Viewers of The 1% Club were left scratching their heads after a notoriously difficult final question left even the remaining contestants divided — and many admitted they “wouldn’t have gotten” the answer in a million years.
The ITV quiz show, hosted by comedian Lee Mack, puts 100 contestants through a series of increasingly challenging logic-based questions as they compete for a potentially life-changing cash prize.
But by the final stage, just four contestants remained, with a jackpot of £98,000 up for grabs.
And then came the question that left viewers baffled.
Could you solve the 1% question?
Lee Mack presented the final challenge:
“What is the lowest number to have the same value as ten times the number of letters in its name?”
The four remaining contestants all gave different answers, underlining just how difficult the question was.
The answer, however, was 50.
Lee explained that the word “fifty” contains five letters. Ten times five equals 50, meaning the number itself matches the required value.
Joshua was visibly stunned when he realised he had found the correct answer — and walked away with the £98,000 prize.
When Lee asked him how he was feeling after his incredible win, Joshua replied: “I’m a wreck!”
Lee revealed the answer was 50 and explained it was because fifty has five letters – did you get it right?Credit: ITV
Viewers admit they were completely stumped
The tricky question quickly became a talking point among viewers, many of whom admitted they had no idea how to approach it.
One viewer wrote: “Wouldn’t have gotten that 1% question in a million years.”
Another admitted: “Ffs don’t understand the question even.”
Others said that while the question initially seemed almost impossible, the answer became much clearer once the logic was explained.
One viewer commented that they had not been close to the answer but realised after seeing it that the solution was “really quick and easy” once you understood what the question was asking.
Another viewer congratulated Joshua on his impressive victory, while someone else described the final question as particularly tough.
Some of TV’s toughest quiz questions
The The 1% Club question was far from the only quiz challenge to leave viewers scratching their heads.
Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Earlier, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? viewers were left stunned by a question involving Best Actress Oscar winners.
Jeremy Clarkson asked: “From the 2000 awards ceremony onwards, the Best Actress Oscar has never been won by a woman whose surname begins with which one of these letters?”
The options were G, K, M and W.
With £32,000 secured, contestant Glen had to take a guess and selected G. His answer proved to be correct, with Nicole Kidman, Frances McDormand and Kate Winslet among the actresses who had won the award since 2000.
Another 1% Club head-scratcher
Another The 1% Club question previously left both contestants and viewers struggling.
It asked:
“Edna’s birthday is on the 6th of April and Jen’s birthday falls on the 15th of October, therefore Amir’s birthday must be the ‘X’ of January.”
The solution depended on the position of the numbers within the sentence. The 6th corresponded to the sixth word, while the 15th corresponded to the fifteenth word.
Following the same pattern, Amir’s birthday was January 24th — the 24th word in the sentence.
The Chase
The Chase has also produced its share of head-scratching questions.
One particularly unusual question asked which food should be avoided by someone with a nightshade intolerance.
The choices were sweetcorn, potatoes and carrots.
Contestant Steve selected sweetcorn, but the correct answer was potatoes.
That’s the point of The 1% Club
While the final question left many viewers frustrated, others pointed out that its difficulty is precisely what makes The 1% Club so challenging.
The show is designed to test logic and reasoning rather than simply relying on general knowledge, with the questions becoming progressively harder as the number of remaining contestants falls.
For Joshua, the difficult final puzzle paid off in spectacular fashion.
For everyone watching at home, it was another reminder that sometimes the hardest quiz questions are the ones that appear deceptively simple — once you know exactly what to look for.
The 1% Club airs on ITV and is available to stream on ITVX.