The 1% Club viewers slam ‘worst question in the show’s history’ after 20 contestants are eliminated

A seemingly simple mug puzzle on The 1% Club left 20 contestants out of the game — and viewers at home were far from impressed.

The question appeared during episode seven of the current series, hosted by comedian Lee Mack, and quickly became one of the most talked-about moments of the episode.

While some viewers managed to work out the logic behind the puzzle, others admitted they were completely stumped.

Can you solve the mug puzzle?

As always, The 1% Club began with 100 contestants. Players are gradually eliminated as they face increasingly difficult questions based on logic and reasoning, with the ultimate goal of being the last contestant standing and taking home the cash prize.

On Saturday, April 13, one of the questions proved particularly troublesome.

Contestants were shown four mugs labelled ALF, SUE, MEG and BEN.

Above them was another row of four mugs displaying HAT, LOG, OLD and ROW.

The question asked: “Whose mug belongs on the top shelf with the others?”

It looked straightforward, but 20 contestants failed to find the connection.

Viewers were left frustrated

As the episode aired, viewers took to X (Twitter) to share their reactions.

One admitted they were already out but planned to keep watching to see how they would fare with the remaining questions.

Another described it as “a daft question,” while a third joked that they felt like “such a mug” for failing to solve it despite getting an earlier 15% question right.

Others were even more critical.

One viewer called it “the most annoying question of the evening,” while another labelled it the “worst question the show has ever had.”

Several simply admitted they could not understand the logic at all.

But there was a trick hidden in plain sight.

The answer was ALF

The correct answer was ALF.

Lee Mack explained that the handles on the mugs formed the letter C. Adding that letter to the words on the top row created four new words:

• C + HAT = CHAT
• C + LOG = CLOG
• C + OLD = COLD
• C + ROW = CROW

That meant ALF was the only option that could form another word in the same way, because adding the “C” created CALF.

The result was particularly costly for the contestants. Twenty people were eliminated, while another 18 used their passes to skip the question.

As the number of players who had been knocked out was revealed, Lee reacted with a surprised, “Wow,” before acknowledging those who had managed to solve it.

Social media debate continued

The reaction did not stop once the answer was revealed.

One viewer admitted it was their “worst performance ever” on the show, while another said they would have answered every question correctly for the first time if it were not for the mug puzzle.

Another contestant at home was baffled by the contrast between the difficulty of the questions, writing that they had failed to spot the mug answer while immediately seeing the solution to a 25% question.

Not everyone agreed that ALF was the obvious choice, either.

One viewer suggested SUE instead, reasoning that the mugs on the top row appeared to be arranged alphabetically and that Sue would therefore be the next name in the sequence.

Others remained firmly unimpressed, with one calling it “absolutely one of the worst questions on the show.”

For the 20 contestants who were eliminated, the puzzle proved to be a particularly unforgiving hurdle. For those watching at home, meanwhile, it became a test of whether the hidden letter formed by the mug handles was spotted before the explanation was given.

The 1% Club airs on Saturdays at 8:35pm on ITV, with episodes also available to stream on ITVX.