The Big Fat Quiz of the Year

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year is an approximately annual British

During a discussion about the Bob Skeleton event at that year's Winter Olympics, the suggestion arose that a character with that name could be the star of Brand and Fielding's next show together. The pair subsequently became known as the Goth Detectives (opposed to their original name, which arose from a joke Jimmy Carr made about their supposed parentage), which was suggested for the show's title. Though it began as a joke, the pair eventually performed a Goth Detectives sketch for the Teenage Cancer Trust event at the Royal Albert Hall on 28 March 2007.

2007

The 2007 show aired on 30 December 2007. Guest questioners in the studio were

This was the first time that Rob Brydon had been on the winning team, despite having appeared on the panel every year since the first show in 2004. Also, it was the first time (and, as of the 2018 edition, the only time) that the previous year's winning team – the Goth Detectives – had both returned to try to defend their title.

2008

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2008 aired on 28 December on Channel 4 at 9:00 pm.

Due to the furore caused by his and Russell Brand's

This was also the first year that Rob Brydon was absent, leaving host Jimmy Carr as the only regular fixture throughout the Big Fat Quiz of the Year's entire run to date (although neither Brydon nor Ross had been panellists for the special Channel 4 anniversary edition).

In-studio guest questions came from

The 2009 show was recorded on 7 December and aired on 1 January 2010.[3]

The 2010 show was recorded on 13 December and aired on 3 January 2011.[4]

Guest questions were provided by Nicole Scherzinger, Jack Black, Simon Pegg, Russell Brand, Seth Rogen, the cast of Misfits and Will Ferrell. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School made their annual appearance acting out news stories, which included The Stig scandal and the Icelandic volcano eruption, as did Jon Snow with his fake news report of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé's "Telephone". Lola, the cat put in a wheelie bin in August by Mary Bale appeared as a mystery guest. Louie Spence posed a question in the form of a dance routine representing the story of the trapped Chilean miners.

Ross and Jones' team name "Wagner" was in reference to Wagner Fiuza-Carillho, known mononymously as Wagner, who had appeared in

2011

The 2011 show was recorded on 14 December and aired on 27 December 2011.^[5]

Guest questions were provided by

The 2012 edition aired on 30 December 2012. The teams did not take team names.[6] The in-studio final bonus questions were provided by

During the show, Whitehall and Corden had pizza delivered and ate it with red wine.

2013

The 2013 edition was recorded on 10 December and aired on 26 December 2013.^[7] The teams did not take team names.

The show was dedicated to comedy agent and producer Addison Cresswell, who died on 22 December 2013.

Jonathan Ross brought most of a turkey, a loaf of bread and champagne. He ended up making sandwiches for the others.

2014

The 2014 edition was recorded on 1 December and aired on 26 December 2014.^[9]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from Michael Palin, Tom Daley, the cast of The Inbetweeners, Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer, Lily Allen, Rio Ferdinand, Pixie Lott and Status Quo members Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. Paralympic gold medallists Kelly Gallagher and Charlotte Evans provided the in-studio guest question. Charles Dance read from the autobiography of Joey Essex. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School acted out the Bernie Ecclestone trial. Jon Snow gave his news report about "All About That Bass". The mystery guest was Dean Farley, the jogger who ran into David Cameron.^[10]

Mel B's performance received notable negative attention on social media and in the press as having brought down the show by being perceived as sour and humorless.^[11]

2015

The 2015 edition was recorded on 14 December 2015^[12] and aired on 26 December 2015. The teams did not take names.^[13]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The 2016 edition was recorded on 5 December 2016 and aired on 26 December 2016.[14] The teams did not take names.

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

A running gag on the episode was formed when, as Romesh discussed a new programme featuring his mother, Jimmy asked what Romesh's father thought of the programme, not realising that he had died, leading to the other contestants repeatedly chiding Carr about not checking beforehand. There was also a running "gag" with Mel Giedroyc's obsession with the Crossrail project currently going on in and around London.

2017

The 2017 edition was recorded at Television Centre on 6 December 2017 and aired on 26 December 2017.

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The 2018 edition was recorded at BBC Elstree Studios on 5 December 2018^[15] and aired on 26 December 2018.

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The 2019 edition was recorded at Elstree Studios on 9 December 2019 and aired on 26 December 2019.^[16]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

Pre-recorded questions came from Dr. Catherine Green (one of the University of Oxford team responsible for developing the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine), Robert Peston, Clara Amfo, Ellie Simmonds, Andi Oliver, Briony May Williams, and Downton Abbey: A New Era's Elizabeth McGovern and Laura Carmichael. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School acted out the 2021 Suez Canal obstruction. Charles Dance read from the autobiography of Alison Hammond. Jackie Weaver of the viral video of a Handforth Parish Council meeting appeared in the studio to ask a question. The mystery guest was Adam Taylor, the owner of the Aberdeen nightclub where Michael Gove was filmed dancing.

The final question was the normal Big Fat Question, but with a time limit set using the Young-hee doll from Squid Game, with any teams failing to finish writing each answer before the doll's head turns back round being docked five points.

2022

The 2022 edition aired on 26 December 2022.

