Steve Williams

The 1992 Mastermind champion was a computer analyst and programmer from Solihull. He already had a track record of TV quizzes - as well as reaching the semi-finals of Countdown, he had appeared on Fifteen-to-One, Catchword, Crosswits and One False Move. He was also a member of a local quiz team called 'The Irregulars'. In his heat Steve took 'Surrealist Art Between the Wars' as his subject, scoring 16 and adding 17 on general knowledge to emerge as the winner on 33. In his semi-final he took 'The Life and Reign of Peter the Great' and was apparently in the lead at the halfway stage on 19 points and no passes. However, in a remarkable display of good sportsmanship, Steve pointed out that one of his answers that Magnus Magnusson had adjudged to be correct was in fact incorrect. Several Mastermind contestants have appealed against their scores being understated, but Steve was the only one in recorded history to do the opposite. It could have cost him the game, as he was now level on 18 points with Ken Emond, who also had no passes, but a score of 15 on general knowledge made Steve the clear winner on 33.

The final was the first in which contestants were not permitted to revert to their original specialised subject. This suited Steve's wide range of interests well, and he took 'Post-Socratic Philosophy'. It promised to be a close game between Steve and Richard Ford, so Steve played tactically in the general knowledge round, passing on questions to which he did not know the answer to save time. It paid off - but only just. As the bell went, Steve had 33 points and 5 passes, whereas Richard had scored 33 with 4 passes, so Steve faced losing on the passes rule. Magnus finished the question that he was in the process of asking, and Steve answered it correctly , making him the winner by the narrowest of margins on 34 points.

The trophy was presented by crime author P.D. James, who was a Director of the BBC. After Mastermind, Steve went on to appear on more TV quizzes The Great British Quiz and Quiz Night, and he also took part in Brain of Britain alongside fellow Masterminder Paul Overall, who joined 'The Irregulars'.