Which TV quiz are you most likely to win?

Half the fun of TV quizzes is playing along – and who hasn’t been convinced they could be a contestant? So what does it take to win and how much could you take home?

Since 2000, at least 15 people have won £1 million or more on TV game shows in the UK. Who knows – you could be next. We’ve ranked some of the UK’s best-loved quiz shows by your chances of success and the amount you could win.

1. Tipping Point: best hope for contestants

A general knowledge quiz that offers ample opportunities to earn cash prizes. Viewers rank Tipping Point as the easiest to win among major UK quizzes. Some 40% of respondents to a YouGov survey felt they could win the show.

While questions don’t require much in the way of special expertise, there is a strong element of chance. For each correct answer, contestants earn a counter to be dropped into a giant coin pusher-style machine in the hope that it will push multiple counters into the ‘win zone’ collection area below.

Each counter is worth £50 and special ‘x2’ counters can double your winnings. Typical cash prizes are in the low thousands.

In 2021, Clive Rushden became the first contestant to win a £20,000 jackpot. The deciding question was: ‘Which team won the 2019 Super Bowl by a score of 13-3?’ His winning answer? The New England Patriots.

2. The Chase: highest average winnings

The Chase is one of the most successful and longest-running shows on UK television. The format is fast-paced. In each episode, four contestants build up prize money by correctly answering as many general knowledge questions as possible within 60 seconds. They then go head-to-head with a ‘Chaser’ – one of the show’s expert quizzers.

Contestants can choose how many steps ahead of the Chaser they’d like to start – fewer steps can mean winning more money but bring a greater risk of being ‘caught’ by the Chaser if they answer questions incorrectly.

If they make it home safely after the head-to-head, contestants then team up in the final round. They’re given two minutes to correctly answer as many questions as possible to earn steps ahead of the Chaser, who then has two minutes to try to catch the team with their own correct answers. If the Chaser gives an incorrect answer or passes, the teams can earn steps back.

Winning The Chase can seem achievable – questions are multiple choice, working as a team in the final chase can increase your chances of winning and Chasers do occasionally get things wrong – so it’s no surprise that 23% of survey respondents feel they could win. But the final round often comes down to timing.

In recent series, average winnings per contestant have generally ranged from £5,000 to £10,000. But the majority of episodes end with the team getting caught in the final chase – and taking nothing home.

The record prize of £100,000 was won by Karen and Ian in 2024, when one of the Chasers could not answer the question: ‘Lesley Manville played the widow Cathy in which BBC sitcom?’ The correct answer? ‘Mum.’

If you’re a fan of The Chase, you may enjoy our article which explores why quizzing is good for you, featuring the Sinnerman himself, Paul Sinha.

3. Who Wants to be a Millionaire?: biggest life-changing prize

Who Wants to be a Millionaire? offers one of the highest cash jackpots among UK television quiz shows – £1,000,000. But while many contestants want to be millionaires, only 22% of respondents to YouGov’s survey believe they could really do it.

Answering 15 multiple-choice, general knowledge questions seems a relatively simple way to win £1,000,000. You’re even given four lifelines to use if you’re unsure – ask the audience, phone a friend, 50:50 to eliminate half of the incorrect answers, or ask the host. 

Of course, it’s not that easy. Questions become increasingly difficult and obscure in later rounds and the risk of losing money is much larger as the prize increases. Contestants can set a safety net at any amount they reach above £1,000 but if they’re hoping to set it at £125,000 and get the £64,000 question wrong, they’ll walk away with only £1,000.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is attractive because of its high potential prizes – as well as the jackpot, payouts of £125,000, £250,000 and £500,000 are also available. But the element of jeopardy means many contestants leave with much less.

4. Pointless: high viewer confidence but modest prizes

Some 20% of viewers feel they could win Pointless. Success in the quiz is part niche knowledge, part human behaviour. Before every episode, a panel of 100 people is asked to give their responses to questions that have multiple possible answers. Teams compete to find correct answers provided by the fewest number of people, with the ultimate goal being a truly ‘pointless’ answer – one that was given by nobody.

The average amount won on Pointless is a few thousand pounds. But the biggest prize was won by father and son David and Jonathan Hammond Williams – who netted £24,750 in March 2013 for answering a question on an Enrique Iglesias song.

5. Mastermind and University Challenge: prestigious but not profitable

Mastermind and University Challenge may be the toughest TV quizzes, with just 6% and 4% of viewers respectively thinking they could win. University Challenge requires quite specialised knowledge on a broad range of topics, from the principles of physics to punk music, prima ballerinas and Polish geography. The main series also requires current enrolment in a university.

Knowledge of a specialist subject is the best-known requirement for Mastermind. You’ll also need a new one for each subsequent round – as well as strong, broad-based general knowledge.

The prize for these quizzes isn’t cash, but for many people the prestige and the commemorative trophy or glass bowl is worth far more.

Which TV quiz show are you most likely to win?

Playing Tipping Point is most likely to win you a cash prize. The Chase might give you a better shot at a higher financial reward, while Who Wants to be a Millionaire? offers one of the highest jackpots.

Of course, getting the right answers from the comfort of your own home can sometimes be the best prize of all.

Images courtesy of Remarkable Entertainment and BBC/Hindsight/Hat Trick Productions/William Cherry/Press Eye