The 1% Club: 13 contestants use their pass on tricky maths puzzle

A seemingly straightforward number puzzle left contestants on The 1% Club struggling against the clock, with 13 players choosing to use their pass rather than risk getting the answer wrong.

The maths question appeared during the ITV quiz show hosted by Lee Mack, where contestants have just 30 seconds to solve puzzles based on logic, reasoning and common sense rather than traditional general knowledge.

The question was classed as a 35% question, meaning it was designed to be answered correctly by 35% of the wider public. Yet even the contestants who had made it through several earlier rounds found themselves hesitating when confronted with the number sequence.

Can you spot the missing number?

Lee presented the players with a coloured, pie-chart-style diagram containing a sequence of numbers and one missing value.

He asked:

What number replaces the question mark when you read it clockwise from the start?

With only 30 seconds to work it out, the remaining contestants had to identify the pattern before committing to an answer.

The correct answer was 27.

The numbers follow a sequence based on consecutive multiples of three. Reading the segments clockwise reveals the pattern, making 27 the next number in the sequence.

Despite the solution, 13 contestants decided to use their pass to avoid answering the question and guarantee their place in the next round. Lee was visibly surprised by how many players had chosen that option.

The unusual format behind the challenge

Unlike conventional quiz shows, The 1% Club does not rely on contestants memorising facts or demonstrating specialist knowledge.

Each episode begins with 100 contestants, who are gradually eliminated as the questions become more difficult. The puzzles are designed to test observation, logic, reasoning and common sense, with players given only 30 seconds to submit their answers.

Every contestant starts with a £1,000 stake. When a player answers incorrectly and is eliminated, that £1,000 is added to the prize pot. The questions become progressively harder until the contestants reach the final challenge, which is one that only 1% of the public would be expected to answer correctly.

The show’s format means that even questions that look simple can produce surprising results when contestants have only half a minute to think them through.

An even easier question caused an even bigger shock

The maths puzzle was not the only question to cause trouble during the episode.

Earlier in the programme, a 70% question eliminated 23 contestants despite being based on a simple point about how a sentence is written.

Lee asked:

John writes with his right hand and the last word he’d write if he was writing this sentence would be ‘be’. If Keith writes with his left hand, what would be the last word he would write in the sentence above?

The answer was be.

The fact that Keith writes with his left hand does not alter the order of the words in the sentence, so the final word remains the same.

However, 23 players selected the wrong answer and were eliminated.

The result surprised viewers watching along at home, with several taking to social media to comment on the unexpectedly large number of eliminations.

One viewer wrote: “How t have 23 gone out?? Being left handed doesn’t mean you write words in the wrong order.”*

Another posted: “Too many people thinking too hard on that one #The1PercentClub.”

A third simply reacted: “TWENTY THREE out on THAT?!?!”

Why simple questions can be so difficult

The two questions demonstrated one of the central challenges of The 1% Club. The answers do not necessarily require complicated calculations or obscure knowledge. Instead, contestants have to recognise exactly what the question is asking while resisting the temptation to overthink it.

The maths puzzle required players to identify the numerical pattern quickly. The later riddle required them to focus on the wording rather than make assumptions about what being left-handed might change.

With the clock counting down from 30 seconds, even an answer that appears obvious when explained afterwards can become surprisingly difficult in the studio.

The 1% Club continues to air on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.