Fifteen To One Series 35 Grand Final

The Grand Final of series 35 of Fifteen to One, which originally aired on December 19, 2003, was the last ever edition of the quiz show regarded by many as the toughest quiz show on TV.

Introduction

Presenter William G. Stewart began the show by explaining some statistics about the show, which had run from January 1988. Some 350,000 questions had been asked, with 33,975 contestants in 2265 shows. Following a further talk, he then turned viewers' attention to the Finals Board.

Finals Board

1. John Harrison 291
2. Marijoy France 281
3. Roger Keevil 281
4. Azeez Feshitan 273
5. Paul Thompson 271
6. Michael McDowell 251
7= Geoff Hall 242
7= Ian Thomason 242
9. Arfor Hughes 241
10= Thomas Leeming 232
10= Barry Smith 232
12. David Porch 231
13. Tom Farley 222
14= Wil Ransome 221
14= Andrew Dickens 221

John Harrison was presented with the Finals Board trophy, before William G. Stewart began the first round with his quote "Let battle commence!"

Line-up

1. Andrew Dickens
2. Thomas Leeming
3. Michael McDowell
4. David Porch
5. Tom Farley
6. Wil Ransome
7. Arfor Hughes
8. Azeez Feshitan
9. Geoff Hall
10. Marijoy France
11. Barry Smith
12. Ian Thomason
13. Paul Thompson
14. John Harrison
15. Roger Keevil

The line-up included three contestants who were in the Series 34 Grand Final, Thomas Leeming, Azeez Feshitan and Roger Keevil, whilst John Harrison had been in a Grand Final several years beforehand.

First Round

The first round saw the elimination of three contestants. The unlucky trio were Geoff Hall, Paul Thompson and Roger Keevil. Something of note was that for the first time in years the eliminated contestants were not asked to leave the studio and had chairs behind them to sit on. Thomas Leeming, Tom Farley, Wil Ransome, Azeez Feshitan, Marijoy France and John Harrison retained their three lives.

Second Round

Andrew Dickens, standing at position 1, kicked off the second round by answering his question correctly, and subsequently nominated John Harrison for the next question.Barry Smith was the first to be eliminated, having not given a correct answer. He was followed out by Arfor Hughes, David Porch and Tom Farley, who also didn't give a correct answer. There was then a long gap before the next elimination, which fell to Michael McDowell. Next out was Marijoy France, then Thomas Leeming, which left 5 contestants left. These were Andrew Dickens, Wil Ransome, Azeez Feshitan, Ian Thomason and John Harrison. All were down one life, except for Wil Ransome who was on 2. Ransome correctly answered a question, and then nominated Azeez Feshitan and then Andrew Dickens, both of whom getting their question wrong and going out. The three finalists were decided.

Final round

The three finalists for the last ever show were Wil Ransome, from Highgate in London, Ian Thomason from Southport and John Harrison from Folkestone.
The round got off to a slow beginning, with the first 2 questions going unanswered, before Ian Thomason got the next and then John Harrison seizing the initative by getting 3 of the next 4 (the other going unanswered). From then onwards, John Harrison led, although he did put himself under pressure by buzzing in too early twice and giving the wrong answer, and was kept honest by Ian Thomason. John Harrison won a rather disappointing final, scoring 111 with 1 life left, Ian Thomason second with 91 and three lives left, and Wil Ransome third with 42 points and 2 lives left. An incredible total of 12 questions went unanswered.

Laura Calland then presented John with his second trophy, before William G. Stewart said a slightly emotional goodbye, and the toughest quiz show on TV was gone forever.