The 1% Club Contestant Eliminated on the Very First Question — Before Lee Mack Makes an Awkward Blunder of His Own

A Christmas special of The 1% Club delivered an unexpectedly brutal start when one contestant was eliminated on the very first question — leaving him admitting he was “embarrassed” in front of host Lee Mack and the rest of the studio.

The festive edition featured 100 contestants dressed for the occasion and a series of Christmas-themed puzzles. But for Colin, the game was over almost as soon as it had begun.

Colin Stumbles at the First Hurdle

The opening challenge asked contestants to study an image showing elves and reindeer behind a fence and decide which group appeared in greater numbers.

Most of the studio chose elves.

Colin went the other way.

He was the only contestant to answer incorrectly, meaning he was immediately knocked out of the competition.

Clearly uncomfortable with what had happened, Colin admitted: “I don’t know what to say, I am embarrassed.”

Lee initially attempted to reassure him, telling him there was no reason to feel embarrassed because mistakes could easily happen.

Then the comedian couldn’t resist adding a punchline.

“It’s easily done. Well no it’s not, you was the only one.”

The moment quickly attracted attention from viewers, who were stunned that somebody had managed to leave the competition on its opening question.

Lee Mack Then Makes His Own Mistake

Unfortunately for Colin, his appearance wasn’t quite finished.

Later in the episode, Lee began speaking with another contestant named Ray Johnson, who had survived the opening round and was dressed as Santa Claus.

As Lee asked what Ray might do with the prize money, he accidentally called him Colin.

“So tell me if you win, what are you going to do with the money Colin? No, Ray, sorry.”

The mistake immediately brought attention back to the contestant who had suffered the embarrassing first-round exit.

As the camera returned to Colin, Lee imagined what must have been going through his mind.

“Oh yeah bring up Colin again, thanks, cheers mate,” Lee joked, pretending to speak for him.

“They’d forgotten about me but now they’ve remembered. Oh, another close-up. Great Lee.”

Lee eventually offered Colin another apology, saying: “So sorry Colin.”

Fortunately, Colin appeared to take the entire exchange in good spirits and laughed along before Lee returned to his conversation with Ray.

An Exit Colin Probably Won’t Forget

The 1% Club is designed around questions of logic and common sense rather than traditional general knowledge, with the challenges becoming progressively harder as contestants move toward the elusive 1% question.

That made Colin’s Christmas exit particularly memorable.

He hadn’t been caught out by one of the show’s notoriously difficult late-game puzzles. His entire run ended on the opening visual challenge — and he was the only person among the 100 contestants to miss it.

Then, just as the attention had moved elsewhere, Lee accidentally said his name again.

For Colin, it turned a very short appearance on The 1% Club into one of the festive episode’s most awkward — and funniest — moments.