2016/17

E1. Episode 1

Jul 13, 2016 · 30m

In this first heat of the new series, John Humphrys starts the search for the nation's Mastermind. Specialist subjects tonight are Joni Mitchell, the Radio 4 sitcom Bleak Expectations, Alan Turing, and the history of aviation to 1914.

E2. Episode 2

Jul 20, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents the second heat of this series. Subjects are the rock band Yes, Ernest Rutherford, the films of Werner Herzog and MC Escher.

E3. Episode 3

Jul 27, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another episode of the classic quiz. Subjects include beekeeping, the Royal Navy in the Second World War, Mark E Smith and the Fall, and John le Carre's Quest for Karla trilogy.

E4. Episode 4

Aug 5, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The specialist subjects are Benny Hill, the Mitford sisters, Marcus Tullius Cicero and the Jacobite rebellion.

E5. Episode 5

Aug 12, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another episode of Britain's toughest quiz. Subjects include Wilfred Owen, Sir Michael Caine, Mad Men and the rock band Faith No More.

E6. Episode 6

Aug 19, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The subjects are REM, Harry S Truman, the World Cup and the drama series Borgen.

E7. Episode 7

Aug 26, 2016 · 30m

In this heat, John Humphrys grills four more contenders on James Bond films, Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street novels, 20th-century US presidents and the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

E8. Episode 8

Sep 2, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. Specialist subjects are the films of the Coen brothers, Tom Waits, Transatlantic Liners and Flanders and Swann.

E9. Episode 9

Sep 9, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The subjects are the films of Peter Sellers, astronomy, the life and music of Arthur Lee and Love and John Galsworthy's Forsyte Saga.

E10. Episode 10

Sep 16, 2016 · 30m

Four more contenders brave the black chair in Britain's toughest quiz. The subjects are Nick Drake, Emil Zatopek, Band of Brothers and Hernán Cortés and the conquest of Mexico.

E11. Episode 11

Sep 23, 2016 · 30m

Tonight's subjects are Formula One Grand Prix circuits, Oliver Cromwell, the Charles Paris mysteries by Simon Brett and Fillipo Brunelleschi.

E12. Episode 12

Sep 30, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another episode of the classic quiz. Tonight's specialist subjects are the city of Bath, The Faces, Sophie Scholl and the White Rose and Ayrton Senna.

E13. Episode 13

Oct 7, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys asks the questions in another heat of the classic series. Subjects tonight are Queen, Dame Laura Knight, Anita Roddick and Don Revie.

E14. Episode 14

Oct 14, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys asks the questions in another heat of the classic quiz. Subjects tonight are Kurt Cobain, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells.

E15. Episode 15

Oct 21, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The subjects are the films of Ewan McGregor, British race courses, World Heritage sites and CJ Sansom's Shardlake novels.

E16. Episode 16

Oct 28, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The subjects are David Niven, the Soviet space programme, Italian Renaissance paintings and the human body.

E17. Episode 17

Nov 4, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The subjects are Hans Christian Andersen, the Russian Civil War, Ipswich Town FC and Rita Hayworth.

E18. Episode 18

Nov 11, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. The subjects are islands of Scotland, Laurie Lee, Ginger McCain and Red Rum, and the films of David Fincher.

E19. Episode 19

Nov 18, 2016 · 30m

Four more contenders brave the black chair with John Humphrys asking the questions in the classic quiz. The subjects are EastEnders, Puccini, Bill Shankly and the Battle of Trafalgar.

E20. Episode 20

Nov 25, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys asks the questions as four more contenders take to the famous black chair. Subjects are David Bowie, Edvard Munch, postwar British motorcycles and the German occupation of Jersey in the Second World War.

E21. Episode 21

Dec 2, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. Subjects are Eric Clapton, Emperor Hadrian, Tintin and the life and broadway stories of Damon Runyon.

E22. Episode 22

Dec 9, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. Subjects are Andy Warhol, the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, Nicholas Hawksmoor and the X-Files.

E23. Episode 23

Dec 16, 2016 · 30m

John Humphrys presents another heat of the classic quiz. Subjects include Steve Jobs, Farscape, the history of Hungary and black metal music.

E24. Episode 24

Jan 6, 2017 · 30m

The last place in the semi-finals is up for grabs as John Humphrys puts four more contenders in the spotlight. Subjects tonight are naval battles of the First World War, Charles Laughton, the de Havilland Mosquito and Garth Ennis's Punisher Max series.

E25. Episode 25

Jan 13, 2017 · 30m

John Humphrys presents the first semi-final. The subjects are Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads, Steve Ovett, the daughters of King George III, Al Capone and the novels of Robert Harris.

E26. Episode 26

Jan 20, 2017 · 30m

The semi-finals continue as John Humphrys puts five more contenders in the spotlight. Subjects include Asterix, the periodic table, the novels of Nick Hornby, Richard Feynman and Stan Laurel.

E27. Episode 27

Feb 3, 2017 · 30m

The semi-finals continue as John Humphrys puts five more contenders in the spotlight. Subjects include Radiohead, Alison Uttley, Field Marshal Montgomery, the films of Powell & Pressburger and Herbert Howells.

E28. Episode 28

Feb 10, 2017 · 30m

Five more semi-finalists try to claim a place in the grand final. The subjects are Alan Bennett, Cream, the novels of Dan Brown, Herbert von Karajan and Queen Mary.

E29. Episode 29

Feb 17, 2017 · 30m

John Humphrys tests five more semi-finalists. The subjects are Creation Records, Johannes Kepler, the Hunger Games novels, Sir Isaac Newton and the films of William Goldman.

E30. Episode 30

Feb 24, 2017 · 30m

The last place in the grand final is at stake as John Humphrys tests another five semi-finalists on The Sweeney, Mary Seacole, James Cook, Tranmere Rovers and the travel writings of Bill Bryson.