One of my main ambitions when it comes to quizzing is to appear on Mastermind. For the last few years I have been talking myself out of applying until a time comes when I feel confident that I will give a good account of myself.
But yesterday I thought to myself why wait and placed an online application to the show. The form was fairly standard for TV quizzes other than the specialist subject part which requires 4 subjects to be given as well as reading materials so they know what the subject means to you.
What subjects have I gone for then? Well, there are plenty of history based subjects I could have went with as that is the area which I have a background in but I took some advice from quizzing buddies who have been through the process and went for subjects based on popular culture. I know not ideal and not something I like seeing myself on the show but I want to increase my chances of appearing so have went for -
Eurovision 2000-present. This is my other main interest other than quizzing, sad I know, and I would do any area but I have tried to get away with just Eurovision in the 00's. This is my main hope. I also noticed the trend of TV shows being used as subjects so went for The Office (Uk Version) and the TV Character Alan Partridge. To finish it off I chose the band The Stereophonics.
Should this fail I will try more "academic" subjects next time but rather than wait I thought I would go for it!
Does anyone know much about the audition process and when they audition for the next series?
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for this year, but last year I applied in January, had my 1st (telephone) audition in February, had my 2nd (face to face) audition in early March and filmed my heat in late May.
The telephone audition consisted of 10 GK questions and the 2nd audition included 20 GK questions as well as a chat and a mugshot taken.
In terms of subjects, I went down the road of sports/popular culture but with more of a "niche" angle than you seem to have taken - not sure if that helped me or not - there's obviously a very broad range of SS on the show and I guess that's what they are looking for.
If you get to the 2nd audition stage, you should probably mention that you have some history-based options - i can't hurt to give them more options.
Oh and good luck by the way :-)
ReplyDeleteThankyou for the advice!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see you get through with Eurovision 2000-present, I might actually do well in one for once! :D
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you when they are going to start auditions - because I don't know.
I was invited for an audition at a hotel in Cardiff in September 2005 for the 2006 series. It was all very pleasant - we talked about my quizzing experience, why I wanted to be on the show, what I thought of my chances. Then we talked about my subjects. Basically they didn't want to go with any of the subjects that I had on my form. Because I'm an English teacher they didn't want me taking any English Literature subjects. So there was a lot of horse trading which went on , while I had to think on my feet and come up with other possible subjects. SO a big piece of advice would be that if you get to an audition, have some potential alternative specialist subjects up your sleeve.
After that we had the 20 GK questioons. They don't give you a time limit , but neither do they give you the answers , so you won't be certain how well you've done
oops - IGTG - I'll post the rest in a minute.
Right , now as I was saying, they don't tell you how you've done on the GK questions - you have to try to remember them and check out your dodgy ones when you get home , well, that's what I did anyway. During the last few years of the Magnus era I remember reading a newspaper article where it was claimed that you could get onto the show as long as you answered more than about 8 out of 20 right. I don't know if it was true then, or if its true now, but I wouldn't mind betting that at least half marks should give you a fighting chance .
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to hear see Jeff talking about a first and second audition. I can't remember if I had a phone call in 2005 before the audition - but if I did it certainly wouldn't have been an audition, just to confimr that I'd got one and tell me where and when it was.
As for 2006, well, that was even simpler. Having been in the 2006 series , I only ever applied for the next series on a whim, in a spirit of - well the worst they can do is not reply, and if they don't, what have I lost ? I was rung up, asked if I would undergo a phone audition, did it there and then ( they'd changed the 20 questions - shame ) and bingo, got a letter a little while later confirming I was on.
Advice ? As I say, have a couple of spare subjects up your sleeve. It shows that you can think on your feet AND that you are really committed to getting on the show. I know that this isn't easy, but try to enjoy it. Don't be afraid to have a little fun with the people who audition you - it really isn't the end of the world and if you don't get on you can and should apply again. If you are enjoyiing it then you'll come across as more relaxed, and this will make you more appealing to the production team.
If you don't get an audition, then don't take it personally. They get far more applications than they can use, and I'm sure that some good people slip through the net occasionally. Don't let it put you off. Keep applying, and I'm sure that you'll get on - maybe even sooner than you might think.
Good luck !
I laughed when I read Dave saying he checked out his dodgy questions when he got home - I did the same (actually when I got back to work in the afternoon, rather than back home.)
ReplyDeleteI spent the 30 minute train journey back from the audition writing down the questions I received, as best as i could remember, and then spent 30 minutes when I got to my desk on Wikipedia checking the ones I wasn't sure of. By my reckoning I got either 15 or 16 out of 20 (far better than my actual GK performance on the show!!!)
During the audition, I did ask them how many people had made it through to that stage and they said about 400 - giving about a 1 in 4 chance of getting through to the show.