17-02-2025
Thirsk: Retired teacher who has appeared on 32 TV quiz shows
A retired maths teacher who has appeared on 32 TV quiz shows in 30 years says he is "absolutely hooked" on the concept. Cornelius O'Donovan, from Thirsk, began a lifelong love of quizzing when playing board game Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s, and has since gone on to enter The Weakest Link and The Chase.
He enters into the spirit with brightly-coloured outfits and his laugh, likened to that of actor Brian Blessed, is a hit with faced Anne Robinson in 2007 and Bradley Walsh in 2009. His first appearance was on Say the Word in 1997, and other credits include Pass the Buck, Breakaway and Two says his favourite host was Walsh on The Chase because "he did his best to put all the contestants at their ease" and has "grown with the show".He would even consider becoming one of the Chasers himself in future.
He is also an avid collector of Trivial Pursuit editions, which help him accrue knowledge."In order to become a good quizzer I think you need to know as much as you can about as much as is out there."Different versions have different questions in - I particularly like the style of questions in Trivial Pursuit."Asked whether he finds the questions difficult, he says: "Not now, no - because very often I would remember a question for my wrong answer to it, rather than the right answer."It takes a while to get through 6,000 questions and answers and to remember the right answer, rather than the wrong answer."
Cornelius has earned £17,500 in prize money from his attempts. but has never "won big" and regrets that he was never accepted onto Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?"I think most people who haven't been on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? would have loved the opportunity, and I spent a lot of money trying to get on when we used to have to make a telephone call back in the late 1990s, to no avail."He is getting close to the record set for the most appearances, being just two short of David St John's 34, which was verified in London in 2014."I hope to beat the record one day, but a lot of the shows now have a push for new, younger players."Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
