Only Connect fans were left unimpressed after Monday night’s broadcast took the long-running BBC quiz in a very different direction.

The programme, famous for its fiendishly difficult connections, obscure clues and the notoriously challenging Missing Vowels round, aired an unusual audio-based special that relied heavily on sound and music rather than the visual clues viewers normally expect.

For some regular viewers, the change proved too much. A number of fans took to social media to complain about the format, with some even saying they had switched channels.

The special was titled Sounds Special: Record Collectors v Jukeboxers and featured two returning teams. According to the programme description, nearly all of the questions were audio-only, including the Missing Vowels round, where contestants had to hear the clues rather than see the letters.

Fans divided over the music-heavy format

The unusual episode quickly reignited a familiar debate among Only Connect viewers.

The programme has built a loyal following around its cerebral approach to quizzing, with contestants required to spot obscure links and make connections between apparently unrelated pieces of information. Victoria Coren Mitchell has fronted the show since 2008, helping establish its distinctive style.

But the audio special changed that formula significantly.

While music and sound-based questions have appeared in Only Connect before, the extent of the change left some fans frustrated. For viewers who enjoy the show’s wordplay, sequences and visual puzzles, the musical format was seen by some as a departure from what they watch the programme for.

One unhappy viewer posted: “This awful music format should never happen again. Switching channels.”

Another wrote: “I love Only Connect, but as soon as the music round starts I’m out.”

A third viewer was even more blunt, saying: “It’s a quiz for thinkers, not karaoke night.”

The reaction highlights how strongly some viewers identify Only Connect with its traditional format. Although the audio concept was not entirely new, it once again proved divisive among the show’s audience.

Victoria Coren Mitchell remains at the centre of Only Connect

At the heart of the programme is Victoria Coren Mitchell, who has become closely associated with Only Connect since taking over as presenter in 2008.

The show first launched in September 2008 and has since developed a reputation for questions that demand more than straightforward general knowledge. As the BBC’s programme descriptions put it, knowledge only takes contestants so far, with logic and lateral thinking playing a crucial role.

Coren Mitchell has presented more than 500 episodes across 20 series, becoming one of the defining faces of the programme.

Away from the quiz, however, she was preparing to take on another familiar television format.

Victoria Coren Mitchell set for Have I Got News For You

The presenter was also due to step away from her usual Only Connect chair for another guest-hosting appearance on Have I Got News For You.

Her episode was scheduled for Friday, May 23, 2025, with comedian Chris McCausland and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter joining regular team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton. Episode listings confirm the line-up and date.

For Coren Mitchell, the appearance marked another opportunity to show a different side of her television persona after years of presiding over Only Connect.

She has appeared on Have I Got News For You numerous times, including previous guest-hosting roles. The programme’s 2025 episode listing confirms that she returned to the host’s chair on May 23 alongside McCausland and Street-Porter.

Street-Porter was also no stranger to the show. Her long association with Have I Got News For You dates back to 1996, with numerous appearances over the years.

A different side of Victoria Coren Mitchell

While television audiences largely know Coren Mitchell for her dry delivery and formidable quiz questions, she has also spoken openly about her personal life.

She is married to actor and comedian David Mitchell, best known for Peep Show, and the couple have two children.

In a candid interview with the Evening Standard in 2012, Coren spoke about her attitude towards having children. At the time, she said she had never experienced the strong desire for motherhood that some of her friends had felt in their twenties.

“I never had that point that a lot of my friends went through in their early to mid-twenties when they decided that they absolutely wanted children,” she said.

She also described herself as “slightly obsessed with children” and made clear that becoming a parent remained something she had not ruled out.

“I absolutely still might,” she said, while also discussing adoption as another possibility. At the time, she explained that her lifestyle, which involved travelling for poker, presenting Only Connect and working on other projects, had not felt particularly suited to parenthood.

Years later, Coren Mitchell would become a mother, with her first daughter born in 2015 and her second child born in 2023.

For now, though, it was her television work that had Only Connect viewers talking.

The reaction to the audio special showed just how attached the programme’s audience has become to its familiar formula. For some fans, a little musical experimentation was enough to make them reach for the remote.