Lee Mack was left genuinely stunned when 15 contestants were eliminated by what was supposed to be The 1% Club’s easiest question.

The ITV quiz show begins each episode with a “90% question”, designed to be a straightforward warm-up before the challenges become more difficult. But Wednesday’s episode on December 11 produced an unexpected result.

15 contestants get the opening question wrong

Lee, 56, asked: “What food is represented here?” Contestants were shown a thermometer alongside a fluffy white dog.

Before the answer was revealed, it emerged that 15 players had given an incorrect response.

Clearly shocked, Lee said: “Not being rude but you have got to be kidding me!”

He added: “15? I said to the producer we can’t ask this question because no one is going to get this wrong.”

The correct answer was “hot dog” — with the thermometer representing “hot” and the picture representing “dog”.

One contestant, Anna, had instead answered “dog food”, prompting Lee to ask what she thought the thermometer represented.

When Anna admitted she simply “wasn’t ready” for the question, Lee joked: “We’ve never, in the history of this show, had anyone go, ‘Oh, I knew it, I just wasn’t ready.’”

Viewers couldn’t believe it

The result left viewers equally baffled, with several taking to social media to question how so many contestants had missed what appeared to be an obvious clue.

One viewer wrote: “15 out? Wtf?”

Another said: “How are 15! People out….? That was obvious.”

A third added: “How did 15 people manage to get that question wrong?”

The moment proved that even the question designed to be the easiest of the night can still catch contestants off guard on The 1% Club.