Victoria Coren Mitchell, the presenter of BBC Two's Only Connect and a professional poker player, has opened up about her surprising lack of competitiveness despite her high-stakes career. Currently appearing on Channel 4's Taskmaster, she described the show as 'massively easier' than typical panel shows because it involves physical tasks rather than jokes.
Coren Mitchell, who lives with her husband David Mitchell and their six-year-old daughter, admitted she does not have a competitive soul. 'I usually want others to win so they feel happy and up for playing again,' she said. Her only exception is poker, where she is fiercely determined to win.
Despite Only Connect regularly attracting nearly 3 million viewers, Coren Mitchell struggles with compliments about the show. She attributed its success to its 'Welsh and clever' spirit, adding that viewers appreciate not being patronised. The recent Facebook and WhatsApp outage also boosted ratings, she noted wryly.
When asked about other TV contests, Coren Mitchell ruled out Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity MasterChef, and similar shows, saying she would be 'awful and not even in a fun way'. She also avoids pub quizzes due to expectations from fans, but makes an exception for a Christmas quiz hosted by friends Shaun Pye and Alan Connor, where her team is called The Funnymen.
On fan interactions, Coren Mitchell recalled a postman with a foot fetish who asked her to answer the door barefoot for deliveries, which she agreed to as it seemed harmless.
