The BBC has admitted to a serious blunder in the 2016 Mastermind Grand Final, after host John Humphrys misread a question.
In one of the show’s tightest ever finals, Humphrys asked contestant Jim Maginnis: “Which singer, who died in 1988, had the words 'The best is yet to come', the title of the last song he ever performed publicly, etched on his tombstone?"
Maginnis answered Ray Charles, but the answer Humphrys wanted to hear was Frank Sinatra.
The only problem is that Sinatra died in 1998, not 1988.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “During the Mastermind final a question was misread from the card to include the date 1988 instead of 1998.
"We have since spoken to Jim Maginnis, the contestant who gave an incorrect answer to the question, and he graciously accepts that the correct date would not have changed his answer. We are satisfied the mistake did not affect the outcome of the final."
Maginnis went on to lose the show in a thrilling tie-breaker, but was gracious about the show’s gaffe.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “At the end of the day, it could have been a different if the mistake was made on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire and I was playing for a million pounds
"The mistake wasn’t picked up during the show or in post-production, if it had have been, it would have been rectified, but it’s just one of those things."
"No one is to blame for it. There’s no point in wondering what if? Those things are imponderables. Winner Alan Heath was a gentleman and a very worthy winner."
He added: “I just thoroughly enjoyed everything from all the reading I did to appearing on the show. So, I suppose, in the words of Frank Sinatra, that's life."
After viewers spotted the blunder, the Mastermind Twitter page commented: "Several people noticed that there was a mistake in Friday's episode.
"We've spoken to Jim and we're happy that it didn't affect the outcome."
The Grand Final is still available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
Photo Credit: BBC/Karen Wright
