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“Celebrity Mastermind” returns with an exciting episode at 8:30 Pm on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, on BBC Two. In this installment of the long-running quiz show, four famous contestants step into the hot seat to answer tough questions on their chosen specialist subjects. Actor Bill Fellows, chef Ruby Bhogal, actress Tori Allen-Martin, and comedian Matt Forde each bring their unique knowledge to the table, facing a series of challenging questions from host John Humphrys.

Bill Fellows tackles the iconic album “Ziggy Stardust” by David Bowie, diving into the world of the rock legend’s transformative persona. Ruby Bhogal, known for her culinary skills, takes on the works of the renowned artist Claude Monet, offering a different kind of challenge. Tori Allen-Martin’s specialist subject is the legendary girl group Destiny’s Child, while Matt Forde draws on his football knowledge to answer questions about Nottingham Forest Football Club from 1977 to 1993.

This episode...

Jeremy Paxman is to step down from stalwart BBC quiz show University Challenge after almost three decades.

The former Newsnight presenter will film his last episode this fall and his final series will air from August to next Summer.

A new presenter will be announced later this week for the UK’s longest-running quiz show.

Paxman said he’d “had a blast hosting this wonderful series for nearly 29 years” and had “been lucky enough to work with an amazing team and meet some of the ‘swottier’ brains in the country.”

“It gives me hope for the future,” added Paxman, who is also a formidable political interviewer. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease last year.

Paxman led a revived BBC Two Newsnight, which is based on U.S. format College Bowl, from 1994 after the ITV Studios-produced show was axed by ITV in 1987 following a 25-year run helmed by Bamber Gascoigne.

In March 1993, Doctor Who had been off-air for over three years. Paul McGann wouldn’t become the Doctor for another three, and it would be a further nine until Christopher Eccleston’s first appearance in the Tardis. The fans though, were keeping the show alive – fans such as Gavin Fuller, who chose it as his specialist subject in BBC One quiz Mastermind.

Fuller scored an impressive 16 points in his two minutes on Doctor Who, and increased that to a total of 29 after the General Knowledge round. He won the episode and went on to become the 1993 series champion, answering questions on the Crusades and the Medieval Castle in the British Isles as his two other specialist subjects.

When the BBC recruited four Doctor Who trivia fans for a special Mastermind episode in 2005 to coincide with the show’s revival, Fuller – who had since become head of The Telegraph’s reference...

Viacom’s Channel 5 has bagged another couple of BBC presenters to make an event show about the climate change emergency.

Chris Packham — who has worked at the BBC for decades on shows including Springwatch, Autumnwatch, and Winterwatch — will host 100,000 Trees with Chris Packham (working title), which will raise money in partnership with charity The Woodland Trust to plant 100,000 trees across Britain.

Packham will be joined by John Humphrys, who last month left BBC Radio 4’s Today show after 32 years, as they shine a light on the UK being one of the least wooded countries in Europe and delve into the science of trees.

Deadline has previously reported on how Channel 5 has lured presenters traditionally associated with the BBC. We revealed last month how MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace is hosting adventure series Weekend Breaks with Gregg Wallace (wt) for the channel, while in 2018 we reported on Jeremy Paxman joining...

Six male presenters at the BBC are accepting pay cuts after income disparity among male and female staffers at the organization has come under the public spotlight. “We are very grateful to Huw Edwards, Nicky Campbell, John Humphrys, Jon Sopel, Nick Robinson and Jeremy Vine, who have agreed that their pay will now be reduced,” the BBC said in a statement today. “These are great journalists and presenters, who have a real connection with the audience. We are proud to have…...

Just 11% of top talent from diverse background.

Just one-tenth of the BBC’s top on-screen talent is from a black, ethnic, minority background (Bame), the corporation’s Annual Report has revealed (reports Broadcast).

Bame stars make up 11% of the corporation’s top earners, with the likes of BBC Radio DJ Trevor Nelson and newsreader George Alagiah among the highest paid, with salaries of between £250,000 and £300,000.

