# Britain's Brainiest

Britain's Brainiest is a British television quiz show produced by Celador and aired on ITV. The show originally aired as a one-off special ad Britain's Brainiest Kid on 9 August 2001, hosted by Carol Vorderman. An adult series ran from 2 January to 6 February 2002 and a subsequent kids series aired from 9 to 31 December 2002.

## Format
### 2001 special

The original featured four different rounds:
* A set of 12 multiple choice questions, whittling down the number of male contestants from 12 to 3.
* A set of 12 multiple choice questions, whittling down the number of female contestants from 12 to 3.
* A subject-based round, where contestants answered questions on two subjects, this halved the number of competitors to 3.
* A final round, where the remaining 3 contestants were tested on their own specialist subject and that of their fellow finalists
The winner of the original special was Laura Hibbert of North Yorkshire, whose specialist subject was Charles Dickens.
Alex "Brains" Marshall was runner up. Marshall's specialist subject was the United Arab Emirates. Richard "Helium" Thomas came third. His specialist subject was the Plantagenets.

### 2002 adult series

Information needed

### 2002 kids series

The show was resurrected, with ten half-hour heats and qualification to a 90-minute grand final show. The heats were presented by Tess Daly, and the grand final by Carol Vorderman again. There was also a format change in 2002, with tie breakers being replaced by "Codexs" after the mammoth tie-break in the 2001 special.
The winner of the 2002 series was Christopher Guerin, from Birmingham (specialist subject: Thomas Becket). He went on to receive three mathematics degrees including one at the University of Cambridge, and as of 2023 is a maths teacher and assistant secondary school principal.

## International versions

Legend:  Currently airing   No longer airing   Upcoming or returning version
| Country | Name | Host | Channel | Year aired | Status |
| Armenia | Ամենախելացին Amenakhelatsin | Nazeni Hovhannisyan | Armenia TV | 14 March 2015 – 24 December 2017 | No longer airing |
| Armenia | Ամենախելացին Amenakhelatsin | Nazeni Hovhannisyan | Armenia TV | 17 March 2019 – 22 June 2019 | No longer airing |
| Australia | Australia's Brainiest | Anna Coren (2004) Samuel Shaed | Seven Network | 5 November 2004 – 2006 | No longer airing |
| Australia | Australia's Brainiest | Sandra Sully (2005–2006) Samuel Shaed | Network Ten | 5 November 2004 – 2006 | No longer airing |
| Azerbaijan | Əlaçı | Leyla Aliyeva (2015–2018) | AzTV | 19 October 2015 – present | Currently airing |
| Azerbaijan | Əlaçı | İlahə Şixlinskaya (2018–present) | AzTV | 19 October 2015 – present | Currently airing |
| Azerbaijan | Əlaçı | İlahə Şixlinskaya (2018–present) | AzTV | 19 October 2015 – present | Currently airing |
| Azerbaijan | Əlaçı | İlahə Şixlinskaya (2018–present) | İctimai Television | 19 October 2015 – present | Currently airing |
| Belgium (In Dutch) | Het Verstand Van Vlaanderen | Koen Wauters (2004–2005) | Vtm | 2004–2008 | No longer airing |
| Belgium (In Dutch) | Het Verstand Van Vlaanderen | Rani De Coninck (2006–2008) | Vtm | 2004–2008 | No longer airing |
| Belgium (In French) | Le Grand Concours | Alain Simons | RTL-TVI | 23 March 2002 | No longer airing |
| Belgium (In French) | Le Grand Concours | Sandrine Dans | RTL-TVI | 23 March 2002 | No longer airing |
| Denmark | Danmarks Klogeste Barn | Thomas Mygind | TV Danmark | 31 August 2005 | No longer airing |
| France | Le Grand Concours | Carole Rousseau (2002–2018) | TF1 | 23 March 2002 – present | Currently airing |
| France | Le Grand Concours | Laurence Boccolini (2018–2020) | TF1 | 23 March 2002 – present | Currently airing |
| France | Le Grand Concours | Alessandra Sublet (2021–2022) | TF1 | 23 March 2002 – present | Currently airing |
| France | Le Grand Concours | Arthur (2022–present) | TF1 | 23 March 2002 – present | Currently airing |
| Finland | Valiojoukko | Satu Ruotsalainen | MTV3 | 11 September 2004 – 18 December 2004 | No longer airing |
| Georgia | ყველაზე ჭკვიანი Yvelaze chkviani | Nino Khoshtaria | Rustavi 2 | 2004–2013 | No longer airing |
| Germany | Deutschlands klügste | Sonja Zietlow (2001–2003) | RTL Television | 22 December 2001 – 2003 | No longer airing |
| Germany | Deutschlands klügste | Bärbel Schäfer (2011) | RTL II | 22 March 2011 | No longer airing |
| Greece | Ο Πιο Εξυπνος O Pio Exypnos | Antonis Kafetzopoulos | Mega Channel | 26 January 2004 – May 2004 | No longer airing |
| Italy | Il migliore - Sfida d'intelligenza | Mike Bongiorno | Rete 4 | 4 May 2006 – 24 May 2007 | No longer airing |
| Japan | Brainiest (ブレイニスト) | Yoko Oshita | TV Asahi | 7 January 2012 | No longer airing |
| Lebanon | مين بيعرف Min Byaarif | Nadia Bsat | mtv | 15 March 2016 – present | Currently airing |
| New Zealand | New Zealand's Brainiest Kid | Bernadine Oliver-Kerby | TVNZ | February – March 2006 | No longer airing |
| Poland | Dzieciaki z klasą | Martyna Wojciechowska | TVN | 29 March 2004 – 7 June 2004 | No longer airing |
| Poland | Dzieciaki z klasą | Martyna Wojciechowska | TVN | 6 March 2005 – 5 June 2005 | No longer airing |
| Portugal | Mentes Brilhantes | Bárbara Guimarães | SIC | 6 October 2002 – 17 November 2002 | No longer airing |
| Russia | Самый умный Sami‘y umni‘y | Tina Kandelaki | STS | 8 March 2003 – 31 December 2012 | No longer airing |
| Singapore | Singapore's Brainiest | Cheryl Fox | MediaCorp Channel 5 | 2003–2005 | No longer airing |
| Sweden | Sveriges smartaste barn | Sofia Wistam (2007) | TV3 | 2007 | No longer airing |
| Sweden | Sveriges smartaste barn | Roger Nordin (2009) | TV3 | 2009 | No longer airing |
| Turkey | Bilen Parmak Kaldırsın | Cemil Büyükdöğerli | TRT Çocuk | 20 March 2009 | No longer airing |
| Ukraine | Найрозумніший Дорослі ігри Nayrozumnishy'y Dorosli igry | Paulo Skorohodko | 1+1 | 24 August – 28 December 2008 | No longer airing |
| Ukraine | Самый умный Sami‘y umni‘y | Tina Kandelaki | 1+1 | 8 March 2003 – 31 December 2012 | No longer airing |
| Ukraine | Самый умный Sami‘y umni‘y | Tina Kandelaki | Inter | 8 March 2003 – 31 December 2012 | No longer airing |
| Ukraine | Самый умный Sami‘y umni‘y | Ludmila Dobrovolska | Ukrayina | 10 March 2013 – 17 June 2013 | No longer airing |
| Vietnam (National version) | Chinh phục - Vietnam's Brainiest Kid | Nguyễn Thanh Vân An Huy Trần | VTV6 | 4 December 2013 – 14 January 2015 (season 1–2) 25 October 2017 – 31 January 2018 (season 3) | No longer airing |
| Vietnam (National version) | Chinh phục - Vietnam's Brainiest Kid | Nguyễn Thanh Vân An Huy Trần | VTV3 | 4 December 2013 – 14 January 2015 (season 1–2) 25 October 2017 – 31 January 2018 (season 3) | No longer airing |
| Vietnam (Southern Regional version) | Tìm người thông minh | Phương Thảo | HTV7 | 1 March 2008 – September 2008 | No longer airing |

