With box sets, streaming, catch up channels, hidden delights on Freeview and other options, it’s been another year of being glued to our TVs. Are you paying enough attention to the news?
Take CHRISTOPHER STEVENS’ quiz to find out…
1. Who is the actress who, after playing forensics experts in BBC dramas since 2004, became a real-life police detective for In The Footsteps Of Killers on Channel 4.
Emilia Fox, Silent Witness
Gillian Taylforth from EastEnders
Rosie Marcel from Holby City
Tamzin Outhwaite of New Tricks
2. Laurence Rickard is one of two characters in Ghosts, a BBC1 sitcom about haunted houses. Name one.
A. Julian Fawcett MP
Robin the Caveman
c. Humphrey, Headless
Lady Fanny Button
3. Channel 4 quickly picked up Dave’s most-watched show and screened three series. The show is called What’s the deal?
a. Meet the Richardsons
Taskmaster
c. Comedians Giving Lessons
Late Night Mash
Anne Boleyn was a Tudor drama that caused controversy. A black actress played the title role, and Jane Seymour and the queen shared a kiss.
4. Lady Pamela Hicks, Lord Mountbatten’s daughter, recalls her pet Mongoose Naola stealing chocolates from guests. Who was this guest?
Judy Garland
Margaret Thatcher
Johnny Rotten
d.
5. Omid Scobie (biographer of the Duke and Duchess) dropped some clues on A Very Royal Baby regarding the identity of Archie’s godparents. . . Who could that be?
a. Sarah Ferguson
b. Richard Branson
c. Oprah Winfrey
Donald Trump
6. Anne Boleyn was a Tudor drama that caused controversy. It featured a black actress as the lead role, and Jane Seymour and Anne Boleyn kissing. Who was Anne?
Thandiwe Nut
b. Sophie Okonedo
c. Jodie Turner-Smith
Gugu Mbatha–Raw
7. Which chef’s daughter was on Strictly?
A. Ramsay
b. Monica Galetti
c. Jamie Oliver
d. Gino D’Acampo
8. What was the former Strictly judge doing on Scotland’s Wild Coasts?
a. Bruno Tonioli
b. Len Goodman
c. Arlene Phillips
Darcey Bussell
Pictured: Nikita Kuzmin and Tilly Ramsay perform in this year’s BBC Strictly Come Dancing
9. Louis Theroux, after reviewing the past interviews during lockdown found that one of his interviewees is now a celebrity worldwide. Louis remarked, “It was strange to see how much he seemed to me to some extent.” It was who?
a. Jordan Peterson
b. Tiger King Joe Exotic
c. Chris Whitty
d. Piers Corbyn
10. Gregg Wallace is everywhere. In January, where did he travelogue?
a. South Africa
Vietnam
C. Greenland
Argentina
11. Bridgerton was Netflix’s most popular show of 2017. The voiceover is provided by Lady Whistledown, a beloved British Dame.
a. Judi Dench
b. Prue
c. Maggie Smith
d. Julie Andrews
12. Which Bridgerton star has been hotly predicted to become the first black 007
A. Martins Imhangbe
b. David Oyelowo
c. Rege-Jean Page
d. IdrisElba
13. Secrets Of The Krays was a BritBox documentary in which a cousin described the time Ronnie brought a celebrity home…and ordered her to sing Over The Rainbow. It was who?
a. Barbra Streisand
Judy Garland
c. Greta Garbo
d. Ella Fitzgerald
14. Cherish Finden is a judge on which food show Benoit Blin.
a. Celebrity MasterChef
b. The Stars of Cooking
c. The Pros
d. Crazy Delicious
15. This actress is best-known for her period dramas but was praised by critics as a hardened detective in small U.S. towns.
a. Helena Bonham Carter
b. Keira Knightley
c. Anya Taylor-Joy
Kate Winslet
16. Joanna Lumley played a monstrous mother in two shows —one a murder drama, the other a comedy. You can name either one.
Motherland
b. Alice
C. Hitmen
Baptiste
Joanna Lumley played a monstrous mother in two shows this year —one a murder drama, the other a comedy…
17. The baby picture of the former Prime Minister shows him wearing a lacy shirt on The Great British Sewing Bee.
Winston Churchill
b. David Cameron
C. Gordon Brown
Boris Johnson
18. Shaun “The Dark Destroyer” Wallace, Anne “the Governess” Hegerty, and Mark “the Beast”, Labbett traveled across America on the Chasers Road Trip. Katie had a stronger memory than them, and they met her. What or who was Katie then?
a. Toy robot
b. A mongoose
c. A goldfish
d. An orangutan
19. Darragh Ennis, an Irishman is the new Chaser. Which is his nickname?
a. Psychological
b. The Menace
The Hipster
d. Leprechaun
20. Rose Matafeo, who played an actress who fell in love and didn’t realize who he was, had echoes from Notting Hill. Was it called “The Show”?
a. Almost Famous
Celeblind
Starstruck
You’ve Never Heard Of It
21. Fern Britton, pony-trekking with her horse, said, “Rita! I’m happy to meetya!” Fern was reliving her childhood holidays — in which county?
a. Caithness
b. Gwynedd
C. Co Down
Cornwall
22. We never really found out who the corrupt ‘H’ was in Line Of Duty — but who played DCI Jo Davidson in the sixth and final series?