Radio 4 Today programme presenter Mishal Husain earns between £200,000 and £250,000, less than half than her colleague John Humphrys’ £600,000-£650,000 salary.

Across the BBC, some 14% of its workforce is from a Bame background, in line with the national average.

Bame stars’ salaries pale in comparison with some of the corporation’s biggest earners, which include Radio 2 presenter and former Top Gear host Chris Evans, who topped the payroll with a salary of around £2.2m.

Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman, who also hosted a Michael Buble special at Christmas and Film 2016, was the highest...

Just 11% of top talent from diverse background.

Just one-tenth of the BBC’s top on-screen talent is from a black, ethnic, minority background (Bame), the corporation’s Annual Report has revealed (reports Broadcast).

Bame stars make up 11% of the corporation’s top earners, with the likes of BBC Radio DJ Trevor Nelson and newsreader George Alagiah among the highest paid, with salaries of between £250,000 and £300,000.

Radio 4 Today programme presenter Mishal Husain earns between £200,000 and £250,000, less than half than her colleague John Humphrys’ £600,000-£650,000 salary.

Across the BBC, some 14% of its workforce is from a Bame background, in line with the national average.

Bame stars’ salaries pale in comparison with some of the corporation’s biggest earners, which include Radio 2 presenter and former Top Gear host Chris Evans, who topped the payroll with a salary of around £2.2m.

Strictly Come Dancing host Claudia Winkleman, who also hosted a Michael Buble special at Christmas and Film 2016, was the highest...

David Tennant, Katie Price and Claudia Winkleman will be among the celebrity guests for the upcoming series of Room 101.

Hosted by Frank Skinner, the show will be back for an eight-part series to air in early 2016 on BBC One.

The chat show sees three celebrities banish their top pet peeve, annoyance or worst nightmare to the depths of Room 101 forever.

Sir Trevor McDonald, Noel Fielding, Heston Blumenthal, Russell Howard, Aisling Bea, Adil Ray, Greg James and Ian Wright will also be paying a visit to the studio.

Other guests include Meera Syal, John Humphrys, Russell Kane, John Torode, Katherine Parkinson, Greg Davies, James Acaster, Kirsty Wark, Shaun Ryder, Sam Simmons, Bridget Christie, Robert Peston and Joanna Scanlan.

"It's great to be back as the gatekeeper of Room 101 with another bunch of brilliant celebrity complainers," said Skinner. "They are the whinge beneath my wings."

Skinner recently announced a new weekly talk show,...

Fiona Hanson/Pa Archive

Remember Blur vs Oasis, the chart battle that celebrates its 20th anniversary this month?

For those that answered “no”, here’s a primer: to massively hype two below-par singles, the bands’ respective labels decided to release both on the same day, pitting them against each other. For anyone under 30, it was mandatory to pick a side – conscientious objection was not an option.

This indie version of a playground scrap caused a sensation, utterly captivating people. NME called it the “British Heavyweight Championship”, making it sound like Ali vs Frazier, rather than some Manc oiks saying nasty things about some Southern fops. It even made the main headline on the actual TV news, forcing seasoned pop-hater John Humphrys to pretend he cared about it.

In my house, sides were taken and lines were drawn. My sister chose Blur and I, in the folly of youth, chose Oasis.

John Humphrys is expected to sign a new deal to continue hosting BBC Two's Mastermind.

The broadcaster has been offered a deal to present the long-running quiz show, after taking over from Magnus Magnusson on its return to the channel in 2003.

Meanwhile, Humphrys will also host another one-off mash-up edition with BBC Radio 1Xtra.

Last year, Humphrys surprised audiences by taking part in a hip-hop version featuring Semtex, DJ Target, Lethal Bizzle and Amplify Dot, which was available on iPlayer and 1Xtra.

BBC entertainment north managing editor Kieron Collins told The Guardian: "We're going to do another collaboration with Radio 1Xtra later this year. It's another radio and iPlayer crossover, which will take John Humphrys and the Mastermind format and put it in a surprising environment.

