Lancaster Housewife Wins Mastermind in Nail-Biter!

A Lancaster housewife was crowned Mastermind champion after a nail-biting tie-break on Monday.

Winning with 28 points, carer Diane Howe beat Lorna Frankel by just one point after the tense tie-break - the second of its kind to ever happen since Mastermind first hit screens back in 1972.  

A delighted Diane, who described her trophy as 'very heavy', said: 'It's just an amazing feeling. I'm so happy... and relieved.'

Diane's specialist subject was American astronaut Jim Lovell. She said of the choice: 'I've always loved science fiction and loved Apollo 13, the film.

'He is an amazing man to do what he did and stay calm - the way he commanded that situation was amazing.'

The contestant added: 'It means everything to win it - to have the trophy in my hands, it is amazing.'

Diane even got a step closer to her hero thanks to the show after scoring 12 points on her specialist subject. She received a 'good luck and ad astra (to the stars)' message from British astronaut Tim Peake.   

She said: 'It means everything to win it, I never thought I'd win it. 

'Watching Mastermind from an early age and seeing all the grand finalists and the winners, and to have this [trophy] in my hands, it’s amazing.'

This was actually Diane's second appearance on the show, she previously tried her luck back in 2019 but did not progress beyond the first round. 

She said the experience 'really spurred me on to have another go and see what I could do.' 

Diane went on to appear on BBC Breakfast, where she shared her secret to winning the popular quiz show.

She said: 'It's really about focusing, if you get something wrong, you've just got to say, that's wrong, just pass and carry on. 

'You can't get bogged down in something you’ve got wrong, it's really tunnel vision.'