The 1% Club viewers left baffled by final question as series ends with £98,000 prize

The final question on The 1% Club left viewers scratching their heads rather than celebrating the end of the series, with many admitting they simply could not see how the answer was supposed to be found.

Hosted by Lee Mack, the ITV quiz show once again began with 100 contestants competing for a share of a prize pot that could reach £100,000. Unlike traditional quizzes, the show relies on logic, observation and common sense rather than general knowledge, with questions becoming progressively more difficult.

But for viewers watching the final episode, it was the last puzzle that proved particularly frustrating.

The final puzzle that confused viewers

With the competition reaching its closing stages, Lee presented the remaining contestants with a sequence of numbers:

1, 8, 11, 69, 88, 96, 101

The question was simple on the surface:

“What three-digit number comes next in this sequence?”

The correct answer was 111 — but plenty of viewers admitted they had no idea why.

Some took to X asking for an explanation, with one viewer writing: “Please can someone explain how this is worked out.”

Another said: “The answer is 111 but I still don’t understand why. Can anyone explain?”

A third simply admitted: “Good question… I have no idea.”

The confusion continued as other viewers tried to work out the hidden pattern, with several asking for someone to explain the answer.

The trick was not mathematical

The sequence initially appears to be a conventional number puzzle, but the key was not to calculate the differences between the numbers.

Instead, the numbers all share one unusual visual property: they remain the same when rotated 180 degrees.

Turn 1 upside down and it still reads as 1. The same applies to 8, 11, 69, 88, 96 and 101 when displayed in the appropriate seven-segment-style form.

That means the next three-digit number satisfying the same rule is 111.

Rotating 111 through 180 degrees leaves the sequence visually unchanged, because all three digits are identical.

It was the kind of puzzle that became much easier once the trick was spotted — but almost impossible if contestants approached it as a standard mathematical sequence.

Only two contestants got it right

By the time the final question arrived, six players remained.

Rachel chose to take the money she had already won rather than risk continuing and potentially walking away with nothing.

That left five contestants facing the final challenge. Only two successfully answered the question, meaning they ultimately shared a staggering £98,000 between them.

The result gave the series a dramatic finish, even though many viewers at home were left more confused than impressed by the final puzzle.

Lee eventually explained the logic behind the answer, saying that all the numbers in the sequence remain unchanged when rotated 180 degrees, making 111 the next number that fits the rule.

Another memorable episode for The 1% Club

The finale was another example of why The 1% Club differs from conventional quiz shows. ITV describes the format as a game where contestants do not need to rely on memorised facts, with logic and common sense at the heart of the questions. Each episode begins with 100 players competing for up to £100,000.

The series finale aired on Saturday, May 25, 2024, with Lee Mack returning as host. The episode also featured former Big Brother contestant Yinrun Huang among the 100 competitors.

For viewers, however, the lasting memory of the night was arguably that final sequence — a puzzle that looked like it required complicated mathematics, only for the answer to depend on something much simpler: turn the numbers upside down.