Pre-recorded questions came from Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Luke Evans, the Sugababes, Ellie Goulding, Kate Hudson, Layton Williams, Sigrid, and Jamie Oliver. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School acted out the Wagatha Christie court case for a related question. Millie Bright appeared in the studio to ask a question. Subwoolfer also appeared in the studio in relation to a question. Charles Dance read an extract from the autobiography of Rylan Clark. The mystery guest was Jerry Dyer, the creator and narrator of the YouTube channel Big Jet TV, whose livestream of planes attempting to land at Heathrow Airport during Storm Eunice went viral.

The Big Fat Question was a three part question asked by

The Big Question was asked by noted Love Island and Love Island Games contestants Megan Barton-Hanson and Toby Aromolaran, entering the studio in a pink open top car dressed as Barbie and Ken in tribute to Barbie being the highest grossing film of 2023.

The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz

The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz (2007)

A special edition of the show, celebrating Channel 4's 25th anniversary, was broadcast on 2 November 2007. Carr and Dee emerged victorious at the climax, and so had to take part in a special challenge which replicated the finale of The Crystal Maze. The pair had to collect silver and gold pieces of paper being blown around in a glass dome.

The second Big Fat Anniversary Quiz was recorded on 29 September 2014 and aired on 2 January 2015, to mark the tenth anniversary of the series.[9]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The first special was recorded in October 2015[17] and aired on 5 January 2016.

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

A three-part series of The Big Fat Quiz of Everything was recorded in June and July 2016 at The London Studios.

Episode 1

The first episode aired on 15 August 2016.^[18]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

Episode 2

The second episode aired on 22 August 2016.^[19]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The third episode aired on 28 August 2016.[20]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from Jess Glynne, Made in Chelsea's Jamie Laing, Ricky Wilson, Ray Mears and Joey Essex. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School acted out Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Jon Snow reported on Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back". Two sloths appeared in the studio for a question about the seven deadly sins, and three human statues replicated famous historical statues for the final question.

2017 special

The second New Year special was recorded in October 2016 and aired on Friday 6 January 2017.^[21]

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

2018 special

The third New Year special was recorded on 11 December 2017 at Television Centre^[22] and aired on Friday 12 January 2018.

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The fourth New Year special was recorded at BBC Elstree Studios on 21 November 2018^[23] and aired on 4 January 2019.^[24] The teams did not take team names.

Pre-recorded guest questions came from

The fifth special aired on 7 January 2021.[25]

Pre-recorded questions came from Paloma Faith, Billy Ocean, Ralph Macchio, Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Clare Balding, Tim Minchin, and Roman Kemp. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School acted out the theft and recovery of the 1966 World Cup for a related question. Jon Snow reported on Radiohead's "Creep". Charles Dance reads book reviews from Jane Eyre, Twilight, and Moby Dick. The special guest was Barbadian British voice-over actor Redd Pepper, who offered to read Taglines from four famous movies. The mystery guest was Jessica Smith, the Sun Baby in Teletubbies. The final question was a round in which The London Street Band played 4 different longest number one tracks from 70s-00s, and the teams had to guess the songs in their respective decades.

2022 special

The sixth special aired on 3 April 2022.

Pre-recorded questions came from

The Big Fat Quiz of the Decade

In 2012, three Big Fat Quizzes were recorded as part of Channel 4's 30th anniversary celebrations, each representing one of the past decades. The shows were recorded on 30 August, 12 September and 19 September.^[26]

The Big Fat Quiz of the '80s

The show was recorded on 12 September 2012 and aired on 16 September 2012.^[27] The teams did not take team names for this special.

In-studio guest questions were provided by

The show was recorded on 19 September 2012 and aired on 23 September 2012.[28] The teams did not take team names for this special.

The in-studio final bonus questions were provided (after a fashion) by

Anneka Rice provided a live guest question. The mystery guest was Stelios Havatzios, the 1980s Athena Baby in the L'Enfant poster. Recorded guest questions were provided by Toyah Willcox, Kim Wilde, Jim Bowen, Bob Carolgees, Carol Decker, Trevor and Simon (Going Live!), Tony Robinson, Gordon Burns and Charles Dance (doing a dramatic reading from the autobiography of Chas & Dave's Chas). The children of Goldsmith Community Hall made an appearance acting out Operation Deepscan. Providing the song lyric as news story segment was John Craven, reporting on "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

The Big Fat Quiz of the '90s (2013)

The show aired on 29 September 2013. The teams did not take team names for this special.

Jimmy was joined by Pikachu for a live question themed on Pokémon. The mystery guests were two actors and a dog who had appeared in various John Lewis Christmas adverts during the decade. Recorded guest questions were provided by Jourdan Dunn, Scarlett Moffatt, Bear Grylls, Sophia the Robot, Peter Crouch, Oti Mabuse and McFly. Jon Snow provided the song lyric as news story segment, reporting on "Get Lucky". Charles Dance gave readings of online reviews of films. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School made an appearance acting out the rescue of the Chilean miners. The final question was asked by Charlotte Crosby, dressed as Miley Cyrus in the Wrecking Ball video.

The Big Fat Quiz of Sport

The show was recorded on 28 November 2022 and aired on 14 May 2023.^[29]

Recorded guest questions were provided by

The Big Fat Question was a three part question performed in the style of rap by John Barnes about sportspersons who had involved in sporting scandals.

The Big Fat Quiz of Telly

The show was recorded on 20 November 2023 and will air in 2024^[30]

Notes

References