"I think John is fantastic. He was cautious about doing hip-hop Mastermind, he knows nothing about hip-hop. By the end of it – it's...

Lethal Bizzle will take part in an upcoming Mastermind special.

The rapper will sit on the famous black chair for a one-off urban special episode as part of BBC Radio 1Xtra's Hip-Hop Month.

John Humphrys will quiz 1Xtra DJs Semtex, Target and A.Dot as well on Hip-Hop Mastermind, with each act choosing their own hip-hop-themed specialist subject.

The four guests will also be asked hip-hop-based general knowledge questions in front of a studio audience.

The episode will be available to stream on Monday, September 22 on BBC iPlayer.

Hip-Hop Month will also include MistaJam looking back at classic albums from 1994 in his weekday show on 1Xtra, while there will be several documentaries as part of the Radio 1Xtra Stories strand as well.

Noel Edmonds has expanded on his plans to buy the BBC, telling Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman that the corporation is a 'terminally ill patient' which needs an 'outside cure'.

The Deal or No Deal host, who left the BBC in 1999 following the end of Noel's House Party, revealed in The Sunday Times that he is part of a group of investors that could buy the public service.

What would Noel Edmonds's BBC look like?

Edmonds told the newspaper that the BBC must "wake up" and that viewers had been "cheated" over the TV licence, as well as criticised BBC management for showing an "appalling lack of business acumen" due to its "self-serving fashion".

Appearing on Newsnight on Monday (March 17), Edmonds was asked by host Paxman what his value of the BBC would be.

"I have absolutely no idea, Jeremy," he replied. "The problem about valuation is that the actual...

5 Live's Colin Paterson gives guest report on Today programme – only to shout 'Bono!' seven times when U2 star walks past

Forget North Norfolk Digital – BBC Radio 4 had an Alan Partridge moment on Monday morning when it asked Colin Paterson to give a live report on the Oscars. The Radio 5 Live presenter began his piece for the Today programme in an appropriately serious tone, only to turn a touch more tabloid when he saw U2's Bono walking past at the Vanity Fair party."Bono! Bono! You're live on the Radio 4 Today programme! Bono!" he shouted. "Bono! You're live on the Today programme. Come over and speak to John Humphrys!" Only it wasn't John Humphrys he was doing the link with, but Jim Naughtie. As Paterson later admitted, the scene was more than a touch reminiscent of the scene where Alan Partridge shouts "Dan, Dan Dan" in a car park,...

Tributes have been paid to Sir David Frost, who has died suddenly at the age of 74.

During his lengthy career, Frost was at the forefront of major changes in broadcasting and used his skill, creativity and persistence to provide viewers with some of the most memorable moments in television - and in some cases, world history.

Digital Spy looks back at six ways in which Sir David Frost made his mark on broadcast media below.

1. That Was the Week That Was (TW3)

That Was the Week That Was - or TW3, as it was often known - made politicians and the establishment fair satirical game in the early 1960s at a time when the Profumo affair was dominating headlines. Commissioned by the BBC, Frost was chosen to anchor the programme by its creator Ned Sherrin.

TW3 lampooned the class system, Britain's waning influence on the world stage (as in the clip below) and foreign affairs,...

John Plunkett is joined by Folder Media's Matt Deegan and Broadcast magazine's Lisa Campbell to sift through Channel 4's annual report: we all knew they'd be out of pocket, but has the investment paid off in the medium- to long term?

Mike Smith – yes the Mike Smith – joins us to unpick this year's Sony awards, there's more good and bad news at Newsnight and John finds out why John Humphrys paid tribute to George Entwistle.

As if that wasn't enough, Emily Bell joins us from New York to give us the latest on the White House's snooping agenda and we talk Eurovision with TV's Rebecca Nicholson.

John PlunkettMatt HillEmily BellRebecca Nicholson...

