The 1% Club’s final question stumps everyone in the studio – and nobody wins the money

The final challenge on The 1% Club proved so difficult that none of the five contestants left standing managed to answer it correctly, meaning nobody walked away with the prize money.

The ITV quiz show returned for another episode on 3 May, with contestants once again facing increasingly difficult questions designed to test logic and common sense rather than general knowledge.

By the time the final round arrived, five players had survived.

Five contestants, one impossible-looking question

The format of The 1% Club is straightforward but increasingly unforgiving. The game begins with 100 contestants, who face questions ranging from those that around 90% of people can answer to the notoriously difficult 1% question.

Every time a contestant is eliminated, £1,000 is added to the prize pot. Players can also choose to put their money into the pot to skip a question, or take their £1,000 and leave the game.

Reaching the final round guarantees the remaining contestants a share of £10,000. With five players left, that would have worked out at £2,000 each.

However, all five decided to continue and take their chances on the final 1% question, giving them an opportunity to win the entire prize pot instead.

That decision ultimately left everyone empty-handed.

Could you solve it in 30 seconds?

Viewers were given just 30 seconds to work out the answer, and the challenge appeared to leave the contestants completely stuck.

Some players failed to write anything down, while others managed to put down an answer — only for host Lee Mack to tell them they were wrong.

The correct answer was “sea.”

The trick was to place “sea” in front of each of the capitalised words shown in the question, creating other words.

Once the answer was revealed, the solution seemed much more obvious. But with only 30 seconds on the clock, contestants had very little time to consider every possible combination.

The result was an unusually brutal ending: all five finalists got the 1% question wrong, and nobody won any money.

Not the first 1% question to defeat everyone

The outcome highlighted exactly why the final questions on The 1% Club have such a reputation.

A previous 1% question also went unanswered, with an entire £100,000 prize pot left unclaimed.

Another challenge was so difficult that 46 contestants used their pass rather than attempt to answer it.

For viewers who enjoy playing along at home, the show has produced plenty of similarly difficult brainteasers over the years.

Some of the hardest questions from The 1% Club

Among the challenges contestants have faced are:

• What is the first number that, when spelled out, has its letters in alphabetical order?
• If January equals 717, March equals 5315 and June equals 4624, what does August equal?
• Lee was driving when he noticed his milometer read 16961 and was the same backwards and forwards. What will the next mileage be that also reads the same backwards and forwards?
• Into, Therefore, Evaluate, Benign. What do all of these words have in common?
• A bat and a ball cost £1.10 in total. The bat costs £1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

The questions may look simple on paper, but The 1% Club continues to demonstrate how difficult it can be to find the right answer when the clock is counting down.