Mastermind contestant with ‘most niche specialism ever’
Mastermind contestant with ‘most niche specialism ever’
Keith PerrySat, August 22, 2026 at 6:23 PM UTC
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BBC Mastermind contestant Emily Medhurst wore a tank top featuring one of the designs in question as she was quizzed on ‘Transport for London moquette’ - BBC
A Mastermind contestant has been lauded by the show’s fans for having one of the most “niche specialist subjects” in the history of the quiz.
Emily Medhurst, a policy researcher, took part in the BBC show on Friday but instead of picking a topic such as books, television shows or historical figures, she chose to answer questions on the upholstery patterns used by Transport for London (TfL).
Ms Medhurst wore a knitted tank top featuring one of the designs as she answered two minutes of questions on the moquette fabric found on the seats of the capital’s Tube trains and buses.
Her knowledge of the distinctive patterns earned her eight points, with one pass and three wrong answers.
Questions included “Which design, depicting landmarks such as the dome of St Paul’s and The London Eye, is named after the publicity manager who commissioned moquettes for London Transport in the 1930s?” the answer being “Barman”.
The fabric is familiar to millions, but few could answer any questions about it - Claudiac8/iStock Editorial
Ms Medhurst was also asked which Underground line in the 1990s featured “a branded moquette featuring lines of classification headings from the Yellow Pages telephone directory”, to which the answer was the Circle line.
Posting comments under a clip of the episode on TikTok, one viewer wrote: “There’s niche subjects, then there’s that. Nice touch that she even has a jumper to match the topic, wearing one of the answers is a flex.”
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Another commented: “This is what niche actually means. This is so British it’s unbelievable. I didn’t know there was two minutes of moquette information.”
TfL also voiced its appreciation, commenting: “Most iconic specialist subject ever.”
Ms Medhurst went on to finish in third place on the night after only scoring eight more points during the general knowledge round.
Transport for London praised Ms Medhurst’s choice of specialist subject as the ‘most iconic ever’ - Peter Dazeley/Getty Images Europe
According to the London Transport Museum website, the word moquette comes from a French word for carpet. Some designs feature London landmarks and historic moments, and the fabric is produced on looms using the Jacquard weaving technique.
A “pile” typically consists of an 85 per cent wool and 15 per cent nylon blend, and the fabric was chosen for public transport because it was durable, with colours and patterns that helped hide damage and dirt.
The first moquette was used in London’s public transport systems in the 1920s – a pattern called Lozenge, made by Firth Furnishings in 1923.
Commenting on her choice of subject, Ms Medhurst wrote: “TfL has such a rich history of design, and it was so fun to dive in and learn more about the amazing designers, manufacturers and lore behind the fabric that 2 to 4 million people park themselves on every day.”
The BBC announced last month that it was discontinuing the celebrity version of Mastermind as part of its cost-cutting measures.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
