Fingers On Buzzers - podcast cover

Fingers On Buzzers

Fingers On Buzzerswww.fingersbuzzers.com

Fingers on Buzzers is brought to you by comedian and keen amateur quizzer Lucy Porter, alongside The Chase's very own Jenny Ryan. 

Whether you’re a Pointless armchair aficionado, nostalgic for the days of Going for Gold, or a bona fide Mastermind, this is the podcast for you. 

 

Jenny and Lucy speak to a host of people who work behind the scenes of our favourite TV quiz shows, including James Harkin (QI), Roger Tilling (the ‘Voice’ of University Challenge) and Jenny Hawker (Only Connect); plus we hear from epic winners and losers of quiz shows past and present, from Bullseye and Blockbusters to Britain's Brightest Family and everything in between. 

 

Lucy and Jenny will also discuss the BIG issues including the etiquette of pub quizzing, new quizzing technology and how questions have changed with the times.

 

All the BIG questions will be asked (and answered.) What IS the difference between quiz shows and game shows? With the help of experts and enthusiasts alike, Jenny and Lucy get to the bottom of that and much, much more besides.

 

There's also plenty of opportunities to play-along, as week-by-week Jenny coaches plucky layperson Lucy on the ‘quiz syllabus’, and in-turn Lucy tests the mettle of general knowledge guru Jenny with a weekly pop-quiz. 

 

Whether you're an Only Connect know-it-all, still dine-out on your Fifteen To One appearance from 1993, or only indulge in Trivial Pursuits on December 25th, this podcast is for you. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Episodes

Staring in the Face of Defeat, with Tony Dunn

HELLOOO! So lovely to see you again! Lucy and Jen just wanted to pop in to announce that not only is a brand-new series of FOB imminent, but that they will also be making a reappearance at this year's Bolton Comedy Festival on Saturday 12th July 2025! Get your tickets HERE... Our hosts also thought you deserved a fantastic guest for this little standalone ep and so decided to invite an erstwhile adversary of our Jen's, who garnered quite the reaction on social media on account of looking slightl...

Jun 16, 202529 minSeason 9Ep. 123

A Very Christmas Biggins

He's beeeeen! NOW it's Christmas, as our Lucy and Jen finally let us hear what happened when they spoke to the one, the only, Christopher Biggins earlier this year, live on stage at The Museum of Comedy. As you would expect, there's not a game or quiz show in the land that hasn't been graced by this national treasure's presence and so we get to hear some cracking anecdotes from dinner with Sinatra to hugging Ben Shephard, Biggins has done it all. And as he is of course, the ultimate panto dame, ...

Dec 20, 202456 minSeason 8Ep. 122

Twas The Night Before Biggins ...

Despite being recorded back in the spring of 2024, this episode felt very much like Christmas Eve, as our Jen, Lucy and the audience hotly anticipated the arrival of Christmas in human form, Mr Christopher Biggins! In act one of a fantastic night at The Museum of Comedy, our hosts quizzed and quipped in this very lively episode, where our star guest makes a brief appearance ahead of his big moment, which you'll be able to hear in our Festive special, next week! But for now, enjoy some classic fa...

Dec 13, 202439 minSeason 8Ep. 121

Taking Christmas BOOKings

It's that time of year, where Lucy and Jen can't help but peruse the shelves for quiz books that will occupy the little grey cells over the festive period. This year they get stuck into some mind-boggling brain teasers from The Brain Health Puzzle Book by Dr Tim Beanland and Think Twice by the genius himself, Alex Bellos, plus there's fun for all the family with Kids Versus Adults, The Ultimate Family Quiz Book ! If your home library is still missing Lucy and Jen's own tome, then you can find it...

Dec 06, 202431 minSeason 8Ep. 120

Quiz IS Your Life

As the nights keep drawing in and long hours spent over the festive season with family beacons, Jenny and Lucy are here to help break the tension, by showing us that EVERYTHING can form the basis of a quiz! From the birthday listings in the newspaper, to the ingredients on a cereal box, quiz is everywhere, and once you see it, you won't be able to stop! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 29, 202426 minSeason 8Ep. 119

Kids Can Do It Too

After the announcement of Junior Taskmaster, our Lucy and Jen got all nostalgic for their childhood quiz shows and so, decided to revisit them, as well as some from waaaay before either of their times. So, IS Jen smarter than a 12-year-old from 1963? Have a listen to find out, and you'll also get to hear which quiz shows probably shouldn't be adapted for kids to play... ooohhh I crush a grape! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....

