Michael Penrice

Michael Penrice is a quiz contestant with a big following that is largely on the basis of his many appearances on Fifteen to One.

A teacher from Wigton in Cumbria, he scored what was then the third highest ever points total of 321 in series 26, shown in autumn 1999 and repeated in summer 2000 (the series ended on Christmas Eve 1999). This won him the Top of the Finals Board trophy. He has consistantly achieved impressive scores, and is currently one of the shows big names.

He also appeared in the Millennium Quiz shown on Christmas Day, 1999.

In the second round of the show containing his finals board winning performance, he was nominated several times after going down to one life. In the final round, he began by nominating, until one of his opponents went out.

The funniest part of this final was when he was asked: 'Question or Nominate?' for the first time. Not responding with either, he said: 'Would Rafe* like to have a question?'
(*refering the contestant to his right)

After this, he nominated again, and it became clear that the one remaining contestant was a questions man. Michael took the show from about 25 questions out, and getting none wrong, he managed to reach 291.

After 30 were added for his lives, his score of 321 was placed at the top of the finals board where it remained for the rest of the series.

On the show, his surname is always pronounced PEN-RICE, not PENRICE. There have also been enquiries regarding the setting up of a fan club.

"I wouldn't go against him... even though I've got the questions in my hand!"
(William G. Stewart). Re: After his score of 252 in series 29.

"Michael Penrice is my all-time favourite contestant, for his all-round brilliance, charisma, and slightly eccentric nature. For sheer entertainment value, there's no-one I'd rather watch on the programme. I aspire to be like him one day."
(Rob Shone).

This message was also posted to the site:

Fifteen to One Record
Series	Year	Score	GF ?	FB Pos	GF Res
25	1999	222	Yes	?	?
26		321	Yes	1	4th
27	2000	283	Yes	2	?
28		281	Yes	2=	?
29		252	Yes	6	4th
30	2001	152	No
31		263	Yes	2
32	2002	423	Yes	1

Superb Questions and Responses include:

Q. 'Elizabeth Clarke who was hanged in 1645 was the first victim of Matthew Hopkins who was a notorious what?'
A. 'Witch Finder General'

Q. 'Who is the creator of the fictional detective, Inspector Reginald Wexford?'
A. 'Inspector Wexford is written by that lady, it's on the tip of me tongue. RUTH RENDELL!'
William G. Stewart responds with:
"If you had stopped talking Michael, you would have heard that buzzer."

Q. 'His correct title is parliamentary commissioner for administration (Penrice Nods), How is this officer for the House of Commons more popularly known?'
A. 'The Ombudsman'

My favourite line I can recall was Michael Penrice's
Q. 'Rain before seven... what comes next?'
A. 'dry afterwards?' (correct answer: 'fine by eleven / fine before eleven')
(Christian Lloyd, Hull).

Here are some of the various outfits Michael has appeared in. In addition to these three, "White shirt and tie" and "Short-sleaved shirt" are also shown earlier on this page. Michael has also appeared in a polo-neck jumper and jacket and a green jacket and tie. Tending to wear a bow-tie for Grand Finals, Michael has also made a normal fifteen to one appearance in series 30, in the same brightly coloured outfit (far left) as he did in the Millennium Quiz.

Here are some pictures from the show in series 30 (2001) when Michael scored 152. They show him pondering the two picture questions that lost him lives, hitting the buzzer to (very) confidantly respond with the first line of the Lord's Prayer in Latin (when down to one life), and inquisitioning William G. Stewart at the end of the show. The probable reason for this is that Michael managed to say Sonia Ghandi, as a result of continued talking, after the buzzer went, but before William G. Stewart could say the answer. As mentioned before, Michael's Ruth Rendell answer was allowed after a similar (but not quite so long-winded) set of circumstances.

An interview with Michael after he won Discovery Mastermind

Will Jones:"How did you come to apply for Discovery Mastermind?"

Michael Penrice "I had applied for Mastermind with Magnus Magnusson back in 1997, but I got a letter back to say the programme was being taken off the air. When I returned from my holiday last summer, there was a letter inviting me to apply for Discovery Mastermind. It would seem my details had been kept on file during the interim. I filled in the form and sent it off. A few weeks later I had a phone call at school inviting me to audition by telephone. I scored 20.5 out of 22, and was duly invited onto the show."

