A MALVERN man has become just the second person from the town to win the grand final of BBC quiz show Mastermind, just four years after missing out on being crowned series champion.
Brian Chesney, 73, went one better than his 2014 appearance when he finished runner-up and follows in the footsteps of John Hart who won the coveted fruit bowl in 1975.
Mr Hart, who was head of classics at Malvern College and the first man to win Mastermind, died from cancer at the age of 75 in 2011.
Speaking to the Observer, Brian, from St Andrew’s Road, said: “It’s quite unique to be only the second person from the town of Malvern to win Mastermind.
“The reaction has been fantastic as I have had all sorts of congratulations from people at the local Waitrose.
“My wife Jeni is over the moon but I don’t think we will be putting fruit in the bowl as we are scared to touch it in case we drop it.
“After missing out on the title four years ago it was fantastic to finish top of the tree this time around.”
In the build-up to the show Brian was filmed visiting Delft in the Netherlands for his specialist subject – the Revolt of the Netherlands which happened between 1568 and 1609.
“It was a really enjoyable visit,” said Brian.
“There was no script so everything was off the cuff but I think I came across quite well.”
Brian scored an impressive 13 points in his specialist round with only two wrong answers and no passes.
He then followed that up with 19 points in the general knowledge round to take victory with 32 points, three ahead of nearest challenger Alfred Williams.
Now a Mastermind champion, the Malvern U3A history lecturer has sent in application to appear on ITV’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire which will air later this Spring over seven days to mark the show’s 20th anniversary.
However, he is yet to hear if his application has been successful.
Brian’s quizzing adventures have also seen him appear on Channel Four’s Fifteen to One two years ago while he came second on BBC Radio Four’s Brain of Britain earlier this year.
“There’s not really anywhere else to go to after Mastermind because winning that is the pinnacle of the quizzing world,” added Brian.
The Mastermind grand final is still available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