Nov 22, 202433 minSeason 8Ep. 118

LIVE at Bolton Comedy Fest, with Dan Skinner

All good things come to those who wait, as the fair people of Bolton know only too well, because this summer saw the inaugural Bolton Comedy Festival happen at the gorgeous Octagon Theatre AND guess who kicked things off for them. Yup, it was none other than our very own Lucy and Bolton girl done good, Jenny! The crowds came out in full force to see the first, long planned for, FOB live in Bolton AND not only that, as anyone who came, got to see a rare glimpse of Dan Skinner, not in the guise of...

Nov 15, 20241 hrSeason 8Ep. 117

In a Quiz League of Your Own

We all love a good pub quiz, but what if you've realised your appetite goes beyond being a member of 'Let's Get Quizzical' every Wednesday down at The Crown? Well, did you know there are various quiz leagues you can join to step up a notch, without sending an application for Mastermind? In this episode, Lucy and Jenny are on hand to talk about all about how you can pursue your interest in quizzing beyond answering all the TV quiz questions from your armchair! BUY THE FOB BOOK HERE! Fingers on Bu...

Nov 08, 202437 minSeason 8Ep. 116

The Perfect Quiz Question

For anyone out there who has tried to write their own quiz (anyone else getting lockdown PTSD?), you'll know that it's not a straightforward process and that you'll soon be made aware if a question hasn't hit the spot, or even worse if you misjudged the audience entirely.Luckily, Lucy and Jen are on hand in this episode to give a few pointers, and reveal that their own perspectives on the same questions come from radically different places! BUY THE FOB BOOK HERE! Fingers on Buzzers: From Bullsey...

Nov 01, 202449 minSeason 8Ep. 115

The Forgotten Women of Quiz

With diversity still severely lacking in all areas of quizzing, Jenny and Lucy look at the ways women could (and should) be more visible and at the trickledown effect of having so few women hosting TV quiz shows. What does the lack of questions about women, ethnic minorities and marginalized groups say to the world about who is allowed in the inner circle? Thank goodness our hosts are here to quiz each other senseless all about women - someone give them their own quiz show please, it's about tim...

Oct 25, 202445 minSeason 8Ep. 114

FOB LIVE WITH KEN BRUCE

The gang are back together again, as our Jenny and Lucy come together to bring a brand-new series of FOB, and what a glorious start it is, as the one and only Pop Master himself, Ken Bruce is on the show!Yes, Lucy's restraining order was lifted for one weekend, so FOB could host a Q&A with the legend of the airways at the beautiful Warner Hotels at Studley Castle, with the Radio Times curating a marvellous Bank Holiday for us all. As well as being joined by Ken, the fantastic adjudicator ext...

Oct 18, 20241 hr 8 minSeason 8Ep. 113

It's the PopMaster Special!

Something incredible is happening this summer involving a number of our Lucy's favourite things, which are (in no particular order) Ken Bruce PopMaster Jenny Ryan Quiz And our Jen also won't be disappointed either, as she'll be spending the weekend of 23rd - 26th August 2024 at the beautiful Warner Hotel at Studley Castle, Warwickshire, immersed in pop quizzing, while Toby Anstis spins the wheels of steel. And guess what - you can come too! Yes, our lovely friends at The Radio Times have asked F...

Jul 05, 202433 minSeason 7Ep. 112

110 Quizmas Stocking Fillers

It's that time again, when our hosts get all festive and invite past guests back to contribute a question in their quizmas open house!It's a yuletide trip down memory lane, where the wonderful people who were kind enough to appear on the show are also generous enough to be bothered for MORE of their time and come up with a question that will stump our Lucy and Jen - and possibly you, too!And this isn't just ANY quizmas special, as there's an extra treat at the bottom of Santa's stocking, which i...