WJ:"Was the choice of specialist subject(s) a difficult one to make?"

MP "I had planned specialist subjects for years, just in case I ever got onto the show. I had no hesitation in naming my two subjects as History of the First World War, and The History of Professional Boxing to 1980."

WJ:"Were any of your subjects rejected or modified?"

MP "Yes, I was contacted to say that while the boxing was fine, someone else was due to do the First World War, so I had to offer another subject. That was when the fun started! I submitted in turn, the following subjects, only to have them turned down because other people were doing similar things:

• Track and Field Athletics at the Olympics
  
• Ashes Test Matches (Cricket)
  
• History of the British Lions (Rugby Union)
  
• Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals
  
• History of the American Mafia (Rejected as too contentious)
  
• The Second World War
  
• American Presidents
  
• 20th Century British Prime Ministers
  
• World series Baseball

Finally I came up with English History 1603-1714, the period I had studied at A level, so I felt I had a reasonable grounding in the subject."

WJ:"How confident did you feel during the show?"

MP "I don't really suffer from nerves in quizzes and felt reasonably confident going into the first show. I felt that so long as I concentrated and did nothing silly, I should get through to the second round. I was not sure what the standard of questions was likely to be for the specialist rounds, but after getting my first few boxing questions right I was soon happy with that aspect of things. I enjoyed the shows and looked forward to the challenge of locking horns against different people. Towards the end, it appeared that several, even quite strong contenders, were happier with one of their specialist subjects than the other. I was much more confident with the boxing, getting 24 out of 25 questions over the series, than with the 17th Century History, especially in the later rounds. Anthony Martin seemed much stronger on Kings and Queens than Stately Homes. I felt that Brian Wright was more vulnerable answering questions on London than on Carry On films, given the size of the subject. I thought the question setters would struggle to find much about Donald Bradman that Geoff Thomas didn't know, but I thought they were quite likely to dig up obscure facts for him on the Oscars."

WJ:"With the lights plus Clive Anderson plus reduced time etc. did it still feel like the real thing?"

MP "On first impressions it was tempting to say the show was not as good as the original. We did not have the impressive venues or the live audience (until the semis). I myself was most disappointed by the reduced question time, as I enjoy answering as many questions as possible. However, as the series went on, it became clear that it was a worthy, tough competition. On the original show the finalists played three times, whereas on Discovery Mastermind they played six. The reduced question time meant that there was little margin for error, but that was mitigated by the fact that the top two went through from each show. This meant that a strong contender could have an off day and still progress. Some competitors felt that they had some very long questions but I think that as the series went on those things levelled themselves out. Further more we all felt that in the later rounds there was an appreciable increase in the degree of difficulty of the questions in the specialist subject.In conclusion, it most certainly did feel like the real thing. No....... the trophy says Mastermind, I got it from Magnus Magnusson; it was the real thing!"

WJ:"How does this victory compare with your other quizzing exploits?"

MP "I'd have to put this at the top of the pile. The calibre of competitor was high and it was a hard competition to win. For all my appearances on '15 to 1' I've never won a grand final so I would have to rate winning Mastermind as my top quizzing achievement so far."

WJ:"How did your triumph go down at home & at school, where you work?"

MP "I have had quite a bit of coverage in the local press and it has been the talk of Wigton for a day or two. At home, my wife Jacinta is looking forward to seeing my head out of a book, for a few days at any rate. At school the kids have been quite excited by it all. I have shown videos of some of the shows to some of the older children. At one point they were cheering my correct answers and booing anyone else's."

WJ:"Finally Michael, what are your plans for the future?"

MP "Well I haven't exactly been inundated with exciting offers or anything of that nature. My immediate goal is to prepare for the 15 to 1 Grand Final. I have never made much impression in a Grand Final, my best being coming fourth on two occasions. I hope to try and change that, but will need to avoid the nasty questions to do it. I have a fancy to try Brain of Britain some time in the future. I was a little disappointed with seventh place in the British Quiz Championships at Oxford after having been second at one point. Afterwards there was quite a large number of questions that I should have got, so I hope to do better next time. It would be nice to get on a show where I could win money instead of nice glassware. I was turned down for The People Verses but I keep trying for Millionaire. Ah well, there is always the Lottery!"