Today I started by setting some multiple-choice questions for one TV quiz, verifying batches of Science, Politics and General Knowledge questions for another. Most days I read a “Weakest Link” show, as I have done for nearly three years – scanning the questions to look for possible disagreements, alternative answers, or something which has escaped earlier checks,

How often are questions wrong?

Occasionally you find problem questions. How many moons does Uranus have? And why does only one of them not have a name?? What was Popeye’s home port? Where exactly is the Chief Whip’s office, now that it’s left Number 12, Downing Street?

How do you go about verifying a question? Do you use your mind or reference books?

Mind first, but always check if there’s even a shadow of doubt, and often if there’s not. Your mind can be wrong, but then, so can your reference books, and occasionally I’ll double-check elsewhere. For example, a question about Maureen Connolly called her “the first player to win tennis’s grand slam”. I checked, and she wasn’t – she was the first woman to do so, but Don Budge was the first player.

How did you get into this? How did it grow into a career?

Like many others, I began as a contestant, trying to show off my knowledge and possibly win prizes along the way. In 1980, while lecturing at university, I’d just won a car on “Sale of the Century” and I entered “The Krypton Factor”. My students said I’d never cope with the assault course. They were right – I kept falling off things. But I ended up third in the series final. Later that year, the producer asked if I’d like to set questions for the next series. Then I did a few other TV quizzes, including University Challenge and now I've worked on nearly fifty TV quizzes in the past quarter-century.

How would you rate yourself personally at quizzing?

Naturally, by reading and checking so many questions, I have a very sound general knowledge. Like Sherlock Holmes’s elder brother Mycroft, I aim to specialize in omniscience…but I haven’t been a contestant for years, and constant quiz competition is necessary to keep your reactions honed.

How would you fare on Grand Slam?

“Grand Slam” takes experience, knowledge, speed of reaction, stamina – I’m too old for the speed tests, and would be likely to droop under pressure now.

Could you see yourself on Millionaire?

I’d love to – I’ve been “phone-a-friend” four times, and the last time helped a friend’s son get to a quarter of a million. And I could have answered the half-million question, too (which nation has a parrot on its flag?) if he’d waited to phone me for that one!

What makes a great quizzer?

A well-stocked mind, and knowledge of all the obvious questions. When auditioning, we reckoned that “What is Europe’s highest mountain?” flushed out the quiz-league experts, who would fire back “Mount Elbrus!” whilst ‘amateur’ contestants might venture “Mont Blanc? Matterhorn?”

Do you quiz in your spare time?

Nobody’s ever asked me to play “Trivial Pursuit”. I’ve never entered a pub quiz.

What do you do when you’re not doing this?

As little as possible. I’m a firm believer in constructive laziness, and I’ll read anything, quantity and quality, especially detective novels. I like Gameboy, especially Driller. I haven’t missed an episode of Countdown since I was series champion in 1994, not even when whisked off to hospital after a heart attack!

Who’s your tip then to win Grand Slam?

I was hugely impressed by fellow Nottinghamian Clive Spate when he won his first-round match, but who wouldn’t have been? As with horse-racing, you don’t bet until you know the runners and have a chance to weigh up their form.