Only Connect sparks 'row' over 'lenient' point scoring

Lily Waddell
Updated
Victoria Coren Mitchell sparked a divide on social media with her generous point giving. (BBC screengrab)

Victoria Coren Mitchell admitted Only Connect viewers would be "rowing for weeks" after Monday's episode.

Four Opinions - made up of Jacob Epstein, Rafi Dover and Aron Carr - took on the Bean Farmers - Furo Cookey, Pippa Woolley and David Todd - on the unique and notoriously difficult BBC quiz show where knowledge only gets you so far. Only Connect viewers were surprised when Mitchell gave the points to Four Opinions when the team's reasoning behind the answer was wrong.

Later, Mitchell evened it out as she admitted she had been "lenient" earlier on so she gave out two points to the Bean Farmers when they didn't get the "absolutely perfect answer". However, viewers at home were not impressed with the "generous" point scoring.

Read more: Only Connect viewers 'screaming' at the TV over question

Four Opinions' gamble paid off. (BBC screengrab)
Four Opinions' gamble paid off. (BBC screengrab) (BBC screengrab)

Cheeky Mitchell knew giving out points to the Four Opinions was going to divide viewers at home. She quipped: "I'm going to take your answer and we can all enjoy rowing about it for weeks afterwards. For quite the wrong reasons, you can have the points."

Four Opinions had decided "let's gamble" when discussing amongst themselves before the rest of the sequence had appeared on the screen. So far, the team had been presented with Bank of England monetary policy committee meetings and 30-day months.

Dover buzzed them in and said: "Months without 30 days." Their guess paid off with the team banking three points.

Mitchell said: "I think I'm going to take your answer... Even though, I don't think you know why. What do you think the sequence is?"

Dover responded: "We think it's four times a year, five times a year, six times a year, seven times a year,"

"Have a look at the whole sequence," Mitchell said. The sequence was in fact eight, four, two, one times a year. Bank of England monetary policy committee meetings happen eight times a year. 30-day months is four times a year. Number plates change in the UK twice a year.

"We need something that happens once a year," Mitchell said in revealing the answer. She added: "You are wrong about the sequence but luckily for you months without 30 days happen once a year. Months with 31 days still have 30 days. There is a riddle based on exactly this. How many months of the year have 28 days? Twelve, and some have more."

The Bean Farmers then also didn't get the 'perfect' answer. (BBC screengrab)
The Bean Farmers then also didn't get the 'perfect' answer. (BBC screengrab) (BBC screengrab)

Later, Mitchell returned the favour to the Bean Farmers as she gave them two points when they hadn't quite grasped the sequence. Woolley buzzed the team in to say the connection was "Mars". The sequence was: 1st rising, Blonde 2nd, The day the 3rd stood still. "Mars bar," she said.

The quiz show host said she would accept the answer because she had been "lenient" earlier on. She admitted: "I will take it. I was a little bit lenient earlier with your opponents when they didn't really know why about the months. So I'm going to give you this even though it's not absolutely perfect answer."

Woolley explained: "Planets of the solar system, we need something from mars."

Mitchell agreed but she shared what was missing from the answer. She said: "Exactly. Moving away from the sun. I'd have liked to have heard a film title. The other are all films."

Only Connect
Only Connect sparked some fury from viewers at home. (BBC) (BBC/Parasol Media Limited/Rory Lindsay)

Social media was awash with fans complaining about the "over-generous" awarding of points in the sequence round. Leading the troops, one viewer noted: "The most ridiculously over-generous awarding of points in the history of #onlyconnect."

Another person wrote: "Should never of accepted that answer #OnlyConnect."

Someone else wrote: "Getting the answer completely wrong but getting the point. Only on #OnlyConnect."

Another wrote: "Let the rowing commence. #onlyconnect."

Someone else said: "2 excellent teams #OnlyConnect, really loved 'Four Opinions' & their chat; however, can I point out that 11 months actually have 30 days?"

Some fumed: "May as well press after 1 clue in sequence round, make something up and the points are yours!!! shamble of an answer tonight #onlyconnect."

Another said: "I thought the point of this was to figure out the connections? Which they didn't. #OnlyConnect."

Someone else said: "I don't want to get bogged down in #onlyconnect controversy but didn't one of the teams just get points for getting an answer wrong?"

This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/only-connect-row-lenient-point-scoring-092943094.html

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