Does a saucepan count as a gadget? I bought one of those recently. I was delighted. I’ve been using the same two scratchy old saucepans for about 20 years, just because they aren’t literally broken. It’s a really liberating moment when you allow yourself to upgrade. Blue Whale [This is the sequence of specimens that have occupied the Natural History Museum’s famous Hintze Hall] I came across a great work of literature recently which I hadn’t realised was split into multiple volumes, so if I can find another three of those that might work,” he says. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living -- Mao Zedong -- Snow White -- David Blaine Only Connect is the ultimate test of knowledge and lateral thinking. Since 2008 the fiendishly difficult quiz show has been challenging contestants to find connections between apparently unrelated clues.

Quizzes - Radio Times Quizzes - Radio Times

I don’t think so. Those are quite serious shows with authoritative, grownup hosts. I love Only Connect deeply but also find the trappings of a TV quiz inherently silly, which our contestants and viewers never mind me making clear. If I hosted one of those big beasts, I’d end up undermining them and upsetting the audience. About (or anything that can mean ‘Re’). [The clues indicate: There, Here, Ere…taking off the first letter of each time] The Owl and the Pussycat (by Edward Lear) ('The Owls', 'The Cat', Mediterranean 'Sea', and 'The Orca' is the 'boat' in Jaws) The Only Connect Quiz Book collects over 200 of the most entertaining and perplexing challenges from the team behind the BBC’s hugely popular quiz show - including many new (never broadcast) questions. Covering each of the show’s four rounds – Connections, Sequences, the Connecting Wall and Missing Vowels – and with introductions from presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, here is your chance to put your own sleuthing and quizzical knowledge to the Only Connect test. Read more DetailsAnd there’s another I’m thinking about around words that all look the same but are pronounced differently. That’s the great thing about the show, no topic is off limits.”

Only Connect: The Official Quiz Book by Jack Waley-Cohen Only Connect: The Official Quiz Book by Jack Waley-Cohen

You often joke about how you and David aren’t very tech-savvy. What was the last gadget you bought? Those who stumbled across the show have stayed and I think that’s because it has a sense of fun that isn’t a natural part of the appeal of other Monday night quiz favourites – University Challenge and Mastermind.”You have a huge fanbase from hosting Only Connect . What’s the strangest thing a fan has ever done? Yes and he can never think of any. The problem with restaurant critics is they know too much. You’re better off asking a normal person, who’s likely to have chosen their three favourite restaurants a long time ago and just goes to them all the time. And for the show’s new found fans, being able to lose themselves in a gentle and unashamed celebration of geekery, discovering Only Connect might just be one of the few upsides in a year when we were all forced to stay at home.