Dec 22, 202356 minSeason 7Ep. 110

109 ALWAYS a Crossword

We're back to the cutthroat world of crosswords in this episode, as we hear from The Times Crossword Champion 2023, Matthew Marcus!Matthew tells us about his journey to the top and how he managed to snatch victory from the reigning champ.Matthew also shares his quizzing life with us and it would appear that he's not too shabby at that either, also doing pretty well in US quiz show, Jeopardy … although some of the online attention he attracted is right up there with the most crazy conspiracy theo...

Dec 15, 202345 minSeason 7Ep. 109

108 Banishing Boredom with Board Games

As Christmas was looming large at the time of recording, Lucy and Jenny are fully focused on how to keep the family entertained on the big day itself, and so test out two of this year's big hitters -and one could argue rivals - in the festive boardgame market.How does playing Taskmaster IRL compare with an in-person version of Richard Osman's House off Games?Our hosts get involved and have a play, to help you make that all important decision.We also find out how well our Lucy's quizzing knowledg...

Dec 08, 202336 minSeason 7Ep. 108

107 Slapstick Quizzing, with Robin Ince

It's finally happened! After several attempts, diaries finally aligned with the stars and Lucy and Jenny could welcome the delightful Robin Ince to the show... Well, almost aligned, as it turned out that Jenny had to dash off for a secret TV gig during Robin's visit, but for a short time, we were able to have all three in the same room. Robin, as you can imagine, has infinite stories about quizzing on and off TV, and tells us why a quiz experience from his youth made him resist Mastermind for so...

Dec 01, 202356 minSeason 7Ep. 107

106 Going Blankety Blank, with Nigel Crowle

This week, Lucy and Jenny are delighted to welcome a man to the show who has worked in more TV shows than even he can care to remember, from Blankety Blank, to Odd One Out with Paul Daniels, and Talking Telephone numbers in between.Nigel Crowle has had an incredible career in TV and radio production, working on a huge number of shows and tells us about some of the productions he's been behind, and how he had a hand in setting-up Lembit Opik with Sian Lloyd!Nigel takes us on a fantastic journey o...

Nov 24, 202330 minSeason 7Ep. 106

105 Booking Time with Lucy & Jenny

As the need for filling up the Christmas stocking gathers pace (at the time of record and release, anyhow) Lucy and Jenny have decided we deserve an early Christmas treat in the form of a snippet of their book, Fingers on Buzzers: From Bullseye to Pointless, a celebratory journey through the history of the Great British Quiz!As well as being available online and from all good bookshops in print, it's also in audiobook form, and as listeners know, Jenny and Lucy really are a proper treat for the ...

Nov 17, 202330 minSeason 7Ep. 105

104 The Hundrethish Episode

Join Lucy and Jenny in their wild celebrations of the show's centenary episode, when you've guessed it, the quiz they night away with the theme ONE HUNDRED as a guide to the games and questions.It seems there are indeed a hundred ways to quiz your lovers, and the team show no signs of stopping now and are certainly not letting the fact that this is the one hundred and FOURTH episode stop them. So get involved in the 100th(ish) edition of FOB and here's to one hundred more! Hosted on Acast. See a...

Nov 10, 202332 minSeason 7Ep. 104

103 Hal Cruttenden's Quizzy Scrum

It's FOB Friday, and then team are joined by the wonderous comedian and competitive quizzer, Hal Cruttenden so he can have a good vent about all the quiz shows he's appeared on, but more importantly, all the shows he's yet to have been asked to do!Lucy also compiles a quiz which is as tenuous as it is wonderful, to connect the worlds of rugby and films... it's about as easy as it sounds.And the team devise a new game show which Hal can host, embracing his 'mean' side, Anne Robinson has NOTHING o...

Nov 03, 202339 minSeason 7Ep. 103

102 Crossing Words, with Mick Hodgkin

Most quizzers love taking their time over a crossword at the weekend and might even be partial to a puzzler book to take on holiday, but what's it like to work in the worlds of puzzles and crosswords professionally? Well, Jenny and Lucy decided to invite The Times and Sunday Times puzzles editor and crossword setter, Mick Hodgkin into the studio to pick his brains about this and what happened at this year's Times Crossword Championships, which sounded like a nail-biting affair!We also hear from ...

