A contestant on the hit ITV quiz show The 1% Club has walked away with a life-changing sum of money after correctly solving a notoriously tricky letters sequence. The player, Tazmin Brown, was the sole finalist to crack the puzzle, securing the entire £96,000 jackpot.
The £96,000 Brainteaser
Hosted by comedian Lee Mack, The 1% Club is renowned for testing logic and common sense over general knowledge. In this particular episode, which originally aired as the launch show in 2022, the initial 100 contestants were whittled down to just three: Cameron, Tazmin, and Paul.
They were presented with the final question: 'What are the next two letters in this sequence?' The letters shown were: T N E C R E P E. With a massive £96,000 on the line and only 30 seconds on the clock, the pressure was immense.
Cameron guessed 'N-T', Paul offered 'T-E', but Tazmin confidently locked in her answer of 'N-O'. Lee Mack then revealed she was correct, leaving Tazmin visibly emotional and gobsmacked by her win. She later admitted she had solved the brainteaser just 10 seconds after seeing it.
How the Letters Sequence Works
The solution lies in spelling a phrase backwards. The full sequence, with Tazmin's correct addition, is T N E C R E P E N O. When reversed, this spells 'ONE PERCENT', the fitting name of the show itself.
Record-Breaking Rollover Wins
The excitement didn't stop there. In a separate, more recent 'Rollover' week of episodes that aired last month, the stakes reached unprecedented heights. This special format allowed finalists to return the next night, creating the potential for a cumulative jackpot of up to £500,000.
One edition saw finalists Michelle and Nathaniel competing for a staggering £194,000. Their final question involved deciphering the last four digits of a bank card for a woman named 'Heidi Abbi Bedhead', with the first twelve digits displayed as 8594 9122 9254.
Michelle correctly identified the missing digits as 8514, reasoning that the numbers corresponded to letters of the alphabet to spell out 'Heidi Abbi Bedhead' in full. Her win marked the highest single prize in the show's history at that time. When asked how she felt, Michelle replied, 'I feel like this might be a dream.'
Another Jackpot Makes History
Following the rollover rules, both Michelle and Nathaniel returned for the next episode, though neither reached the final again. Instead, another player, Lucie Alcock, made show history by winning the programme's standard £100,000 top prize in its entirety.
This feat was possible because every other contestant had used their 'pass' during the game, leaving the full jackpot available. This had only been achieved once before, by former footballer Clarke Carlisle during a Soccer Aid special edition.
The 1% Club continues to captivate audiences with its clever puzzles and huge cash prizes. You can catch it on ITV1 or stream episodes on ITVX.