London – The BBC's new director general Tony Hall told Radio 4's agenda-setting news program Today that one of his first jobs at the broadcaster is to review the scale of payoffs given to former senior BBC executives. Hall told Today host John Humphrys that "the size of payoffs has not been right," joining the chorus of disapproval that erupted after the $715,000 pay-off for George Entwistle -- who resigned as director general of the BBC after just 54 days in the job -- was made public. Hall also noted the million dollar-plus golden goodbye dished out to the

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Ken Loach's film The Spirit of '45 looks at how the postwar Labour government sought to address the relationship between capitalism and poverty – principles that politicians today seem to have forgotten

In Ken Loach's new documentary about the postwar Labour government, The Spirit of '45, a few witnesses to the 1930s recall how hard life was. "Everything was run by rich people for rich people," says a retired Gp. "We slept five to a bed [that was] full of vermin," says an old Liverpool docker. "Bugs, fleas … behind the wallpaper, inside the skirting boards … at school we got the cane for dirty knees." Someone else remembers that they didn't have a carpet on the floor, and another that all they had to eat was bread and jam.

Until they were beaten into silence by mockery or cut short by mortality, memories such as these were once a commonplace in British family life,...

Tom Stoppard's Parade's End walked away with four awards at today's (March 14) Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall won the best actor and actress titles, Stoppard took home the writer's award, while the series collected the best drama accolade.

Other awards were given to ITV's Exposure documentary about the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal and the BBC's coverage of the Olympics.

Last Leg comic Adam Hills won the breakthrough title and John Humphrys was celebrated with the Harvey Lee Award for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting.

Great British Bake Off, Hollow Crown and TV magician Dynamo also earned accolades.

List of Winners:

Best Single Drama

The Hollow Crown: Richard II

Best Drama Series

Parade's End

Best Single Documentary

Exposure: The Other Side of Jimmy Savile

Best Documentary Series

Inside Claridge's

Best Entertainment/Comedy

Twenty Twelve

Best Factual Entertainment

The Great British Bake Off

Best Multichannel...

London -- Veteran BBC journalist and one of the main presenters of the news agenda setting BBC Radio 4 Today program John Humphrys is to receive the Broadcasting Press Guild’s Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting. The annual honorary plaudit is one of several awards dished out during a lunch time ceremony in the British capital with other categories voted on by the Bpg membership of U.K. broadcast and media journalists. Humphrys, whose resume boasts roles as a BBC reporter, presenter and interviewer for more than 40 years, joined Today as a presenter in January 1987. He is credited with

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The new boss of the BBC had to go because he needed to take responsibility for the organisation’s errors, argues Brian McNair of the Queensland University of Technology.

To get one Newsnight story about child abuse wrong could be regarded as an unfortunate lapse of editorial management by the BBC. To mess up two such stories in quick succession is much more than careless, and indicative of a failure of executive leadership.

George Entwistle, who served just 54 days as the BBC’s Director General, resigned because he knew that the disaster of the McAlpine story was his responsibility as editor-in-chief.

The transcript of the BBC Radio 4 interview in which Entwistle sealed his fate demonstrates a Director-General who was simply not paying attention when the biggest crisis of the corporation’s history was breaking all over the internet, and indeed in the rest of the mainstream media.

Asked by interviewer...

University Challenge celebrates its 50th birthday today. The BBC quiz programme aired its first ever episode on September 21, 1962. Current host Jeremy Paxman spoke about the long-running BBC show's milestone on BBC Radio 4's Today with John Humphrys, saying that he is always "amazed" by what students know. When questioned by Humphrys whether today's students are "dumber" than they used to be, Paxman blasted the suggestion. He said: "It's clearly not true, we've deliberately made questions more difficult. That's because the level of knowledge has gone up. "They know incredible things about science and computing, and all sorts of cultural things. The last person that knew everything died in the 18th century, it's impossible to know everything." Paxman stated that the show still has huge (more)...

Jim Henson puppet show in development for new primetime series with NBC after first film for a decade opens in the Us

It's time to put on makeup, it's time to dress up right – The Muppets could be returning to television in a new primetime series.

Us broadcaster NBC has ordered scripts for a new series about a family who live in Palm Springs and discover their new neighbours are The Muppets. A new Muppets film – the first for a decade - is about to open in the Us and is due out in the UK in February.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new Muppet TV series being developed for NBC is called The New Nabors and is being made Jim Henson Studios in association with Universal Television.