Oct 27, 202342 minSeason 7Ep. 102

101 FOB LIVE: With Charlie Higson

A week is a long time in podcasting, as if you weren't at the live show conducted by Jenny and Lucy at The Museum of Comedy, you've had to wait a whole week to see what happened in part two of the Tim Vine / Charlie Higson double bill. Well, your patience is rewarded right now, as you can hear the brilliant episode with comedian, writer and grumpy quiz show host extraordinaire,Charlie Higson! You can of course expect the usual quiz-based chat and games, as well as a sneak peek into the new Finge...

Oct 20, 20231 hr 7 minSeason 7Ep. 101

100 FOB LIVE: With Tim Vine

Lucy and Jenny took to the stage to celebrate two incredible things, one - the launch of their fantastic book, available in the shops now - AND recording their 100th episode with the incredible Tim Vine as special guest!What a lovely night it was, huge thanks to the brilliant team at The Museum of Comedy for looking after us so well, and to everyone who came to watch us there!You can hear part two with Charlie Higson in next week's episode.Right now though, why not get your hands on the Fingers ...

Oct 13, 202351 minSeason 7Ep. 100

99 READ ALL ABOUT IT - BOOK SPECIAL

Extra, extra, read all about it... well, from the 12th October 2023 you CAN, as Lucy and Jenny have finally given the world what it wants and put pen to paper to bring you the first Fingers on Buzzers book ' Fingers on Buzzers: From Bullseye to Pointless, a Celebratory Journey Through the History of the Great British Quiz' .Not only will you find a wealth of quizzy knowledge from our wonderful hosts, but we also get some handpicked advice from the incredible guests who have joined us along the w...

Oct 06, 202327 minSeason 7Ep. 99

98 Quiz Capsule, with Michael Fenton Stevens

Well, Lucy and Jenny have certainly managed to unearth a real treasure when it comes to this week's guest, as it just so happens to be, actor, writer and host of the hugely successful 'My Time Capsule' Podcast, the lovely Michael Fenton Stevens, who took time out to speak to us from the hardship of filming Death in Paradise in the Caribbean! Not only is Michael a wealth of fantastic showbiz anecdotes thanks to his incredible career, but he's also pretty great at dishing out quiz worthy facts (ev...

Sep 29, 202337 minSeason 7Ep. 98

97 Quizzing like it's 2011, with Gareth Gwynn

Welcome to another fantastic episode of FOB, where, thanks to this week's guest, we're gonna be quizzing like it's 2011!Lucy and Jen were thrilled to welcome comedy writer and radio panel quiz producer, Gareth Gwynn to the studio to take us down memory lane of some of the best (and not so best) topical quizzes we've heard on the wireless.AND our guest came prepared with some questions from a topical quiz show from 2011 - where we only had the Olympics to worry about it would seem.We also hear ab...

Sep 22, 202356 minSeason 7Ep. 97

96 FOB LIVE: With Tim Dowling

If you couldn't make it to the FOB live show at London Podcast Festival 2023, no problem, because you can now hear exactly what went down.Lucy and Jenny were delighted to be joined by the wonderful columnist, musician and now quiz show host, Tim Dowling, who shared some experiences of celebrity pub quizzes, beating Louis Theroux and discovering the very British treat that is 'Rentaghost'.Thanks to everyone who came out on a sweltering day to support the show and see below for another opportunity...

Sep 15, 20231 hrSeason 7Ep. 96

95 Settling the Score: With Ed Byrne

At long last, justice for Lucy, as scores get settled with her quizzing nemesis, Ed Byrne. As regular listeners know, Ed managed to drop a clanger on Pointless Celebrities which cost them the trophy - but has all been forgiven?Well, the team gathered in a karaoke booth during this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival to talk it all through, play some games and see if anyone called 'Kim' performed in a TV dance troop. Jenny and Lucy give away prizes galore to the select group in attendance, and we fi...

Sep 08, 202346 minSeason 7Ep. 95

94 Catching up on the Quiz

Well, well, well...what time do you call this? Our Lucy and Jenny are FINALLY back with a brand-new series, which promises some amazing guests and quizzy fun, but why on earth has it taken so long to record a new series?In this episode, not only do our hosts catch-up on all the quiz news and what they've been up to, including Lucy's hugely popular stint sitting in Richard Osman's chair (on a much higher setting) and what's been going on with new episodes of The Chase and Beat the Chasers, but we...

Sep 01, 202335 minSeason 7Ep. 94
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