## References and notes

* ↑ "Laura is Britain's brainiest youngster". The Northern Echo. 11 August 2001.
* ↑ "CBBC Newsround | Christopher, 12, is Brainiest kid in Britain". BBC News. 1 January 2003. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ "Mensa: What happens when 'child geniuses' grow up". BBC News. 29 January 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
* ↑ "Brainiest". armeniatv.am. Archived from the original on 30 September 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
* ↑ "Əlaçı". 15 October 2015 – via Facebook.
* 1 2 "RTL-TVI : Générique Le Grand Concours des Enfants (2006)". GenTV.be. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ "Danmarks klogeste barn (2005– )". IMDb. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ "Viihde - MTV.fi" (in Finnish). Mtv3.fi. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ "Rustavi 2". Rustavi 2. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ "RTL 2 - Moderatorin". 29 September 2011. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
* ↑ テレビ朝日｜Brainiest（ブレイニスト）. Tv-asahi.co.jp. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ "Min Byaarif / Season 2". Lebanon: MTV. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
* ↑ "New Zealand's Brainiest Kid". Archived from the original on 13 February 2012.
* ↑ "MediaNews.com.pl". Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
* ↑ "VÊM AÍ AS MENTES BRILHANTES - TV & Media - Correio da Manhã". Cmjornal.xl.pt. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ In common with Ukraine
* ↑ "Singapore's Brainiest". Archived from the original on 3 January 2009.
* ↑ "Bilen parmak kaldırsın". Cicicee.com. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 14 December 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ Канал "Україна" відновить формат шоу "Найрозумніший", але без Тіни Канделакі. Telekritika.ua. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ Програму "Найрозумніший. Дорослі ігри" на "1+1" вестиме Павло Скороходько. Telekritika.ua. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
* ↑ In common with Russia
* ↑ "Chinh Phục - Vietnam's Brainiest Kid". Retrieved 14 May 2014 – via Facebook.