Veteran quizzer crowned 50th anniversary Mastermind

A veteran quizzer who has been crowned Mastermind champion "never expected to win" the BBC show after "biting the bullet" and applying. Walker won by six points in the Grand Final – scoring a perfect 14 out of 14 in her specialist subject on the Peak District National Park.

The 67-year-old achieved the highest score of the whole series, finishing with a total of 33. Her win marks the 50th anniversary of the show, which first aired in 1972.

Ms Walker, a retired IT consultant from Derbyshire, said she chose to answer questions about the Peak District because she walks her dog in the area and admitted she "didn't prepare" for the generalice al knowledge round. I live on the edge of the Peak District, it is an area I visit quite a lot because I like walking.

"I just thought it would make an interesting subject because there is quite a variety to know about it, as well as the geographical aspect, there is a lot of history and geology.

"I had various books on the Peak District that I studied for quite a long time.

"I didn't really prepare much for the general knowledge because you can literally be asked anything, I do quite a lot of quizzes all the time anyway so I am in the zone of answering quiz questions, I didn't really do any special preparation," she said.

Ms Walker said she has "loved quizzes" since a young age and began taking it seriously in the early 80s when she joined the Macclesfield quiz league.

She has previously taken part in BBC'S Eggheads, The Chase on ITV – an “absolute disaster from start to finish” she said – and Channel 4 quiz show Fifteen To One before plucking up the courage to compete in Mastermind.

Ms Walker's other specialist subjects throughout the competition were Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals in the heat and Julia Margaret Cameron in the semi-final, in which she received a perfect score.

The final marked BBC news journalist Clive Myrie's first series as host of the long-running quiz show.

He replaced veteran journalist John Humphrys who stepped down last year after 18 years in the role.