Did pushy mum cheat to help daughter on Child Genius?
IT is supposed to be an opportunity for some of the country’s brainiest children to pit their wits against each other.
But last night the TV competition Child Genius descended into an undignified battle of pushy parents amid claims that some have been cheating to help their fiercely intelligent offspring.
The tense atmosphere also appeared to be getting to the young contestants, with a 12year- old girl breaking down in floods of tears after scoring a point less than her younger sister in the history round.
At one point last night, the show was temporarily suspended as adjudicator Olivia van der Werff was called on to decide whether there was any truth in accusations of parents cheating.
Earlier in the contest stay-at- home mother Susan, from North London, was accused of using a hand gesture to help her 12-yearold daughter Olivia.
When Olivia, who has since been knocked out, struggled to name a station starting with ‘Kensal’ (Kensal Rise), Susan was shown in the studio audience raising her hand.
Viewers on social media suggested the upward gesture may have been a clue for ‘Rise’, and noted that Olivia’s father Rob also ‘raised’ a good-luck sign.
One viewer wrote: ‘I think Olivia’s parents were cheating. She was stuck on Kensal RISE and the dad rose his sign and the mum rose her hand.’
Another said: ‘Some blatant cheating going on there.’
But last night after Susan’s nine-year- old son Fabio performed poorly in the opening history round on the third day of the competition, it was her turn to accuse others of cheating.
She told Miss van der Werff: ‘When I was actually sitting in the audience in the last round there were a few family members who continuously, throughout their child’s round, were mouthing the answers. I am saying that with [my] two eyes and two glasses, that’s what I saw.’ The
‘Mouthing the answers’
contest was temporarily suspended as the adjudicator reviewed footage, warning there would be ‘serious repercussions’ if she spotted cheating.
She found no truth in the claim and the show continued but later she told parents: ‘Quite a lot of you, when you know the answer, you are saying it to yourselves.
‘However, if your child was looking at you at that point and if they were able to work out what you were saying, you would help them.
‘Now that hasn’t happened today, but you need to be very, very careful, because if I believe that your child has benefited from you, whether you meant to help them or not, then we will have to take whatever action we think is appropriate.’
Meanwhile, there were tears last night when Francheska, 12, and Sofia, 10, from East London, were pitted against each other by their mother Melrose.
But the pressure became too much for Francheska, who was so upset after the history round that she appeared to shake when she met her sister afterwards.
She explained: ‘I don’t like losing to Sofia because I’m older, so I should get higher.’
Channel 4 said: ‘The independent adjudicator is satisfied there was no cheating.’