It will be written by 30 Rock executive producer John Riggi and John Hoffman, who will also executive produce alongside Jim Henson's daughter Lisa.

People invited to submit pictures on 12 November for documentary to be broadcast as part of Cultural Olympiad

The BBC is to ask members of the public to turn their cameras on themselves on a single day this year to help create a self-portrait of Britain that will be broadcast as a feature-length documentary on BBC2 in 2012.

The director Ridley Scott, whose films include Gladiator and Bladerunner, is working with the BBC on Britain in a Day, which aims to provide a snapshot of the country on 12 November. The documentary will form part of the BBC's Cultural Olympiad, which will showcase British life and culture during the year when London hosts the Olympic Games.

The BBC said it aimed to create the "definitive self-portrait of Britain today". The project will be officially launched on The One Show in late October.

Scott said: "Film-making has always been about just picking up a camera,...

Drama wins best miniseries, directing, writing and supporting actress, while Kate Winslet recognised for Mildred Pierce

Downton Abbey's success continued in Los Angeles at the weekend when the ITV show won four awards at the 63rd Emmys, batting away strong competition from Us drama.

In a strong night for British talent, the show, which returned to UK screens on Sunday, won awards for best mini-series, best direction, best writing and best supporting actress (Maggie Smith).

Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, said the show's triumph had been a "David and Goliath story".

Accepting an award he said: "At the risk of sounding grandiloquent, I would like to thank you, the American industry. Ten years ago you kickstarted my second career with an Oscar [for his Gosford Park screenplay], tonight you have nurtured it. I am very grateful, thank you."

Downton Abbey's upstairs-downstairs story continues to divide opinion. It is all "bollocks," writer...

EastEnders' Derek Martin has admitted stealing meat in the 1960s worth £150,000 today. The star, who plays outgoing Slater patriarch Charlie, was found not guilty in an Old Bailey trial of stealing £10,000 of meat while working at a meat market in London in 1961. However, Martin told Celebrity Mastermind host John Humphrys that he had in fact taken the produce - although he never got to enjoy the goods. As the soap actor prepared to answer general knowledge questions on the show, Humphrys asked: "Didn't you once convince a jury that you hadn't pinched some meat from Smithfield?" Martin replied: "Yes, a long time (more)...

Flagship programme continues tradition of having guest editors after Christmas, while talks continue with Katie Price

Atheist writer Diana Athill, actor Colin Firth and artist and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Wood will be giving Today listeners their own personal take on the day's news as guest editors of the Radio 4 programme between Christmas and New Year.

Richard Ingrams, editor of The Oldie and Private Eye co-founder, and Dame Clara Furse, former chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, will also be taking a turn in the editor's chair for what has become an annual festive tradition for the show.

The BBC confirmed earlier this week that it was talking to Katie Price, the model, reality TV star and author, about joining this year's Christmas guest editor roster.

Price's name was absent from the confirmed list of guest editors published yesterday, but the Today editor, Ceri Thomas, said "we're still talking" to Price...

Mastermind producer Jon Kelly has denied claims that the show has been 'dumbed down'. The quiz series, hosted by John Humphrys, sees contestants answer questions on general knowledge and a specialist subject. However, Kelly dismissed rumours that the contestants' areas of expertise are becoming too focused on popular culture. "We've had this accusation before," he told the Radio Times. "The show reflects the interests of modern Britain and they can be popular culture subjects. I think there's a common misconception that the previous Mastermind didn't have any popular subjects, but it did. Punk rock was once a subject, as was Doctor Who." He added: "People like to think that the olden days were better. We are making a Champion (more)...

David Dimbleby will be replaced by John Humphrys as the host of this evening's Question Time after he was injured in an incident with a bullock. The presenter was loading the animal onto a trailer when it reared, knocking him out and leaving him with a cut that required stitches. Dimbleby was admitted to hospital yesterday and had to stay overnight for observation, (more)...

