ONLY Connect’s Victoria Coren Mitchell has revealed her hopes that players on the BBC show can 'forgive' how she hosts the quiz.
Victoria, 52, has presented the hit BBC Two show since 2008, and it will soon celebrate its 500th episode.
The host is known for her wit but also her no nonsense approach to proceedings, and in an interview to mark the show's milestone, she gave an insight into how she feels about Only Connect and its participants.
She said: "I have had many favourite teams! I couldn’t possibly name them though, because the teams I don’t mention might feel unloved.
"You might more easily ask if there are any teams I HAVEN’T liked. And the answer is yes – maybe three teams, in over 15 years.
" I’ve liked all the others, and loved most of them. These are my kind of people.
"If we met under different circumstances I hope we’d be friends."
But she added: "Given the circumstances we do meet under, all I hope is that they forgive me."
Victoria will certainly be hoping the latest set of teams forgive her after she branded them 'idiots'.
Monday evening's episode marked the third place playoffs, featuring Cat Cows against Crunchers.
In the show's opening, Victoria jokingly branded contestants "idiots" - although this did not go down well with some viewers.
The presenter said: "98% of viewers don't even understand the questions on this show, they're not even sure we're broadcasting in English.
"Some people are only watching because their cat is sitting on the remote.
"So to finish third in the actual competition is a towering achievement and the people here are intellectual giants.
"They're just idiots compared to the people in the final."
Victoria continued by saying: "And those idiots are...
Some viewers were left unamused, as one wrote on X: "Bit rude of Victoria Coren Mitchell to call them idiots.
While another penned: "Not many quizzers would laugh at being called idiots. #OnlyConnect."
But in stark contrast to her cheeky comment to those teams, Victoria had a very different way of describing participants during her chat.
She said: "The contestants are obviously geniuses, but we’re all on the same team – me, the teams and the viewers.
"The show assumes the audience is made up of bright, engaged, curious people with an interest in the world around them, even if they only get one question right per series and do cartwheels round the living room if that happens."
Only Connect airs Mondays on BBC Two at 8pm.
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