The 1% Club Soccer Aid Special Leaves 15 Stars Stumped Before Clarke Carlisle Cracks Final Puzzle to Win £100,000 for UNICEF

A deceptively simple-looking code proved disastrous for 15 contestants on The 1% Club, as the Soccer Aid special delivered one of the night’s biggest mass eliminations before ending with a spectacular £100,000 charity victory.

The special edition of the ITV quiz brought together 100 famous faces from sport and entertainment, all competing to raise money for UNICEF. As usual, host Lee Mack tested contestants not on traditional general knowledge, but on logic, observation and common sense. ITV had billed the one-off episode as a chance for 100 stars to push those skills to the limit in support of Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

But when the competition reached the 30% question, a puzzle involving England footballers suddenly caused chaos.

15 contestants fall on one 30-second code

The remaining players were shown a sequence of nine symbols and asked:

“Which England footballer is spelt out in this code below?”

They had three possible answers:

A) Mary Earps
B) Ella Toone
C) Fran Kirby

With only 30 seconds available, contestants had to work out what the symbols represented and identify the hidden name.

When time expired, the scale of the damage became clear: 15 contestants had answered incorrectly.

The correct answer was Fran Kirby.

The trick was not about knowing anything about Kirby’s football career. Instead, players needed to examine the pattern of repeated symbols.

Lee explained that the only symbol appearing twice represented the second letter of the first name. Of the three options, Fran Kirby was the only name containing a repeated letter in the corresponding positions.

Interestingly, Ella Toone herself was among the celebrities competing — and successfully solved the puzzle.

The Soccer Aid special comes down to two finalists

Despite the earlier wipeout, the episode eventually produced an even bigger moment when former professional footballer Clarke Carlisle and comedian and former Soccer AM host Lloyd Griffith became the final two contestants.

Standing between them and the top prize was the 1% question.

This time, the challenge centered on the opening verse of the original version of Three Lions.

The pair were asked:

“In the opening verse to the original version of Three Lions, what TWO words feature exactly three times in the lyrics?”

They were given the verse on screen and just 30 seconds to find the two words.

It was the kind of question where the answer was sitting directly in front of them — but spotting it under the pressure of the countdown was another matter.

When time was up, Lloyd admitted he had misread the question.

Clarke, however, submitted “it” and “know.”

He was right.

Clarke Carlisle wins £100,000 for UNICEF

The correct answer meant Clarke had successfully conquered the final 1% puzzle and secured a remarkable £100,000 for UNICEF.

The achievement quickly earned praise from viewers, with fans celebrating his performance and calling him a “Brainiac” and a “genius.”

The victory was particularly fitting for an episode created around Soccer Aid for UNICEF, which uses football and entertainment to raise money supporting children around the world. ITV confirmed the special featured 100 stars competing specifically to generate funds for the charity.

The wider Soccer Aid campaign has become a major fundraising event since being co-founded by Robbie Williams in 2006. By the launch of the 2025 campaign, ITV said it had already raised more than £106 million for UNICEF.

For the celebrities taking part in The 1% Club, however, the road to that £100,000 was anything but straightforward.

One seemingly innocent pattern involving three England footballers removed 15 contestants in a matter of seconds. Then, at the very end, Clarke Carlisle found the tiny detail that mattered most — and turned two repeated words into a six-figure win for charity.