The Big Fat Quiz of the Year is an annual British television programme broadcast in the last or first week of the year on Channel 4. Essentially, the show is a comedy panel game in the style of a pub quiz. Three teams, of two celebrities each, are asked questions relating to the events of the year just gone by, which they write answers to on an electronic board in front of them. At the end of each round, they then display their answers, scoring a point for each correct one. The first edition was broadcast in December 2004. There has been another at the end of each year since, as well as a special edition in November 2007 for Channel 4's 25th anniversary celebrations. Repeats can usually be found days later on Channel 4's sister-channel E4. Stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr has been the host and quizmaster of each edition to date. Channel 4 recently made full episodes of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year available to view on Youtube.
| Table of contents:
2004 | 2005 | 2006 | The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | The Big Fat 30th Anniversary Quiz |
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2004 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Rob Brydon Simon Pegg Jonathan Ross June Sarpong Liza Tarbuck David Walliams |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Anthony Caveney Jane Goldman |
| Running time | 90 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 28 December 2004 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2005 |
For the first Big Fat Quiz, the three teams of celebrities were:
Louis Walsh, Nadia Almada and Dame Kelly Holmes all made live appearances to read out the questions for the months of April, June, and August respectively. Recorded questions from Bono and The Bear from Bo' Selecta were shown too along with films of Richard and Judy discussing events.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2005 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Rob Brydon David Mitchell Sharon Osbourne Gordon Ramsay Jonathan Ross Denise van Outen |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Emily Dean Jane Goldman |
| Running time | 120 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 26 December 2005 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2004 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2006 |
In 2005, Big Fat Quiz of the Year was shown on Boxing Day. The teams were:
Guest questioners in the studio included Jordan & Peter Andre and David Tennant. There were also recorded questions by several celebrities including Richard and Judy, Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Kevin Pietersen. Mystery guests were Walter Wolfgang and a woman genuinely named Sue Doku.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2006 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Russell Brand Rob Brydon Cat Deeley Noel Fielding Jonathan Ross David Walliams |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Emily Dean Jane Goldman |
| Running time | 130 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 27 December 2006 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2005 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz |
In 2006 the show was broadcast on 27 December. The three teams were:
Guest questioners in the studio included Boy George, Myleene Klass & Matt Willis and Guy Goma (famous for incorrectly appearing as a guest on BBC News 24). Pre-recorded questions were asked by Ian McKellen, Lily Allen, Carol Vorderman, Courtney Love, Girls Aloud, and Sacha Baron Cohen (in his Borat guise).
Russell Brand and Noel Fielding spent much of the show giving deliberately wrong - and surreal - answers, leaving them trailing far behind the other two teams. This was until towards the end when Jimmy Carr bowed to the pressure of the studio audience, and gave them 22 points for answering one question correctly, which was the amount needed to bring them back into contention at the time and ensuring that they subsequently won the quiz. This led Walliams and Brydon, who came last as a result, to exaggerate their chagrin at the turn of events that had seen Brand and Fielding emerge on top.
During a discussion about the Bob Skeleton event at that year's Winter Olympics, the suggestion arose that a character with that name could be the star of Brand and Fielding's next show together. The pair subsequently became known as the Goth Detectives (opposed to their original name, which arose from a joke Jimmy Carr made about their supposed parentage), which was suggested for the show's title. Though it began as a joke, the pair eventually performed a Goth Detectives themed show for the Teenage Cancer Trust event at the Royal Albert Hall on 28 March 2007.
| The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Richard Ayoade Alan Carr Jack Dee David Mitchell Frank Skinner Carol Vorderman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 2 November 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2006 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2007 |
A special edition of the show, aired to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Channel 4. The three teams were:
This show aired on 2 November 2007. Carr and Dee emerged victorious at the climax, and so had to take part in a special challenge which replicated the finale of The Crystal Maze. The pair had to collect silver and gold pieces of paper being blown around in a glass dome.
Vic Reeves and Joanna Fisher, who was a member of 1980s Channel 4 programme Minipops both came into the studio to ask bonus questions. Jon Snow, Quentin Tarantino, Anna Friel, Ram John Holder, Derren Brown, Jo Frost, Jools Holland and others appeared on pre-recorded filmed questions.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2007 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Lily Allen Russell Brand Rob Brydon Noel Fielding David Mitchell Jonathan Ross |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 30 December 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Anniversary Quiz |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2008 |
The 2007 show aired on 30 December 2007. The teams were:
Guest questioners in the studio were Christopher Biggins and Cerys Matthews. Pre-recorded questions were asked by Take That, Gordon Ramsay, Thom Yorke and Jon Snow. John Hurt read out extracts of the year's best selling autobiographies.
