answer questions on their specialist subjects, including the London 2012 Olympic Games, Hancock's Half Hour and John Wyndham novels.
15. Episode 15
Aired 25 January 2021 • 30 min
Four more contenders brave the black chair in another heat of the classic quiz and answer questions on Tchaikovsky, the Evil Dead trilogy, Rafael Nadal and This Country.
16. Episode 16
Aired 1 February 2021 • 30 min
In another heat of the classic quiz, four more contenders brave the black chair and answer questions on the mammals of the British Isles, Friends, Damien Hirst and Wimbledon.
17. Episode 17
Aired 8 February 2021 • 30 min
Four more contenders take to the black chair in tonight's programme, where the specialist subjects include the Mongol invasions, the plays of Aristophanes and Broadway musicals.
18. Episode 18
Aired 15 February 2021 • 30 min
Four more contenders take to the black chair in tonight's heat where the specialist subjects are Homer's Odyssey, The Good Life, the history of Portsmouth and Taika Waititi.
19. Episode 19
Aired 22 February 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz, with four contenders answering questions on Sidney Poitier, Greek mythology, Soundgarden and the Women's Institute.
20. Episode 20
Aired 1 March 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts as contenders answer questions on their specialist subjects, which are Ernest Rutherford, Hitchcock films, the motorways of England and the Poldark novels.
21. Episode 21
Aired 8 March 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys presents the classic quiz where contenders take the black chair. Specialist subjects are the Russian Revolution, King Crimson, The Hunger Games and George Orwell.
22. Episode 22
Aired 15 March 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys is back at his desk, asking four more contenders questions on their specialist subjects. In this programme, they are Kimi Raikkonen, Gloucestershire, Poirot and lidos in Britain.
23. Episode 23
Aired 22 March 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys hosts and contenders answer questions on their specialist subjects, which are Stephen Sondheim musicals, dog breeds, Alan Partridge and the Charles Paris novels.
24. Episode 24
Aired 29 March 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another heat of the classic quiz. The specialist subjects are Otto von Bismarck, hand knitting, Robert Louis Stevenson and the films of the Coen Brothers.
25. Episode 25
Aired 5 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in the first semi-final. The specialist subjects are the Booker Prize, the city of York, the Busby Babes and the Russo-Japanese War.
26. Episode 26
Aired 5 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another semi-final. The specialist subjects are films based on the works of Stephen King, Joan Rivers, US state capitals and Neil Gaiman novels.
27. Episode 27
Aired 12 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another semi-final. Specialist subjects are the films of Powell and Pressburger, the Bauhaus movement, Emil Zátopek and the Liberal Democrats.
28. Episode 28
Aired 12 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another semi-final. The Specialist subjects are R.E.M., Father Ted, David Niven and John Wesley.
29. Episode 29
Aired 19 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another semi-final. The specialist subjects are Christopher Eccleston, Metallica, Beatrix Potter and the Greco-Persian Wars.
30. Episode 30
Aired 19 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in another semi-final. The specialist subjects are William Pitt the Younger, The Bridge, the Grand National and the plays of Joe Orton.
31. Final
Aired 26 April 2021 • 30 min
John Humphrys asks the questions in the grand final of the classic quiz. Tonight’s subjects include Shackleton's Antarctic expedition of 1914-17, Cole Porter and Jimmy Carter.