In 2007 I, Steve Kidd, set out to make a great quiz, with copious content, great competitors on a level playing field. No selection, other than merit, the content and competitors being the stars. I wanted to film it, and I wanted players to be able to come back for more.
Mission accomplished!
I got everything I wanted and more, If I had two or three words to describe it they would be "runaway success". Without any doubt QU12 has been the best quiz ever committed to film, as good a quiz as I or the competitors have ever participated in and a creation I can be totally proud of. Without a six figure budget and a credit list of thousands I can not improve significantly upon it, so..that's it. Within these pages you will find the more or less contemporary account of the 14 shows, with links to the films. I hope the header is intuitive enough for navigating about.
Thanks once again: My son Jake who understands me better than anyone in the world, and whose company on the long trips will be the thing I will most miss, Peter Brook is fantastic; a more erudite, charming and competent person I have yet to meet, and Will Jones, about whom I have written extensively and thought even more. Why Will – why have you put so much time, effort, expertise and expense into QU12? I can only be eternally grateful and baffled. It's tough to know what to say about Jeremy Beadle, other than the torrent of praise and gratitude evinced by his passing away did not exaggerate what I/we knew about him.
The best thing was making, I hope, new friends (I am sure I speak for those 'established' players); we will see you all again. Dave Taylor, Mike Foden, Peter Robson, Barry Howbridge, Gwilym Owen, Judith Searle, Keith Marshall, Keith Pointon, Martin Riley, Robert Hannah, Scott Dawson, Anto McCann, Beverley and Dave Barbour, Catherine Searle, Christine Moorcroft, Harry Searle, Hugh Irvine, Joy Wilson, Nick Duffy, Peter Duffy, Rhys Davies, Seamus McCarthy, Susanne Stewart, Tony Gold , Will Barney, Winston and Daphne Bustard, Ashley Handley and of course, Jed the Dog - thanks for enrichening my life, don't be shy about doing so again! Kate Conway - I hope that I gave you no cause whatsoever to mistrust me.
My biggest regrets (barring any inconvenience I have caused by winding up) are that some truly titanic quizzers did not manage to play. Olav Bjortomt, Stefanie Bruce, Sean Carey, Mark Bytheway, Eric Kilby, Sean O'Neill, Andy Page, Chris Quinn, Jenny Ryan, David Stainer, Tim Westcott, John Wilson etc. would all have graced any round and I am sure would have thoroughly enjoyed QU12, which lost gravitas for not having them.
Unfinished business included the Mexborough/Kirkland dichotomy – The 2008 Team and Music champions I suppose had to be Mexborough and Johnathan Kirkland respectively
Please click on the image below for the introductory film, but by all means visit the "Films" Page and watch from the beginning.
Enjoy