Quiz Trippers

29 June 2011

TX: Weekdays from 11 July at 5pm, Channel 4.

A team of avid quizzers, a small mobile home and one big challenge - these are the ingredients of Channel 4's brand new daytime show, Quiz Trippers.

Five keen quizzers have taken up the challenge of travelling 270 miles across Scotland in a campervan to take part in five different pub quizzes across the week in order to win £500.

Narrated by Christopher Biggins, the show follows the team as they must rely on their wit and general knowledge to win the £100 cash prize for each quiz, playing alongside some worthy local teams. And with only basic food and water supplies provided with the campervan, the quizzers must decide how much, if any, of their winnings to spend on drink and supplies. Anything left over is theirs to keep.

But there's a twist - only one member of the team will walk away with the overall prize money at the end of the week. After each quiz, the team members must collectively decide who the most deserving candidate is, and the person with the most votes at the end of the week is crowned overall winner.

Full of drama, humour, rivalry and great characters, Quiz Trippers begins on the 11th of July at 5pm on Channel 4.

Episode 1

It's day one of this week-long journey across the best of Scotland's pub quizzes, and our five avid Quiz Trippers meet for the first time.

Poised to take the challenge are; self-employed quiz host Alan from Glasgow; improvisation group manager Lauren from San Francisco; I.T. consultant Jen from Edinburgh; holistic therapist and psychic Audrey from Manchester; and finally retired teacher Kevin from Belfast.

With awkward introductions done, the group explore the ‘bijou' campervan which will be their home for the next week. And 52-year-old Jen expresses her concerns about how they'll all get along in such close quarters, while part-time psychic Audrey predicts calm before a storm.

The van is stocked with basic rations only, so to eat and drink well the team will enter a different quiz every night, keeping their eyes firmly on the cash prize. But there's definitely an ‘I' in this team; one of the contestants will walk away with all the winnings at the end of the week, so spending the cash prize on food and drink may not be to everyone's liking.

Tonight's first quiz takes the team to the Anderson Pub in Fortrose where, armed with the team name of Harvey's Angels (after their camper van) the group face tough opposition, with eight highly competitive local teams to beat. And with a star prize of a whopping £100 up for grabs, the gang will have to be on top of their game if they're to win, or face going home with tonight's booby prize - a bag of Maris Pipers.

 

Episode 2

After a first night sleeping in the campervan, the group awakens full of complaints, before it's time for them to hit the road and make their way to the next stop, The Woodshed Bar in Aviemore. But it's a bumpy ride as perky Lauren's questionable driving skills leave the others clinging on for dear life.

Fortunately the team make it to the next quiz in one piece and after yesterday's humiliating defeat the Harvey's Angels are looking for a win. With no luxuries on their campervan, the £150 top prize up for grabs here could prove very useful.

They try to pull together as a team, with Kevin and Alan both coming up with some cracking answers. But a tie-break for first place at the end sees Alan step up to the plate with disappointing results, leaving the group left with a less-than useful runner's up prize. With morale low, the mounting tension between Lauren and Aud eventually reaches boiling point, but who will they vote as man of the match today?

 

Episode 3

Our campers wake up to another day of basic rations and are determined to win tonight's quiz. After last night's confrontation, the tension is still in the air between Lauren and Aud, and things don't get any better for our resident psychic whose delicate stomach finally succumbs to the long journey and smell of the chemical toilet.

Despite the hiccups, the team finally make their way to their next quiz showdown - Tally's pub in Dundee. The quiz is popular amongst Dundee's large student population so our team have high hopes for a win - despite their limited pop culture knowledge. The top prize tonight? A much-needed £95, so the last thing our Harvey's Angels need is another tie break.

 

Episode 4

So far this week it's been an agonising series of failures for the Harvey's Angels and a win still feels like a million miles away, but our team of quizzers are not defeated yet.

With a determined and united attitude, the group head to Lauren's adopted home town of Edinburgh in preparation for their penultimate quiz at The Newsroom pub. Beforehand, Lauren treats the team to an improvised comedy performance from her troupe, which unfortunately goes down like a lead balloon. And at the quiz, things go from bad to worse for the young American, as a few silly guesses to some of the questions leave tensions between the girls at an all-time high. Can the Angels break both the ill-feeling and their losing streak to finally bring home the top prize?

 

Episode 5

It's the last day of the road trip and after a week of poor performances our campers are still on basic rations. Today is also Lauren's birthday, but that doesn't mean that she will be favoured in tonight's final vote to crown the overall quiz tripper. And with no wins under their belt so far, the winner may very well walk home empty handed.

Their final chance at success comes in the last quiz of the week at The Buccleuch Arms Hotel in Moffat. After bombing so badly in last night's quiz the Harvey's Angels are desperate for a win so that they can head home with some dignity still intact - and more importantly, money in their pockets.

It's a tough quiz with some formidable local competition and there is still friction in the group - can the Angels end the week on a high and bring home the £100 top prize, or will another loss see them leaving with their tails between their legs and tonight's booby prize of four cuddly toys? At the end of it all, who will go home with the title of this week's best Quiz Tripper?