How Popmaster became music to our genderbalanced ears
IN THE 22 years that BBC Radio 2’s Popmaster has been on air, it has become the nation’s favourite quiz. It is also, thanks to a spot of social engineering, the most gender balanced.
Ken Bruce, who hosts the quiz as part of his midmorning show, has revealed that the contestant selection process was altered because too many men were applying.
“A few years ago, the majority of people applying were men, no doubt about that. So we started to positively discriminate and choose more women to get on air, and that has worked in that more women are now applying,” Bruce said.
“We try to keep it as close to 50:50 as we can, and I like to think we’ve actually made a difference there and have encouraged women to take part.”
Asked why the quiz had once attracted more men, Bruce said: “Men accumulate useless information more than women do. Look on any railway platform and you’ll see more men than women taking numbers.”
Male dominance has also been a problem on BBC Two’s University Challenge, with this year’s final comprising two all-male teams. Jeremy Paxman, its host, once said: “I suspect that – like football or darts – more males than females care about quizzing.”
Bruce’s radio show is the most popular in Britain, with an audience of 8.22 million. Popmaster, the music trivia quiz which has been running since 1998, is the most listened-to part of the show. Today, he will host an Allday Popmaster competition, taking place at hourly intervals in the schedule before a grand final at 5.30pm.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Bruce says the number of people tuning in for the quiz at 10.30am each day has surged during lockdown.
“Even if they’re working hard at home, they’re still due a tea break, so at 10.30 they switch the radio on,” he said.
Bruce, 69, joined the BBC in the Eighties, and has presented the midmorning show since 1992. Last year, his ratings overtook the Radio 2 breakfast show, making him Britain’s most listened-to radio presenter.