Lee Mack makes it look effortless on Saturday nights, but trying to crack The 1% Club questions from the comfort of your own sofa is a whole different story.
The popular ITV quiz show famously skips obscure pub-trivia facts in favour of pure logic, spatial awareness, and common-sense brainteasers designed to test how your mind actually works under pressure. Starting with questions that 90% of the British public can answer and scaling all the way down to the final, logic-bending riddle that only 1% can solve, it’s the ultimate test of lateral thinking.
Here are 25 real questions from the show to see if you’ve got what it takes to join the elite top 1%.
1. What letter completes this sequence?
S M H D W M ___?
2. Which of these is the largest?
A. Circle
B. Triangle
C. Rectangle
D. Square
3. Oliver, Emily, and Rosie count from 1 to 20 taking turns. Oliver says 1, Emily says 2 and Rosie says 3. Who says the number 20?
This is a real head-scratcher, though a little bit of logic should get you to an answer. (Whether or not it’s the right one depends on you!)
4. On a 24-hour digital clock showing hours, minutes and seconds, how many times in a day do all six digits change at exactly the same moment?
It does happen!
5. What month comes next in this sequence?
April, August, December, February, ___?
6. A palindromic number reads the same forwards and backwards. What is the smallest whole number you need to add to 12316 to make it a palindrome?
7. If the Beatles song Eight Days a Week were true, how many days would there now be in a calendar year?
A. 317
B. 417
C. 517
8. What number comes next in this sequence?
ONE
THREE
FIVE
NINE
TWELVE
TWENTY-ONE
___?
9. You walk five miles north, then seven miles east.
Next you walk 13 miles south, 13 miles west, eight miles north and finally six miles east. How many miles away from your starting point are you?
10. Manchester has a reputation for being rainy, but if it’s dry at 12:01am on Monday, what are the chances of it being sunny exactly 72 hours later?
A. 100%
B. 50%
C. 25%
D. 0%
11. If you write the words HIGHER and LOWER using alternating letters, what do you get?
12. What word replaces the question mark?
one = three
three = five
five = four
six = ?
13. In this sequence what number comes next?
2 4 8 4 6 5 9 4 ?
14. What two letters replace the question marks?
TE × T = MESSAGE
TO × IN = POISON
E × ?? = LEAVE
15. In a room of 100 people, 99% are left-handed. How many left-handed people have to leave the room to reduce that percentage to 98%?
16. Astrid is 32 years old. Ed tells her, “I’m the same age as you… plus half my age.” How old is Ed?
Yes, this one is purposely confusing, so you’ll have to dig deep to get to the answer!
17. Which four-letter word is missing from this list?
spot
opts
pots
stop
tops
????
18. In a road with exactly 26 houses, Em lives at number 13 and Bea lives at number 2.
What number house does Elle live at?
19. What are the next two numbers in this sequence?
201, 720, 182, 019, 202, 020, 212, 0, ___, ___?
20. What is the next letter in this sequence?
f
e
i
r
?
21. Your mum calls you in for dinner at 8pm on Monday.
For the rest of the week, she calls you in half an hour earlier each day. On Saturday night, the clocks go back one hour. What time does she call you in on Sunday?
22. What different fruit do GRAPES turn into?
G +8
R +0
A +0
P -2
E +2
S -14
23. What is the sum of all the whole numbers from 0 to 100, including both 0 and 100?
If maths isn’t your strong suit, you may struggle here, but keep at it!
24. Yolande takes one tablet every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday.
She takes her first tablet on Tuesday 3 March and has a pack of 10 tablets. On what date will she need to start a new pack?
25. If January = 717, March = 5315 and June = 4624, what does August equal?
Another maths question, so think hard!
Answers
1. Y
2. Rectangle
3. Emily
4. Three times
5. January
6. 5
7. B. 417
8. TWENTY-THREE
9. 0 miles
10. D. 0%
11. HLIOGWHEERR
12. Three
13. 4
14. IT
15. 50
16. 64
17. POST
18. 12
19. 22
20. H
21. 5pm
22. ORANGE
23. 5,050
24. 25 March
25. 6848
How many did you get right? Share your score in the comments and see if your friends can beat it.
