(Dr) Joan Bridgman

Although many Masterminders claim that their lives were not significantly affected by appearing on the programme, for Joan Bridgman it was the case and profoundly so. Prior to her application she was living near Bath and working part-time as a lecturer in English at the West London Institute of Higher Education, while also working for a postgraduate thesis on the novel Watership Down. However, she broke her leg and was no longer able to travel to London. Badly needing a goal in life, she decided to apply for Mastermind.

She was accepted for the 1987 series with 'The Life and Works of Samuel Beckett' as her subject. Initially she did well but went to pieces after being asked a question to which the answer was County Hall - she knew the building well but just could not think of its name. From then on she went into a 'pass spiral' - unable to think of anything else but County Hall, she passed on her last six questions. This cost her the game, the winner being the eventual champion Jeremy Bradbrooke.

But for Joan this did not matter. She felt that Mastermind had given her a new lease of life - the Mastermind Club gave her a new-found social life, and she felt that her confidence being given a boost helped her to convert her MPhil degree to a PhD. Perhaps like many other contestants, Mastermind gave her a better sense of what was achievable.