Alice Walker’s earliest childhood memories of the Peak District are of picnics, visits to stately homes and walks with her parents. Years later, Britain’s first national park holds new significance: it was her specialist subject as she became the oldest female winner of Mastermind.
The title came as a surprise to the career quizzer: “I don’t really think of myself as an older woman,” admitted Walker, now 67. “But I guess I am.”
The retired IT consultant, 66 when she took part, was one of six finalists and won by six points in the grand final which aired on BBC Two on Monday – scoring a perfect 14 out of 14 points on her specialist subject.
“It’s an area I’m quite familiar with, I like walking with my dog in the local area,” said Walker, who spent weeks immersing herself in maps, guidebooks and historic sites. “I thought it would be a very interesting subject; I thought it was a bit original as well.”
Quizzes are also familiar territory for Walker, who grew up spending Saturday lunches with her parents quizzing one another on subject matters such as their local football grounds. As a student, she had a skill for retaining knowledge – a talent she was aware of from a young age.
“I used to do quite well in exams at school; I probably didn’t work as hard as some people throughout the year then I did OK on the exams,” she said. “Annoyingly,” she added sheepishly.
But with age came expertise: Mastermind is only one of a few TV quizshows she has been on. Besides taking part in Fifteen to One, The Chase and Eggheads, Walker has also played in a Macclesfield quiz league since the 1980s, and in a Stockport quiz league for fewer years.
“I think I might be done with TV quizshows now,” she says, laughing, “because I have done a few”.
The first-place position on Mastermind, however, is her first. For years she had considered going on the show, and after a friend made it to the semi-final last year, she thought: “Why not, I’ll just bite the bullet.” Did she think for a moment she would win? “Never,” she said.
While speeding through questions, Walker, like all the show contestants, had no idea of the amount of time remaining or her score. But the best moment, she said, was when the host, Clive Myrie, said the number aloud. “I was literally shocked,” she said. “I knew I’d won at that point.”
The Mastermind win had been kept under wraps since November until the show aired. While Walker tried to keep it a secret, telling only her partner and daughter, it was very difficult, she said, to keep it quiet. “I had to keep putting the trophy in the cupboard anytime anyone came around,” she confessed.
Nancy Wilkinson became the first winner of Mastermind in 1972. Walker took the title of oldest female winner from Isabelle Heward, who won in 2017 with her specialist subject the life and films of Billy Wilder. Last year, 24-year-old Jonathan Gibson was crowned the youngest ever champion.
Running up to the final, Walker’s specialist subjects were photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, and the musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
While feeling great – and a bit overwhelmed – Walker said she planned to return to the Peak District in a week or so: “As soon as we get some good weather, I’ll be out walking.”