This was the first time that Rob Brydon had been on the winning team, despite having appeared on the panel every year since the first show in 2004. Also, it was the first time (and, as of the 2011 edition, the only time) that the previous year's winning team - the Goth Detectives - had both returned to defend their title.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2008 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | James Corden Sean Lock Davina McCall Michael McIntyre Dara Ó Briain Claudia Winkleman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 130 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 28 December 2008 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2007 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009 |
The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2008 aired on Sunday, 28 December on Channel 4 at 9pm. The teams were as follows:
Due to the furore caused by his and Russell Brand's infamous phone call to actor Andrew Sachs, which resulted in his three month suspension from the BBC at the end of the year, this was the first occasion that Jonathan Ross did not appear. He also declined his customary executive producer credit. Despite Big Fat Quiz not being a BBC programme, Ross himself had thought it inappropriate to do any broadcasting work during the Corporation's censure (the same reason that was given for his decision to temporarily concede hosting duties of the British Comedy Awards - broadcast on ITV - around the same time).
This was also the first year that Rob Brydon was absent, leaving host Jimmy Carr as the only regular fixture throughout the Big Fat Quiz of the Year's entire run to date (although neither Brydon nor Ross had been panellists for the special C4 Anniversary edition).
Guest appearances included Katy Perry, the Fonejacker, Jodie Kidd, Mark Foster, Christine Ohuruogu, James Degale, Alan Carr, Sarah Silverman, John Hurt and Sir Alan Sugar along with regulars Jon Snow and the children from Mitchell Brook Primary School, with another selection of topical school plays.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game Show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Russell Brand Charlie Brooker Rob Brydon David Mitchell Jonathan Ross Claudia Winkleman |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 125 Minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 1 January 2010 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2008 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2010 |
The 2009 show was recorded on 7 December and aired on 1 January 2010.[1] The teams were:
Peter Andre appeared as a guest questioner and musical comedian Tim Minchin asked a question in song format about Google Street View. Newsreader Jon Snow again appeared to ask several questions about the year's music in the form of a faux news report and the children of Mitchell Brook Primary School also reprised their regular slot, acting out news stories. Other guest questioners included Sir David Attenborough, cricketer Stuart Broad, actor David Tennant and rapper 50 Cent.
Ross and Brand made a number of references to the Sachsgate scandal of 2008 which occurred last time they appeared together. There was also a discussion about changing Brooker and Mitchell's team name to The Curmudgeons after they refused to dance to the Lady GaGa song Poker Face.
Mitchell and Brooker were the eventual winners and were asked by Jimmy Carr after their victory if they wanted to do a dance. Despite pressure from the audience, they kept up their premise of not dancing.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2010 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Richard Ayoade Alan Carr Noel Fielding Ruth Jones Michael McIntyre Jonathan Ross |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 3 January 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2009 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2011 |
The 2010 show was recorded on 13 December and aired on 3 January 2011.[2] The teams were:
Guest questions were provided by Nicole Scherzinger, Jack Black, Simon Pegg, Russell Brand, Seth Rogen, the cast of Misfits and Will Ferrell. The children of Mitchell Brook Primary School made their annual appearance acting out news stories, which included the Stig scandal and the Icelandic volcano eruption, as did Jon Snow with his fake news reports of popular songs. Lola, the cat put in a wheelie bin in August by Mary Bale appeared as a Mystery Guest. Louie Spence posed a question in the form of a dance routine representing the story of the trapped Chilean miners.
| The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2011 | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | Miranda Hart Eddie Izzard David Mitchell Jamie Oliver Jonathan Ross David Walliams |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | 27 December 2011 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2010 |
| Followed by | The Big Fat 30th Anniversary Quiz |
The 2011 show was recorded on 14 December and aired on 27 December 2011.[3] The teams for this year were:
| The Big Fat 30th Anniversary Quiz | |
|---|---|
| Format | Game show |
| Presented by | Jimmy Carr |
| Starring | TBC |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Channel 4 |
| Original airing | November 2012 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2011 |
| Followed by | TBC |
On the 31st December 2011 it was announced that Channel 4 will air a second Anniversary edition of The Big Fat Quiz, hosted by Jimmy Carr, to celebrate the channels 30th year. [4]
| Name | Appearances | Wins |
|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Carr | 9 | N/A |
| Jonathan Ross | 7 | 3 |
| Rob Brydon | 5 | 1 |
| David Mitchell | 5 | 3 |
| Russell Brand | 3 | 1 |
| Noel Fielding | 3 | 1 |
| David Walliams | 3 | 0 |
| Richard Ayoade | 2 | 0 |
| Alan Carr | 2 | 1 |
| Michael McIntyre | 2 | 0 |
| Claudia Winkleman | 2 | 0 |
| Charlie Brooker | 1 | 1 |
| Jack Dee | 1 | 1 |
| Miranda Hart | 1 | 0 |
| Eddie Izzard | 1 | 1 |
| Ruth Jones | 1 | 1 |
| Davina McCall | 1 | 1 |
| Dara Ó Briain | 1 | 1 |
| Jamie Oliver | 1 | 0 |
| Sharon Osbourne | 1 | 1 |
| June Sarpong | 1 | 1 |
| Lily Allen | 1 | 0 |
| James Corden | 1 | 0 |
| Cat Deeley | 1 | 0 |
| Sean Lock | 1 | 0 |
| Simon Pegg | 1 | 0 |
| Gordon Ramsay | 1 | 0 |
| Frank Skinner | 1 | 0 |
| Liza Tarbuck | 1 | 0 |
| Denise van Outen | 1 | 0 |
| Carol Vorderman | 1 | 0 |