Matthew Lewis has announced (http://twitter.com/Mattdavelewis/status/3479897373) via his Twitter account that he will be making an appearance on this year's Celebrity Mastermind (http://www.bbc.co.uk/entertainment/mastermind/celebrity.shtml), a BBC1 spin-off quiz show designed to raise money for charity. Presented by John Humphrys, the programme involves contestants answering questions on a specialised subject for two minutes, followed by general knowledge trivia for the same length of time. Matt's chosen subject is 'the life and music of Oasis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis_(band))'. The person with the highest score in each show is the winner and is presented with a trophy. The episode should air either in the last week of 2009 or the first week of 2010. We'll let you know more specific dates and times when we are aware of them.

London -- Seems like the BBC just can't help making headlines.

While members of the BBC Trust were holed up in meetings trying to sort out the aftermath of the Russell Brand affair, headlines across the U.K. on Thursday were dominated by a fresh media storm over the departure of former BBC political correspondent John Sergeant from Saturday night primetime show "Strictly Come Dancing."

The BBC received more than 2,000 complaints about the matter, and BBC message boards hummed with commentary over the ousting -- well, right up until they collapsed under the weight of electronic outrage, that is. (Watch a video of Sergeant's farewell below.)

Brits might be headed for the worst recession in 25 years, but the news that the bumbling former BBC and ITV political reporter had quit the show dominated almost all the front pages of newspapers here.

Sergeant, the viewers' favorite by a mile but derided...

LONDON -- BBC director general Mark Thompson on Tuesday faulted Radio Four Today news anchor John Humphrys for comments he made about the government in a speech at an industry dinner. Thompson said the comments "ran the risk" of undermining the BBC's impartiality and that Humphrys had been told that the episode "could not be repeated." Humphrys -- one of the U.K.'s most highly regarded newsmen with a reputation for hard-hitting interviewing -- reportedly criticized Prime Minister Tony Blair and other members of the cabinet in the speech, saying the government had been wrong about the investigation of the BBC by Lord Hutton that saw former BBC director general Greg Dyke and chairman Gavyn Davies forced to resign.

EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Fears about the BBC's journalistic independence dominated events at the Edinburgh International Television Festival as a slew of voices across the corporation warned that it was at risk of running scared from the government. A lineup of former and current staff took the microphone at the broadcasting industry's premier event to voice fears that the BBC was avoiding hard news stories about the government because -- in the aftermath of the Hutton Report -- BBC bosses did not want to tackle Downing Street head on. Lord Hutton investigated and refuted a BBC report accusing the government of exaggerating reasons for invading Iraq. Delivering the annual MacTaggart lecture on Friday, veteran frontman John Humphrys, one of the corporation's most senior journalists, warned of caution seeping into the corporation's mindset at a subconscious level. "It is easy, in the shock waves created by something like the Hutton Report and all that preceded it, for confidence to be replaced by uncertainty," he said.

LONDON -- Veteran BBC news anchor John Humphrys warned Friday that BBC journalists are in danger of being cowed by their own bosses in the aftermath of the Hutton Inquiry. Delivering the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture to open this year's Edinburgh International Television Festival, the presenter of controversial morning radio news show The Today Program told an audience of British television executives that BBC journalists have become unsure and lacking in confidence. Although he stressed that this is not the direct result of "being leaned on by the (BBC) bosses," he said there had been a change in attitudes at a subconscious level. "It is easy, in the shock waves created by something like the Hutton Report and all that preceded it, for confidence to be replaced by uncertainty," he said. "Some things don't have to be put in writing for a particular effect to be created. It is possible to be subconsciously influenced into thinking that this is what your masters might want you to do."...

LONDON -- Veteran broadcaster and journalist John Humphrys will deliver the MacTaggart lecture on the first evening of the Media Guardian Edinburgh International Television Festival, which runs Aug. 27-29, organizers said Tuesday. Humphrys has been a presenter on the BBC's Radio 4 Today Program since 1987 and in 2003 received the Gold Sony Radio Award.