Keeley Hawes
Kelly Macdonald
c. Vicky McClure
d. Jessica Raine
23. Filmmaker Michael Waldman window-shopped in a London street where rents are £2 million a year. Is he still there?
a. The Old Kent Road
Street, b. Coventry
c. Mayfair
Bond Street
24. What comic joined Susan Calman at Great Yarmouth to compete in sandcastle building?
a. Joe Pasquale
b. Alan Carr
c. Tom Allen
d. Michael McIntyre
Ruth Gemmell & Phoebe Dynevor star in Netflix’s biggest success story, ‘Bridgerton.
25. Ken Burns, documentary maker, paid tribute to an author in World War I who managed to avoid being crushed by a mortar bomb. What was the name of this writer?
a. Ernest Hemingway
b. F. Scott Fitzgerald
John O’Hara
d. Dashiell Hammert
26. Gyles Brandreth celebrated a literary heritage when he visited Ponden Hall, a B&B in Yorkshire that partly inspired a 19th-century classic. Is the novel a literary genre?
Vanity Fair
b. Great Expectations
c. Wuthering Heights
Pride and Prejudice
27. What former Young Ones actress played Julie Hesmondhalgh’s horrible hubby in The Pact? Lizzy McInnerny was Julie Hesmondhalgh’s vicious spouse in Back To Life.
a. Alexei Sayle
b. Nigel Planer
Adrian Edmondson
Christopher Ryan
28. Suranne Jones was an investigator with claustrophobia, fear of water and claustrophobia who got stuck on a submarine nuclear. Was the program and sub named?
a. Take Out
Vigil
C. Watcher
Lurker
29. Laurence Llewelyn Bowen revitalized Changing Rooms. Is Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen the new hostess at Naked Attraction?
Anna Richardson
b. Sue Perkins
C. Mel Giedroyc
Miriam Margolyes
30. Sophie Okonedo has joined the cast for which highly hallucinogenic drama Sky Atlantic, co-starring Mackenzie Crooks and David Morrissey.
a. Game Of Thrones
b. Succession
Britannia
d. Westworld
31. Which quiz-show host has topped the UK fiction bestsellers charts throughout the year?
a. Alexander Armstrong
Bradley Walsh
c. Anne Robinson
d. Richard Osman
32. Iblis, the Zoo’s most popular attraction at Chester, won’t go out when it is raining. He is what type of animal is this?
a. A mongoose
b. An Asiatic Lion
c. The snow leopard
d. Giraffe
33. BBC1’s Sort Your Live Out and Channel 5’s Big House Clearout have both encouraged us to throw out unnecessary clutter. You can name either one of these presenters.
a. Nadiya Hussain
Bradley Walsh
c. Stacey Solomon
Nick Knowles
34. South Korea is the importer of Squid Game, the Netflix superhit. Name one of these Saturday night music contests that is based in Korean.
I Can See Your Voice
b. The Masked Singer
c. Masked Dancer
The Hit List
Image: Netflix’s smash hit Squid Game
35. BBC America’s Low-budget Fantasy Drama The Watch, starring Richard Dormer as Commander Sam Vimes. The series was inspired by which book?
a. Neil Gaiman
Terry Pratchett
c. J. K. Rowling
d. J. R. R. Tolkien
36. Piers Morgan, who presented the last issue of Life Stories, interviewed the woman who will succeed him. Who?
a. Kirstie Allsopp
b. Sandi Toksvig
C. Mel Giedroyc
d. Kate Garraway
37. Lorraine Bracco from New York plays the mother who is foul-mouthed in Tim Renkow’s comedy Jerk. What role did she take in The Sopranos?
Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Janice Soprano
c. Big Paulie
d. Carmela Soprano
38. Blankety Blank’s presenter said to Sheila Ferguson, The Three Degrees: ‘If ever I get you into that dressing room it’ll only be one degree under.’
a. Les Dawson
Terry Wogan
Paul O’Grady
Bradley Walsh
39. The former football manager shared an EastEnders pint with Mick Carter (Danny Dyer), the landlord.
a. Sven-Goran Eriksson
b. Harry Redknapp
c. Bryan Robson
Kevin Keegan
40. Bertie Carvel portrays DCI Adam Dalgliesh, in this new adaptation of the detective novel by which literary dame?
A. Agatha Christie
b. Hilary Mantel
James, c. P. D.
d. Ngaio Marsh
Blankety Blank presenteder Sheila Ferguson (pictured), said in a clip, “If you ever get me into that dressing room it’ll only be one Degree below!”
41. What novelist translated Crime into a BritBox serial that starred Dougray Scott playing alcoholic DI Ray Lennox
a. Will Self
Jo Nesbo
C. Lee Child
Irvine Welsh
42. Name and shame the chef, who insisted that we add cheesy Wotsits to a dish of macaroni with cheese.
Mary Berry
Gordon Ramsay
c. Nadiya Hussain
d. Nigella Lawson
43. Alan Cumming, actor drove this actress across the Highlands in a Lost In Scotland road trip.
Joanna Lumley
Miriam Margolyes
c. Penelope Keith
Felicity Kendal
44. Matt Berry portrays vampire Laszlo in the comedy What We do In The Shadows. Is there a name for the washed up thespian who will be returning next year to a series set in the States,
a. Steven Toast
b. Richard Bacon
c. Alan Weetabix
d. Nigel Cornflake
45. Although many believed that Jurgen, a German baker, was eligible to win The Great British Bake Off’s crown in Germany the title went to another contestant. He was who? Which country is his homeland?
Colombian artist a. Pablo
Donald, U.S.
Russia: c. Vladimir
Italy: d. Giuseppe