''Britain's Best Brain'' is a British

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

that aired on Channel 5 from 28 October to 16 December 2009 and hosted by

Jamie Theakston James Paul Theakston (born 21 December 1970) is an English television presenter, producer, narrator and actor. He has hosted television programmes for the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4 and 5 (British TV channel), Channel 5. He co-present ...

and

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...

. It saw ordinary members of the public undertake various tasks, all scientifically designed to test different parts of the brain. The show ran every Wednesday and was aired from 28 October to 16 December 2009. The winner, crowned 'Britain's Best Brain 2009', was Matt Clancy, a 29-year-old marketing consultant from London.

Rounds

* Calculation: designed to test the

parietal lobe The parietal lobe is one of the four Lobes of the brain, major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The parietal lobe is positioned above the temporal lobe and behind the frontal lobe and central sulcus. The parietal lobe integra ...

. * Memory: designed to test the

temporal lobe The temporal lobe is one of the four major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The temporal lobe is located beneath the lateral fissure on both cerebral hemispheres of the mammalian brain. The temporal lobe is involved in pr ...

. * Recognition: designed to test the

occipital lobe The occipital lobe is one of the four Lobes of the brain, major lobes of the cerebral cortex in the brain of mammals. The name derives from its position at the back of the head, from the Latin , 'behind', and , 'head'. The occipital lobe is the ...

. * Co-ordination: designed to test the

cerebellum The cerebellum (: cerebella or cerebellums; Latin for 'little brain') is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as it or eve ...

. * Risk: designed to test the

frontal lobe The frontal lobe is the largest of the four major lobes of the brain in mammals, and is located at the front of each cerebral hemisphere (in front of the parietal lobe and the temporal lobe). It is parted from the parietal lobe by a Sulcus (neur ...

Qualifying leaderboard

Grand Final leaderboard

References

External links

* * 2009 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings 2000s British game shows Channel 5 (British TV channel) original programming British English-language television shows Television series by Banijay Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions {{UK-tv-prog-stub