The 1% Club question knocks out 15 contestants with a deceptively simple hidden phrase

A seemingly simple code left 15 contestants out of the running on The 1% Club after they failed to uncover a familiar phrase within just 30 seconds.

The puzzle appeared as a 70% question, but despite being designed to be easier than the later rounds, it proved surprisingly difficult for a number of players.

Could you crack the hidden phrase?

The ITV quiz show, hosted by Lee Mack, puts 100 contestants through a series of questions testing logic, reasoning and common sense rather than general knowledge.

Each player begins with a £1,000 stake, with those who survive progressing towards the final 1% question and the chance to claim a share of the jackpot.

But contestants can be eliminated at any stage — including by questions that appear deceptively straightforward.

One such puzzle asked:

“What well known phrase do you get from cracking this code?”

Players were shown the sequence:

BOTMESSAGETLE

They had just 30 seconds to work out what the letters represented.

When time ran out, Lee revealed that 15 contestants had got the question wrong.

The answer was:

“Message in a bottle.”

The clue was hiding in plain sight

The trick was in the way the words had been arranged.

The word “MESSAGE” appears inside “BOTTLE”, creating the phrase “Message in a bottle.”

For one contestant, however, the answer had been frustratingly close.

When Lee asked how he had approached the puzzle, the player explained: “I put message because I knew the word message was in the middle but I didn’t realise I had to put Message in a bottle.”

Lee then joked: “It’s like talking to Sting when he’s drunk.”

Another question left 37 players struggling

The episode also highlighted just how quickly the difficulty can rise on The 1% Club.

In another episode, a question left 37 players struggling. Twenty contestants were eliminated, while another 17 used their passes to remain in the game.

The question was one that 45% of the public were expected to answer correctly.

After the time limit expired, Lee revealed the answer was C. He explained that contestants did not need to be able to speak any of the languages involved. Instead, they simply had to notice that there were seven numbers rather than eight.

The contrasting questions demonstrate the central challenge of The 1% Club: the answer is often less about specialist knowledge and more about spotting a small detail before the clock runs out.

The 1% Club airs Saturdays on ITV1 and is available to stream on ITVX.