Victoria Coren Mitchell has flatly refused to apologise for an Only Connect gaffe that left supporters seething.
Victoria, 51, hosts the BBC Two quiz show. During the third place play-off on Monday night, viewers detected a little error.
During the last round, the connecting wall, one team was asked to recognise the Stranger Things cast.
The surnames of Sadie Sink, Cara Buono, Millie Bobby Brown, and Finn Wolfhard were all included in the quiz – or were intended to be.
Viewers were quick to discover that Finn, played by Mike Wheeler, had his surname wrongly spelled as ‘Wolfhart’.
They weren’t pleased about it.
X user Patrick JSR fumed: ‘Absolutely incandescent about #OnlyConnect misspelling Finn Wolfhard’s name, cancelling my subscription, putting my foot through the TV screen, sending them the bill etc.’
Viewer David added: ‘So @OnlyConnectQuiz are ok with putting a clue on the board that’s spelt wrong? Finn WolfharD is in Stranger things, but I don’t know of a Finn Wolfhart. #onlyconnect.’
Only Connect throwing us for a loop misspelling Finn Wolfhard's name! #OnlyConnect
— ✨️Emma✨️ (@electriccandles) January 22, 2024
Absolutely incandescent about #OnlyConnect misspelling Finn Wolfhard's name, cancelling my subscription, putting my foot through the TV screen, sending them the bill etc
— Patrick JSR 🏳️🌈 (@pjsrobertson) January 22, 2024
So @OnlyConnectQuiz are ok with putting a clue on the board that’s spelt wrong? Finn WolfharD is in Stranger things, but I don’t know of a Finn Wolfhart. #onlyconnect
— David (@Terminatrix) January 22, 2024
Isn't the Stranger Things actor Finn WolfharD? #OnlyConnect
— Dave Elliott (@The_Iceman2288) January 22, 2024
The actor’s name is Finn WOLFHARD, #OnlyConnect pic.twitter.com/YUSKCGxI1F
— Ross Maclean (@ross_maclean) January 22, 2024
But Victoria didn’t appear to bother, as, despite the reaction, she took to X and proclaimed that she would not apologise.
She wrote: ‘Ooh, it seems we had a spelling mistake on the connecting wall last night! Wolfhard was written as Wolfhart.
‘BUT I WON’T APOLOGIZE. I think it’s important to have an error in the Third Place Play-Off, like the deliberate flaw in a Persian carpet, lest God be offended.’
‘Naturally, I’d assumed it was exactly that,’ follower @The_Time_Being commented, while @Heather94958062 said: ‘Love your sense of humor!’
This comes after the presenter, who has hosted the quiz show since its inception in 2008, replied to criticism over a ‘unfair’ conclusion, with one viewer claiming a team was ‘robbed’.
The spectator claimed that the players should have been given a point for claiming to hear their buzzer ring before the bell rang to indicate that time was up, but Victoria refused, defending both the rules and herself.
‘I never let them answer after the bell, whenever they’ve buzzed! Not the protocol at all,’ she commented.
Only Connect airs on Monday at 8pm on BBC Two.