They start tight, neither giving a quarter, shouting out the answers before the Questionner has even finished speaking the question. Gavin seems the quicker of the two.

Michael is first to fluff. He hands Gavin a 10 second advantage with this:

What is the medical term for short-sightedness? ******

He’s kicking himself for missing that one.

The time flicks down. Then Gavin, surprisingly, misses this one.

Which creature has types called thresher, carpet and basking? *****

Martin has a chance to recover but disappoints, tripping over these:

Which star sign falls between Libra and Sagittarius? ********
Eleuthera and Bimini are part of which group of Caribbean islands? ********

Gavin clinches the round and the psychological victory, a fair sized 17.07 on his clock.

Gavin however is blinding. He gives near instantaneous answers to all his questions. Can you?

What is 6% of 1200? **
What is 351 divided by 9? **
How is 555 expressed in Roman numerals? ***

Gavin wins with a massive 47.03 still remaining. It’s not looking good for Michael.

Cilla Black's real surname at birth was not Black. What was it? ******
The blackberry is the sweet fruit of which shrub? *******

But again, mid-way, Michael drops a series of clangers.

A Black Monk is one who belongs to which order of brotherhood? ***********
The Black Panthers were formed in 1966 by Bobby Searle and who else? **** *******
Which Royal Regiment is commonly known as The Black Watch? ***** ******** *********

He is unable to recover. Gavin adds another 22 second to his clock, bringing his total, as they go into the break, to nearly 1 and a half minutes. Michael has a lot of catching up to do.

Michael makes the first slip. Loosing 5 seconds.

Of which country is 1 the international dialling code? He says Korea. The answer is, predictably, ***

Another slip. Down 10 seconds. Is it all over? No, Gavin gets mired in pop culture.

Which Beatles hit did Cherie Blair perform in a Beijing university on a recent visit? **** ** **
Which Brat pack actress plays the villain in 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'? **** ******

Now M is in the lead by 5 but Gavin can’t find the answer for ‘Which comedian wrote 'Dead Famous' and 'High Society'?’ *** *****

They’re neck and neck. Michael is unlucky with this question.

In the TV show 'Frasier', what is the first name of the title character's brother? He says Miles. The answer is of course ******

Gavin is 15 seconds in the lead when these come sailing out of the dark :

Of which Scottish rock band is Fran Healey the lead singer? ******
Which country has ringgits as the national currency? *******
Which 'It' Girl is the new star of the Walkers crisps adverts? **** *****************

Finally he recovers. Play switches to Michael who, with 5 seconds left on his clock, desperately claws out the answer to this :

Who replaced Zoe Ball as host of Radio 1's breakfast show? **** ***

Gavin, with 4.17 on the clock, somehow – impossibly - manages to answer ‘Which British actress secretly married director Sam Mendes this year?’ **** ******

Gavin wins with just 0.05 seconds, 5 hundreths of second, on his timer.

Both contestant laugh. Amazing.

Which letter is represented in morse code by three dashes? *

There’s pond life invisible to the naked eye that could’ve got that right.

Gavin clinches his fifth round and adds another 23.59 seconds to his already phat time advantage.