Mastermind 2026 Grand Final Specialist SUbjects

Silly me.  All of that guff in the preview and I haven’t even mentioned the specialist subjects for tomorrow’s Grand Final. They are:-

Dame Julie Andrews,

The Films of Danny Boyle,

Beatrix Potter,

Robert Burns,

Notre-Dame Cathedral

Jim Lovell.

Actually, as a set I really rather like them. I mean, there’s none of them which I’d pick as an absolute banker, but with a bit of luck and a following wind I might be able to score a point or two on all of them. There’s none of them that seem to carry a government health warning with them. Yes, there’s over 800 years worth of history to consider for Notre Dame, but it can be done. There were over 1900 years of History for London Bridge in my final and like I said, it can be done. I always think biographical subjects are a good fit for Mastermind, having definite limits to what you can be asked, and we have four of them. Beatrix Potter might prove problematical as there’s all of the books, and all of the pictures and all of the life. I read a biography of her a couple of years ago and there is a lot to deal with. Likewise, Julie Andrews is 90, and her career started as a child star, so even if you just concentrated on her stage and screen career there is a hell of a lot to learn. Robbie Burns wrote over 500 poems, without even touching his life and career. Jim Lovell, well there’s all of his career as an astronaut which is pretty well documented but that only accounts for about 12 years of his life. He was 97 when he passed away last August. That’s a lot of non-astronaut years to learn about. Finally, the films of Danny Boyle. I believe he has thus far had 16 films released. Sounds manageable? Well, when you consider that film and TV rounds do tend to concentrate on the events of the film/TV show, that’s a lot of films to watch, make notes on and learn.

Well, however our six finalists do in the show, I hope that you’ll join me in thanking them for giving it a go. Whatever happens, take satisfaction that you are a Mastermind finalist and nobody can ever take it away from you.