Carol Vorderman reveals ruthless 'competitive' streak as new show kicks off

She’s famous for her quick mathematical brain, but that didn’t stop Carol Vorderman’s competitive streak coming out in Celebrity Puzzling.

“At first, I thought I’d be very gracious and allow my fellow guests to answer the question so the world can see how clever they are,” she says, “But after about half an hour, the genteel lady aspect went out of the window. I’m very competitive.”

It didn’t go unnoticed by host Jeremy Vine, who fronts the eight-part series. “During the final round, Memory Bank, Carol had a technique that I’m still trying to work out,” he says, “But the look of concentration she had - it was like Roger Federer, a laser!”

In this brand new Channel 5 show, Jeremy plays quizmaster and referee as team captains Carol Vorderman and Sally Lindsay take on mind-bending mental challenges alongside a rotating cast of celebrity guests.

Each episode sees a fresh pair of famous faces join the fray - Gareth Malone and Ore Oduba start us off, with Scarlett Moffatt, Stephen Bailey, Melvin Odoom, Miles Jupp, Dom Joly and more queuing up to flex their grey matter.

Jeremy says he often found himself “constantly” itching to join in. “I didn’t always have the answers,” he says, “But I quickly realised that, as the quiz master, you feel locked out. You can’t shout the answer out. That’s the price you pay for watching these competitors do battle.”

Some of the guests surprised even him. “I knew Shaun Williamson would be nervous about it,” he says, “It’s not his usual territory. But I could see he knew stuff and was having a good time.”

He was particularly interested in watching goalie David James take on the challenge. “Sportspeople’s brains just work differently. It was enjoyable to watch.”

The show’s six-round structure keeps things lively, but one segment in particular gave Carol a headache: Cinema Cypher, where film titles are hidden behind a string of symbols.

“I found it hard because I had to go backwards,” she says, “I’m absolutely rubbish with movie titles. I know The Godfather series, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars but I couldn’t tell you what their names are, though I’ve probably seen all of those multiple times.”

She came unstuck when trying to work out School of Rock. “When the clue said it was a Jack Black film, I thought of all the movies I knew and tried to make them fit,” she admits.

“I forced it rather than trying to work it out. I didn’t know the movie title.” But she revelled in the challenge. “That’s the worst thing I did but I really enjoyed trying to work it out,” she says.

For Carol, however, the biggest novelty wasn’t the puzzles - it was being a captain. “I can’t remember ever being a team captain before and I really enjoyed it."

“This was interesting because I was with Scarlett Morfatt on one show and then Paul Sinha another show. In terms of general knowledge, that’s vast - Paul is one of the top quizzers in the country!”

But what makes the show shine is its clever tailoring: questions are curated for the guests’ strengths. “The questions were totally geared to those celebs,” says Carol, “I didn’t know pop bands but Scarlett did. It was brilliantly done.”

Her long-standing friendship with Sally Lindsay added an extra layer of warmth to filming. “Sally is just a joy,” she says, “She’s actually one of my best friends so it was a joy to be with her even though the way our brains work is different. We’re both Northern, feisty women and we like a laugh. So I loved being in that studio.”

Carol’s lifelong love of puzzles runs deep. “I’ve always loved puzzles. When I was a child, I used to buy old maths books,” she remembers.

“They were my puzzles. I would sit at home with my pencil and go against the clock. Chess is one of the big ones.” That passion led her to hosting the 1993 world chess match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short.

It was the Kremlin’s first ever commercial event - a speed chess championship. These days, she’s a devoted Sudoku fan, happily losing herself in grids during long train rides back to Bristol from filming.

Jeremy’s relationship with puzzles is equally personal. “My dad, who died about six years ago, was a big fan of Carol’s,” he says, “He was a mathematician and he spent his life in higher education and he was obsessed with one thing which was aligning the prime numbers, only divisible by one.

He spent half a century with notepads trying to work it out. That’s my memory of holidays - my dad sitting with a pad and a pencil, trying to work it out this living secret.”

Celebrity Puzzling is, at its heart, a show about connection. There’s rivalry, bursts of laughter and moments of real camaraderie that make it a joy to watch. So grab a cuppa, fluff the cushions and settle in - Celebrity Puzzling invites you to switch off the chaos and stretch your brain.

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