Victoria Coren Mitchell responds to backlash over ‘unfair’ Only Connect result

Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell has pushed back after a viewer claimed a team was ‘robbed’.

Victoria, 51, has hosted the quiz show since its launch in 2008.

Over that time it’s come to become known one of the toughest quiz shows for contestants to take on as it requires a high level of general knowledge and logic skills by challenging teams to make connections between four seemingly random clues.

Those competing also get points if they guess the answer correctly before all the clues have been revealed.

However, the latest episode led some viewers to criticise the host after claiming she made an unfair ruling.

Taking to X, Patrick Murphy dished out his opinion.

Only Connect host Victoria Coren Mitchell has pushed back against an unhappy viewer (Picture: BBC)

‘The team who lost Only Connect by one point tonight were robbed!’ he began.

‘The last buzzer was before the bell; they should have been asked the question and maybe drawn!

‘The beauty of iPlayer is you can watch it back and hear the buzz before the bell!’

But after Victoria saw the post, she defended both the rules and herself.

‘I never let them answer after the bell, whenever they’ve buzzed! Not the protocol at all,’ she commented.

The latest episode was the semi-final (Picture: BBC)

Others also jumped in to back her.

‘Someone doesn’t watch very often. Stay strong Victoria. Take no prisoners, them the rules,’ Neil Darby said.

‘If your buzz comes so late before the bell that Victoria DOESN’T have time to say your team name and allow you start answering it, then she’ll call time on the round,’ Andrew Codling explained.

‘If she DOES, and you’re halfway through answering when the bell comes then they’ll allow it. Always been that way.’

Mike Grundy simply said: ‘Victoria’s game, Victoria’s rules…end of debate.’

The host has fronted the quiz show since its launch in 2008 (Picture: BBC)

In the end, it was the team called Also Rans that made it to the final with 22 points.

Gaining a loyal following after launching, Only Connect is now one of the most popular shows on British TV.

However last year Victoria called out the New York Times’ puzzle editor after they unveiled a new game, Connections, which was described as being about group words that share a common thread.

Commenting on the announcement, Victoria wrote: ‘Do you know this has been a TV show in the UK since 2008?! It’s so similar I guess you must do?’

Only Connect continues on Monday at 8pm on BBC Two.

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‘Not the protocol at all.’