Only Connect Viewers ‘Yelling At Their Screens’ After Team Misses Katy Perry Songs — ‘What Planet Are You Living On?’

Only Connect viewers were left shouting answers at their screens after one team appeared to completely miss a major connection during a tense round of the BBC quiz.

The 20th series returned on Monday evening with the Al Frescans taking on the Midlanders, with both teams battling for a place in the final and the chance to lift the coveted Only Connect trophy.

The drama arrived in the third round, when the teams faced the notoriously difficult Connecting Wall.

With 16 clues scrambled across the board, contestants had two and a half minutes to identify four groups of four connected answers.

The Al Frescans managed to crack all four connections, earning the maximum 10 points.

The Midlanders, however, struggled to spot one of the most recognisable links on the board.

Among the clues were Firework, Hot N Cold, E.T. and Rise — all hit songs by Katy Perry.

But rather than identifying the connection, the team guessed that the four clues were linked to films starring Drew Barrymore.

They managed to correctly identify three of the four groups, but the missed connection left viewers at home frustrated as they watched the team repeatedly overlook the Katy Perry link.

Victoria Coren Mitchell appeared equally pained by the moment.

“If I liked to bite my nails visibly on screen I would have done it there,” the host said.

She then confirmed the answer, adding: “I think you are clearly not fans of the work of Katy Perry. Katy Perry songs is what they are.”

For viewers playing along, the connection appeared far easier to spot — and social media quickly filled with reactions from those convinced they would have been shouting the answer at the television.

One viewer wrote: “Me yelling ‘KATY PERRY SONGS’ at the TV #onlyconnect.”

Another joked about one contestant becoming an “early contender for most annoying team member”.

A third admitted the episode had revealed an unexpected area of expertise, writing that they had realised they possessed “a good knowledge of Katy Perry songs and Welsh Castles” despite never owning one of her albums or visiting any of the castles.

Another viewer was even more baffled by the miss, writing: “Watching smart people on Only Connect not recognise Katy Perry songs like what planet are you living on?”

The episode formed part of the BBC’s return of its Monday night quiz line-up, dubbed “quizzy Mondays”, with Mastermind and University Challenge also returning to the schedule.

Clive Myrie opened proceedings with Mastermind at 7:30pm, before Victoria Coren Mitchell returned for Only Connect at 8pm. Amol Rajan then rounded off the evening with University Challenge at 8:30pm.

For the Midlanders, though, the Katy Perry connection was the one that got away — and viewers at home seemed determined to make sure they knew exactly what the answer had been.