Test The Nation
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''Test the Nation'' is a television programme, first broadcast in 2001 by BNN in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. The concept is owned by Eyeworks Holding who license it to TV production companies around the world.


Show format

The format is designed to allow viewers to answer a number of questions in order to measure their IQ or their ability in some other 'intellectual' area. For instance, in the UK (where the show ran between 2002 and 2007) there have been editions of the show devoted to general knowledge, knowledge of the UK itself, and the English language. There is also an annual test of the year's events just before Christmas. Typically there is a studio audience who answer the questions along with the viewer. The studio
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is broken down into categories often designed to challenge or affirm
stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalization, generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can ...
s. For example, in the United Kingdom, white-van men and fashion models are commonly thought to be less intelligent, whilst
doctor Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
s and scientists are ''expected'' to score highly. The fun is in comparing your score against your compatriots. There is also a group of celebrities pitting their wits against the audience, and one or more 'experts', who comment on aspects of the particular show's topic.


International versions

The TV format has been sold in other countries like: Czech Republic, Denmark, Indonesia, Norway, Turkey and in the Middle East on the Arabic channel MBC1.


United Kingdom

The British version, made by Talent Television for the BBC, was originally presented by
Anne Robinson Anne Josephine Robinson (born 26 September 1944) is a British journalist and television presenter, best known as the host of BBC game show ''The Weakest Link'' from 2000 to 2012, and again in 2017 for a one-off celebrity special for ''Children ...
and Phillip Schofield. It ran for 17 editions between 2002 and 2007. The BBC tests were devised and standardised by the academic Colin Cooper, of
Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...
, who was sometimes referred to on the programme as 'Sooperman Cooperman'. Viewers could play along using
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, log onto the BBC
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, or just use a pen and paper to keep score. The first show, in May 2002, was an IQ test and the six groups of 50 studio participants included blondes, builders, publicans, teachers and students. They were pitted against a group of 10 celebrities including ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...
'' star
Adam Woodyatt Adam Brinley Woodyatt (born 28 June 1968) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Ian Beale in the BBC One, BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', a role he has portrayed since the show's inception in 1985, making him one of the shows longest ...
, pop music presenter Jayne Middlemiss, Olympic athlete Jonathan Edwards and former ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' editor and broadcaster Andrew Neil. The teachers came out on top. The last IQ test in the UK was shown on 27 August 2007, when the studio groups were reality show contestants, clairvoyants, surgeons, removal men, Robinsons, Wallaces and celebrities. In this episode Danny Wallace, a successful writer, made his first appearance as co-host. He replaced Phillip Schofield, who had joined ITV at the time. Experts who joined Dr Colin Cooper on the IQ test panel have included Sylvia Herbert, a director of British Mensa (2002 and 2003) and Baroness Susan Greenfield, scientist and polymath (2004). Although there was usually an end-of-year test in the UK each year around Christmas, there wasn't one at the end of 2006. But at the start of 2007 there was a similar programme broadcast on BBC One called ''Your Country Needs You'', presented by Patrick Kielty, with the same general format.


United States

The American version aired as a two-hour special on Fox TV on 9 June 2003 and on 5 March 2004 as ''Test the Nation 2''. Hosted by Mark L. Walberg and
Leeza Gibbons Leeza Kim Gibbons (born March 26, 1957) is an American talk show host. She is best known as a correspondent and co-host for ''Entertainment Tonight'' (1984–2000) as well as for having her own syndicated daytime talk show, ''Leeza'' (1993– ...
.


