John Humphrys and the famous black chair return for another series of TV's toughest quiz. Over the next thirty-one weeks, 96 contenders will be whittled down to just one Mastermind champion. Subjects in tonight's first heat are the Muppet films, Alexander the Great, the Biblical writings of St John and the life and work of Benjamin Britten.

John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Topics are: Catherine Howard, the Green Lantern comics, the life and work of Robert Hooke and British Summer Olympic medalists 1960-2008.

John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are: the Feature Films of Peter Sellers, Orchids, the Life and Music of Paul Robeson and the Open Golf Championship 1960-2012.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: Six Feet Under, the life and times of James Ramsay Macdonald, the city of London parish churches of Sir Christopher Wren and the life and work of Alun Lewis.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Four more contenders are questioned on their specialist subject and general knowledge. Topics are: the life and music of Bob Dylan, Sitting Bull, the life and work of Sir Arthur Sullivan and King Henry I.

John Humphrys asks the questions as four contenders take the walk to the black chair. Subjects are ABBA, the life and work of Charles M Schulz, Harold Larwood and Frederick the Great of Prussia.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Topics are the life and career of Sebastian Coe, the life and work of Eadweard Muybridge, The Byrds and Violette Szabo GC.

Host John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are Eddie Chapman, the history of Portsmouth FC, the Battle of Balaklava and Father Ted.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are Dad's Army, the Faraday and Winter novels by Graham Hurley, the French Revolution and the European Football Championship 1980-date.

John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Topics are Asterix, General Robert E Lee, the life and works of Puccini and the life and times of George IV.

John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. The subjects are: REM, the fiction of C S Lewis, Queen of the South Football Club and the life of Elizabeth Fry.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects tonight are: Star Trek: The Original Series, the Rugby Union World Cup, the Fethering Mysteries of Simon Brett and the Life of Giordano Bruno.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Topics are: The Pogues, military aircraft of the First World War, Sir Edward Carson and the novels of Jonathan Coe.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Topics are - the life and career of Lester Piggott, Robert the Bruce, the life and times of Hugh Gaitskell and the Simon Serrailler novels of Susan Hill.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are: the life and work of Janis Joplin, the history of Huddersfield Town, the Richard Hannay novels of John Buchan and the Russian Revolution.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The topics are: Philadelphia soul, the life and novels of Elizabeth Gaskell, German expressionist art and Blackadder.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. The topics are: the presidency of John F Kennedy, the novels of Peter Carey, heavyweight boxing and the physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are the history of the Scilly Isles, the life and works of Lord Byron, RAF Bomber Command and the feature films of Wes Anderson.

John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects include Pulp, FC Barcelona, Catherine the Great and the novels of David Peace.

Host John Humphrys invites four more contenders to answer questions in the black chair. Subjects are Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Sam Phillips and the Sun Record Label 1950-1960, the Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell and Alfred Wainwright's Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. The subjects are Manic Street Preachers, the life of Sir Edmund Hillary, the history of Kew Gardens and the ghost stories of MR James.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. The subjects are snooker world championships 1977-present, the musicals of Lerner and Loewe, the novels of Cara Black, and Phillip II of Spain.

John Humphrys puts the questions to four more contenders. Subjects are punk music, the history of Rhodesia 1965-1980, Samuel Beckett and French wines of the Rhone Valley.

John Humphrys asks the questions as the hunt continues for the nation's Mastermind. Subjects are The Grateful Dead, the novels of Wilkie Collins, the history of Bedlam and the English Civil Wars.

John Humphrys presents the first semi-final as five contenders vie for a place in the grand final. Subjects are Factory Records, the novels of Carol Shields, Homer's Odyssey, Roald Amundsen and the life and career of Michael Jordan.