Derbyshire woman makes history by being named Mastermind champion

Alice Walker, 66, is the oldest woman to ever win the show. Having answered all of her questions on her specialist subject the Peak District National Park correctly, Alice went on to be crowned the 2022 Mastermind Champion on the hit BBC 2 show, which was screened on Monday night.

She said: “I applied for Mastermind after watching the programme and thought about entering for many years, but never expected to win, and it was quite a shock when I did! The opposition in the final was very tough but the questions just seemed to fall my way. It was a great experience and such an honour to receive the beautiful trophy."

Alice, who lives in Whaley Bridge, is a retired IT consultant.

She won by a margin of six points in the Grand Final, scoring a perfect 14/14 in her specialist subject, The Peak District National Park.

Speaking about her love for the Peak District she said on the show: “It’s a beautiful area but its also a very interesting area both historically and geographically.

"There’s mountains and caves and rivers and historic buildings and industrial heritage so I thought it would make a nice subject to do for the final.”

To get ready for the final Alice said she had been reading lots of guide books and information about the national park.

She also met with Tom Lewis, a ranger for the national park, who wished her luck before she took to the famous black chair and answered her questions.

Alice, also a Morris dancer, has been part of the Macclesfield and Stockport quiz league since the 1980s and entered this year’s Mastermind after contemplating applying for years – she said: “I’m not getting any younger. It’s time!”

Her partner Haydn, daughter Laura and granddaughter Evelyn watched from home, while the Poynton Jemmers Northwest Morris dancers appeared on the show with a performance to cheer Alice on.

Mastermind is hosted by BBC News journalist Clive Myrie, a regular presenter of the BBC News at Six and Ten since 2010, as well as the BBC News Channel. The final aired on BBC Two on Monday 11 April at 8pm.

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