The Easiest Quiz: Nicola scores 37
Nicola from Sunderland was preparing to move to a small village in County Durham and described it as “escaping to the country”.
Grant’s 31 from Wednesday was the score to beat. Nicola answered questions about Madrid, skyscrapers, recycling, cake, snow, banks, former Breakfast Show hosts, traffic lights, queens and Vernon’s Vault.
The quiz briefly challenged her when she hesitated over what could be found in the Bake Off tent. Nicola pleaded that it was one of her favourite programmes, then supplied “cake” and was allowed to continue.
She also performed a yodel twice after the quiz demanded more gusto, made an exaggerated cold noise and moved through questions about Germany, the Taj Mahal, train stations, koalas, airports, multiplication and traffic lights.
Her run ended on “Name a famous Simon”, when she answered “Garfunkel”. Mark pointed out that Simon Le Bon, Simon Cowell or Simon Pegg would all have worked.
Nicola finished with 37 points, beating Grant and taking the Streak of the Week lead. Mark described it as a “good day” for her on 1 May.
Alex Horne
Alex Horne joined Mark to discuss the return of Taskmaster, the second series of The Horne Section TV Show and a charity football event.
He described The Horne Section TV Show as “a show about a show”, in which the band were given their own live television programme made from Alex’s house. The fictional production inevitably fell apart because Alex was placed in charge.
Alex explained that the musicians were all highly accomplished, while he was not really a musician at all. That imbalance supplied much of the sitcom’s tension and comedy.
The programme mixed tightly scripted scenes with improvised rehearsal-room sequences. Alex said the band were approaching 50 and were grateful for the unusual fame the project had brought them.
The Horne Section were also preparing to play Glastonbury’s Field of Avalon. Alex promised to “throw everything at it”, involve the audience and possibly wear revealing clothes because he assumed the opportunity would not come again.
He then discussed the 19th series of Taskmaster. The new line-up included Jason Mantzoukas, Mathew Baynton, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Rosie Ramsey and Stevie Martin. Alex said the show remained fresh because it never repeated a task and neither contestants nor viewers knew what was coming next.
The format had now travelled around the world, including versions in Scandinavia, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia. Alex noted that some countries had female Taskmasters, which created a different dynamic from the UK pairing of himself and Greg Davies.
Finally, Alex promoted the Comedy Football Trophy at Chesham United. Comedians and non-league footballers would play under rules invented by him, including compulsory goalkeeper attacks and a guaranteed penalty shootout, while raising money for the club and a homelessness charity.
The Birthday Game: Sarah
Sarah celebrated with plans involving her five granddaughters, including a baby only 10 days old. She worked as a fitness instructor teaching spin, Strong Nation and body-power classes.
Her Birthday Game moved through three former number-one songs as she weighed an early selection against the risk of being left with the final track.
1 May 2025: Vernon Kay
The handover returned to Nicola’s 37 points and Alex Horne’s ability to turn almost anything — television, music or football — into a game governed by unusual rules.
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