Only three contestants out of a record 12 managed to answer the final 1% question correctly on a recent re-run of The 1% Club, taking home £31,000 each. The episode, originally aired in April 2025, featured host Lee Mack announcing that the dozen finalists set a new record for the show.
The Final Question
The question read: 'If you remove all the underlined letters from the sentence below, what word can be spelt if you rearrange all of the remaining letters? ONE SELLING FRESH SALMON.' Contestants had 30 seconds to solve it.
As Mack collected answers, one contestant after another admitted they had not cracked it. The solution was 'FISHMONGER'. After removing the underlined letters (the letters that were underlined in the on-screen text), the remaining letters were 'ONESIGFRHM', which anagram to 'FISHMONGER'.
Viewer Reactions
Viewers at home were equally stumped. One commented: 'Couldn’t figure it out, went to the comments for the answer. Didn’t even see the four words staring me in the face as a clue.' Others branded the question 'impossible'.
The show, which debuted in 2022, features 100 players tackling logic-based puzzles that increase in difficulty. Only those who avoid elimination and correctly answer the final question—which only 1% of the public can solve—win a share of the prize money.
Children's Special Edition
In a more recent special edition, children aged 9 to 15 competed for a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Many were stumped by the 25% question: 'On Hannah’s 6th birthday, she went to a theme park. She really wanted to ride this rollercoaster but she was only one metre tall. Every year, Hannah gets five centimetres taller. How old will she be when she becomes able to ride the rollercoaster?'
The sign stated riders must be 140cm or 12 years old. Although Hannah would reach 140cm at age 14, Lee Mack explained: 'On her 12th birthday she’ll be able to ride the rollercoaster despite only being 130cm tall' because the minimum age requirement is met.
The 1% Club continues to challenge viewers with its lateral-thinking puzzles, often leaving even the brightest contestants and audiences scratching their heads.
