The Minister of State for Higher Education, the Rt Hon David Lammy MP, took part in BBC TV's Celebrity Mastermind in December 2008. This is a complete transcript of the questions he was asked, and the answers he gave, in the general knowledge round.
Q: What was the married name of the scientists Marie and Pierre who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 for their research into radiation?
A: Antoinette.
Q: Cockpit Country is a rugged, inaccessible area on which Caribbean island?
A: Pass.
Q: Which fortress was built in the 1370s to defend one of the gates of Paris and was later used as a state prison by Cardinal Richelieu?
A: Versailles.
Q: In February 2008, which Tottenham Hotspur player scored the first goal of Fabio Capello's reign as England football manager?
A: Aaron Lennon.
Q: James Gandolfini played a Mafia boss called Tony in which American television series?
A: The Godfather.
Q: What name is used for the highest gallery of seats in a theatre?
A: Pass.
Q: Which organisation was founded in 1909 as the Home Section of the Secret Service Bureau to counteract the threat of German spies?
A: MI5.
Q: Which American military award is given to those who are wounded in action and bears the inscription "For Military Merit" on the reverse?
A: Pass.
Q: Chris Martin is the lead singer with which award-winning British band?
A: Coldplay.
Q: Which variety of blue English cheese traditionally accompanies port?
A: Leicester.
Q: What term for a top-floor luxury flat originally meant a shed or outhouse?
A: Penthouse.
Q: In 2006 Sandi Toksvig replaced Simon Hoggart as presenter of which topical Radio 4 quiz show?
A: Pass.
Q: Who succeeded to the English throne at the age of nine on the death of his father Henry VIII in 1547?
A: Henry VII.
Q: In chemistry, which French word is used for a tube for transferring measured amounts of liquids?
A: Pass.
Q: Which country's so-called Rose Revolution of 2003 led to the resignation of its President, Eduard Shevardnadze?
A: Yugoslavia.
…making a grand total of three correct answers (MI5, Coldplay, Penthouse), as this irreverent video confirms:
