The 1% Club knocks out eight contestants with deceptively simple shape question

Could you work out the answer in just 30 seconds?

Eight contestants were eliminated by a question on The 1% Club that appeared straightforward on paper but proved surprisingly tricky under pressure.

Hosted by Lee Mack, the ITV quiz show is designed to test logic, observation and common sense rather than traditional general knowledge. The questions become progressively harder as the number of contestants falls, with the ultimate challenge being a question that only 1% of people are expected to answer correctly.

In one episode, however, several players came unstuck much earlier than expected.

Eight players fail the 80% question

The challenge arrived at the 80% stage and involved nothing more complicated than working out the shape created by a particular walking route.

Lee Mack read the question to the contestants:

“You walk 10 miles northeast, then turn south and walk a further 20 miles. You then walk in a straight line back to your starting point. What shape do you make?”

The players had just 30 seconds to work it out.

Despite the question being positioned early in the game, eight contestants failed to identify the correct answer.

The route begins with a 10-mile walk northeast. The contestant then changes direction and walks another 20 miles south before travelling in a straight line back to the point where the journey began.

The three stages of the journey create three sides, making the answer a triangle.

When the 30 seconds ran out, Lee revealed that eight players had been knocked out by the question.

The presenter also found a moment to joke about the distance involved, quipping that if he had to walk that far, he would have to call an Uber.

Why the early questions can be deceptive

The 1% Club begins with 100 contestants and gradually eliminates players as the questions become more difficult. Unlike conventional quiz shows, the questions are designed around logic and common sense rather than facts contestants can prepare for in advance.

The 2025 series returned to ITV1 on January 25, with Lee Mack back as host. The format gives contestants the chance to work their way towards a top prize of up to £100,000.

That means even questions that initially look easy can cause problems once the clock starts.

The shape question was a good example. The instructions themselves were simple, but contestants had to picture the route, keep track of the changes in direction and recognise the resulting shape before the 30 seconds expired.

A celebrity edition produced a very different result

The show also recently switched things up with a celebrity edition in aid of Soccer Aid.

Among those taking part were Chris Hughes, I’m a Celeb winner Jill Scott, Paddy McGuinness and Tommy Fury. The line-up also included Scarlette Douglass, Iain Stirling and Westlife singer Brian McFadden.

The celebrity contestants faced a football-themed 60% question:

Which four-letter word fills all the gaps to create footballing phrases?

The clues were:

• BICYCLE _ _ _ _
• _ _ _ _ OFF
• FREE _ _ _ _

The answer was KICK, producing bicycle kick, kick off and free kick.

Remarkably, every celebrity contestant got the question right.

That left Lee Mack surprised that nobody had been eliminated at that stage, with the unusual result drawing applause from the studio.

The Soccer Aid special was another example of how the show’s puzzles can work differently from conventional celebrity quiz questions. Rather than relying on specialist knowledge, contestants have to spot patterns and connections quickly.

Other questions have divided viewers

The format has also generated debate among The 1% Club viewers, particularly when contestants and viewers have disagreed over how difficult or achievable a question was.

That is part of the show’s appeal. The questions can look obvious when the answer is explained, yet become much harder when contestants are working against a strict time limit and watching the player count fall around them.

The programme has become a major ITV quiz format since launching in 2022. It is produced by Magnum Media and filmed at dock10 studios in Manchester.

The basic premise remains simple: 100 people begin the game, and only those who can keep solving increasingly demanding logic and common-sense questions have a chance of reaching the final 1% challenge and competing for the prize.

So, if you were given the 30-second shape question, would you have spotted the triangle before the clock ran out?