The 1% Club viewers were left stunned when contestant Alice revealed the unexpected reason she believed she was appearing on the ITV quiz show — and it had absolutely nothing to do with winning money.
The 1% Club contestant shares ‘heartbreaking’ reason she’s on Lee Mack show as fans talk ‘awkward’ moment(Image: ITV)
The popular game show returned on Saturday, January 25, with presenter Lee Mack welcoming 100 contestants as they put their common sense to the ultimate test.
At the beginning of the episode, Lee asked the players how confident they were feeling. Several contestants responded with humorous admissions of self-doubt.
But one exchange quickly stood out.
When Lee began chatting to Alice, he noticed that she was particularly quiet and seemed to be giving little away.
“Well I must say, I’ve not even spoken to you properly yet and I already think ‘you’re not full of confidence,’” Lee joked.
Alice then delivered a revelation that left both Lee and the studio audience stunned.
“I don’t actually know what I’m doing here, I thought this was a scam, my boyfriend was going to propose.”
For a moment, the studio fell silent before laughter broke out, while one woman in the audience was seen covering her face in sympathy.
Lee immediately reacted: “That is heartbreaking.”
He then tried to work out exactly how Alice had ended up on the show while still expecting a marriage proposal.
The 1% Club host Lee Mack didn’t quite know what to say when a contestant shared that she thought she was going to be proposed to on the show. (Image: ITV)
Alice Thought The Show Was Part of a Proposal
Lee asked whether Alice’s boyfriend had put her forward for the programme.
But Alice explained that she had actually applied herself and never expected to be selected.
When the confirmation arrived, she assumed it was all part of an elaborate proposal plan.
That meant Alice had apparently arrived at the studio that morning still believing her boyfriend might suddenly appear with an engagement ring.
Lee could hardly believe it.
“Hang on, so you set off this morning still thinking that you might be proposed to?” he asked.
Alice confirmed that was exactly what she had thought.
Lee then imagined what might have been going through her mind as she arrived at the television studio.
“And then when you saw the studios, did you still think ‘he’s going to be in there!’”
He also joked: “You didn’t think it was going to be live on television did you?”
But Alice admitted she had not completely abandoned the idea.
“There’s still a part of me that thinks he might come out halfway through,” she said.
Lee laughed before gently warning her: “Yeah I don’t want to shatter your dreams but he’s not.”
Lee Imagines the Ultimate Proposal
The presenter then took the joke even further, imagining a bizarre scenario in which Alice’s boyfriend suddenly appeared during the quiz.
“If I said ‘let’s have a look at your 5% question’ and his face went ‘will you marry me?’ and you went ‘yeah’ and they all went ‘is that the question?’ and they all put yes and you said no and everyone’s out, this would be your fault.”
Alice wasn’t entirely convinced that Lee and the production team weren’t involved in the surprise.
“Yeah but maybe you’re all part of it,” she joked.
Lee reassured her that she wasn’t secretly taking part in The Truman Show.
The unusual exchange quickly became one of the most talked-about moments of the episode, with viewers taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their reactions.
One viewer wrote: “Alice what are you on about.”
Another sympathised with her, saying: “Poor Alice, I hope he has proposed, if not, you can do better.”
Someone else described the situation as painfully awkward, posting: “Oh my word…that’s awkward.”
Another viewer was simply incredulous: “You’re on a game show and you think you’re gonna be proposed to?”
And one person joked that Alice’s boyfriend might now be rushing to make the proposal happen, writing: “Bet her boyfriend is on a last minute dash to the Jeweller’s for an engagement ring now.”
For Alice, however, the possibility of a surprise proposal clearly remained in the back of her mind as she prepared to take on the 1% Club challenge.
The 1% Club continues every Saturday at 8.30pm on ITV and ITVX.