Margaret Spiller

Photograph courtesy of Radio Times

A civil servant who appeared on Mastermind in 1987. She won her heat (the 250th programme) with 'The Life and Times of Emperor Nero' and her semi-final with 'Minoan Crete'. In the latter case she became one of the few people to have beaten Kevin Ashman in a quiz, and certainly the only one on Mastermind. For the final Margaret reverted to her initial subject and lost to Jeremy Bradbrooke.