The 1% Club viewers left baffled by fiendish final question as every contestant fails
There was no winner on the latest episode of The 1% Club after all three remaining contestants were unable to solve a final puzzle that left viewers struggling too.
The ITV quiz show, hosted by comedian Lee Mack, is known for questions that test logic, observation and common sense rather than general knowledge. But the final challenge on the 1 November episode proved particularly difficult, with viewers at home admitting they could not work out the answer within the 30-second time limit.
Three contestants faced the final challenge
The format of The 1% Club sees 100 members of the public work their way through increasingly difficult questions. As contestants are eliminated, money is added to a prize pot, with those who make it through to the final stages competing for a share of up to £100,000.
By the time the 1% question arrived on Saturday night, only three contestants were still in the game.
Mack wished them luck before revealing a puzzle based on something many people are told to check carefully: the small print.
The question was:
“You should always read the small print very carefully. How many errors are there in the T&Cs below?”
What appeared on screen was a tightly packed block containing 40 sets of T&Cs, with virtually no spacing between them. Hidden among the text were a number of deliberate errors.
The contestants had just 30 seconds to find them.
Viewers found it just as difficult
The challenge quickly prompted a reaction from viewers watching at home, many of whom felt the time allowed made the puzzle particularly demanding.
One viewer described it as “tough for the time limit”, while another agreed that it was a hard question and admitted to missing one of the mistakes.
The difficulty was made even more apparent when the correct answer was revealed.
There were seven errors in total.
None of the three finalists managed to give the correct answer, meaning the episode ended without a contestant claiming the prize.
One viewer admitted they had simply guessed seven because there was not enough time to work through the puzzle properly.
Another viewer offered a strategy for tackling the question, suggesting that the quickest approach was to read each column from top to bottom and look for changes.
The answer was seven
The puzzle was particularly deceptive because the T&Cs were presented so closely together that it was difficult to scan the text quickly and keep track of the differences.
That made the 30-second countdown especially important. Contestants had to spot tiny changes almost immediately while also trying to keep count of every error they found.
And while viewers had the advantage of being at home, many still struggled.
One viewer said they had counted eight mistakes, although they acknowledged they had been rushing towards the end. They also raised a separate criticism of the show’s visual puzzles, saying some of the images could be larger because they can be difficult to see clearly on screen.
The reaction highlighted just how challenging the final puzzle had been.
Was it The 1% Club’s toughest question yet?
The show’s questions are designed to become progressively harder, ultimately reaching a question that only 1% of the public is expected to answer correctly.
That final format is also what makes The 1% Club so popular with viewers at home: audiences can try to solve the puzzles alongside the contestants and compare their answers.
On this occasion, however, the three finalists were unable to crack the final challenge.
With seven mistakes hidden inside 40 tightly packed lines of text and only 30 seconds to find them, it was easy to see why viewers regarded the puzzle as one of the show’s most difficult challenges.
And for anyone watching comfortably from the sofa, there was one obvious advantage: the pressure was off. The contestants had to find those seven errors with the clock running, cameras on them and a share of up to £100,000 at stake.
The correct answer was seven. None of the finalists got there in time.
