Fred Housego

The one Mastermind that everyone remembers! Fred Housego was not the first taxi driver to appear on Mastermind (that distinction belongs to Robert Smith), but he was undoubtedly the man who caused the programme to be instantly associated with that profession.

The 1980 champion came from St John's Wood in London and had left school at the age of 16 with one 'O' Level. He became a postman but switched to taxi driving, taking 'the knowledge' (a test of over 400 street routes in London) in the process. He took to his new career with enthusiasm but continued to take the opportunity to read wherever possible.

Fred took 'Henry II of England' in his heat and won, but then disaster struck – just before the heat was due to be transmitted, he collapsed with a suspected heart attack. In fact he had pericarditis, and he watched himself on TV from an intensive care unit. It seemed as though his dream of being the first cabbie to win Mastermind would be dashed.

However, Fred recovered and won his semi-final with 'The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster' (i.e. Westminster Abbey). For the final, he took 'The Tower of London', scoring 18 on this subject and 15 on general knowledge to set a target of 33. It was still not a foregone conclusion that he would win – in fact, Samuel Mortimer came close to snatching victory, but Sam finished on 31, leaving Fred the winner. As Magnus Magnusson said: 'There will be rejoicing in the ranks tonight!'

Media attention was predictably instant and enthusiastic. Fred appeared on This is Your Life, and after subsequent invitations to appear on TV and radio found that he had a new career as a broadcaster. Although this media work has for the most part dried up, Fred can still occasionally be heard London's local radio station LBC to this day, and he also still holds a taxi-driver's badge.