Lee Mack interrupts The 1% Club to apologise after joke aimed at eliminated contestant
Lee Mack stopped The 1% Club mid-moment to apologise to contestant Ally Davies after admitting a joke he made following her elimination had gone too far.
The presenter, 56, was hosting the ITV quiz show on Saturday, February 15, when Davies became the only contestant to answer the opening question incorrectly. Although she appeared to take Mack’s comments in good humour, the comedian quickly reconsidered his remark and told her he felt it had been “a bit harsh.”
Ally Davies is eliminated on the first question
The 1% Club begins with 100 contestants, each playing for the chance to progress through a series of 15 increasingly difficult questions. The ultimate goal is to reach the final challenge, which offers a potential £100,000 jackpot.
The opening question of the episode was a “90 percent question”, asking contestants to unscramble letters printed on a can to identify the two-word food “tomato soup.”
Davies was the only player who failed to give the correct answer, meaning her time on the show came to an early end.
“So, we’ve lost one person, Ally Davies,” Mack announced.
Davies responded by calling herself “such a div,” before explaining why the moment was particularly disappointing.
“I’m 70 in March, and I wanted to come on the show and at least do well,” she said.
She also revealed that, if she had won money, she would have liked to spend it on lots of different pairs of glasses to match her outfits.
Mack initially played along with the light-hearted exchange.
“Well, you came on the show, the first part worked,” he joked, before adding: “Okay, yeah, keep trying different pairs until you can see the word soup.”
Mack immediately realises the joke went too far
While Davies appeared to understand the joke, Mack quickly stopped and reconsidered what he had said.
“Sorry, that was a bit harsh. I’m sorry, that was too much,” he told her.
The comedian then explained why he felt particularly uncomfortable with the remark.
“No, I’m wrong. I feel ashamed, because usually I go for somebody and have a laugh with them, then turn to the next person and do the same with them,” Mack said.
“I’ve forgotten you’re the only one that was out. Unlucky, Ally.”
His apology came almost immediately after the joke, turning what could have been an awkward moment into a more self-aware exchange between the presenter and contestant.
The show had already sparked debate over its questions
The moment came just one week after another The 1% Club question divided viewers.
During the February 8 episode, five contestants reached the final stage and were given the choice of sharing £10,000 or risking it for the chance to win the £99,000 jackpot.
They chose to continue, and a contestant named Matthew eventually solved the final puzzle and won £99,000.
The question asked contestants to remove the underlined letters from the sentence:
“ANIMAL TOSHUNINSTAMPEDE.”
They then had to rearrange the remaining letters to form a word.
Once the specified letters were removed, the contestants were left with “THPELEAN”, which could be rearranged to spell “ELEPHANT.”
The puzzle prompted a mixed response from viewers. Some felt the 30-second time limit made the challenge particularly difficult, while others believed the answer was hiding in plain sight.
One viewer said the positioning of the letter “P” was especially easy to miss, while another admitted they were normally good at anagrams but could not solve it within the allotted time.
Others, however, celebrated their ability to crack the puzzle and argued that “elephant” was effectively signposted by the letters themselves.
That debate is part of what has kept The 1% Club so popular: questions can look deceptively simple, but contestants have to identify the intended pattern while working against the clock.
For Ally Davies, however, the most memorable part of the February 15 episode was not the opening question itself, but the moment Lee Mack realised his joke had gone a little too far — and chose to apologise on air.