Ireland

''Test the Nation: The National IQ Test'' is an
RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), Ireland's public service broadcaster. Its first channel was Telefís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since the 1960s, RTÉ Television has added chan ...
programme, based on the successful BBC concept, ''Test the Nation''. First airing on RTÉ One on 5 June 2006, the show follows the UK format almost identically. In studio, two presenters oversee proceedings, which feature 6 teams of 40 contestants from various sectors of society. Members of the public participate by
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or via the internet. The Macromedia Flash applications used are identical to those used by the BBC. A trial version of the application appeared prior to the first quiz night, featuring 12 questions on a number of topics, including the
Birmingham Six The Birmingham Six were six men from Northern Ireland who were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 following their false convictions for the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and unsatisfactory and q ...
, the former occupants of the Grafton Street site now occupied by
Brown Thomas Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five upmarket department stores in Ireland, with two located in Dublin, and one each in Cork, Galway, and Limerick. Together with Dublin's Arnotts department store, it is owned by the Selfridges G ...
, and which Irish alcohol company
Salvatore Schillaci Salvatore Schillaci (; 1 December 1964 – 18 September 2024), commonly known as Totò Schillaci, was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. During his club career, he p ...
advertised for. This version of ''Test the Nation'' covers the whole island of Ireland as opposed to just the
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
; thus there is overlap between the content of the RTÉ and BBC versions of the show. As opposed to the BBC system of division by nearest city (which let people in Ireland enter if they chose Belfast), RTÉ divide results by historical Irish county. The first show
The show first aired on RTÉ One on 5 June 2006, with Miriam O'Callaghan and Ray D'Arcy overseeing proceedings. As well as historical Irish counties, other questions asked for demographic division included the participants preference for
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or
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, and their support for
Roy Keane Roy Maurice Keane (born 10 August 1971) is an Irish football pundit, former coach, and former professional player. He is best known for his career in the Premier League, in particular his captaincy of Manchester United. He is the joint most ...
or
Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional Manager (association football), football manager, pundit and former Association football, footballer. He was most recently the head coach of Blackpool F.C., Blackpool. McCarthy b ...
during The Saipan Incident. Their in-studio teams were Hairdressers,
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
fans, an extended family from
County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...
, employees of
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, Estate Agents, a collection of people who had done their
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in 1986, and the "RTÉ Allstars", a collection of RTÉ presenters including Eddie Hobbs and Charlie Bird. The show was nominally part of, and the last show in, an RTÉ series ''The Time of Our Lives'', covering the 20 years from 1986 to 2006, during which the Irish economy changed the country unrecognisably. The second show
This aired on 1 January 2007 and was presented by Miriam again but this time Craig Doyle was her co-host. It was a test of the nation's IQ. It was revealed that the county with the highest IQ was
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
. Panelists included Neil Delamere, Cathy Kelly and Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin.


Canada

''Test the Nation'' debuted in Canada 18 March 2007 on the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...
with the episode ''Test the Nation: IQ''. A second episode called ''Test the Nation: Watch Your Language'' was broadcast on 9 September 2007, a third episode aired on 20 January 2008, called ''Test the Nation: Trivia'', and a fourth episode ''Test the Nation: Sports'' aired on Sunday 25 May at 8 pm (8:30 NT) on CBC Television. A fifth episode ''Test the Nation: Canada Eh?'' aired on Sunday 7 September at 8 pm (8:30 NT) on CBC Television. The sixth episode called "Test the Nation IQ" was broadcast on 24 January 2010 and was the second version of the IQ edition. People were tested on their IQ through a test that was designed by Professor James Parker from Trent University and Professor Don Saklofske. Celebrities that had their IQ's tested included
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
, Dragon's Den's W. Brett Wilson and Our Lady Peace's Jeremy Taggart. In an interesting twist, Test the Nation had professional hypnotherapist Donald Currie hypnotize members of each team to see if hypnosis could help them achieve better IQ test scores. 1/3 of the hypnotized group did experience a jump in IQ score of up to 10 points. The Canadian show was hosted by
Wendy Mesley Wendy Mesley is a Canadian television journalist, podcaster, and blogger. She worked for CBC News from 1981 to 2021 in roles including national correspondent at the Quebec Legislature and the Ottawa Parliamentary Bureau. She was the anchor of ' ...
and Brent Bambury for the first five editions, except ''Test the Nation: Sports'', which was hosted by Ron MacLean and
Wendy Mesley Wendy Mesley is a Canadian television journalist, podcaster, and blogger. She worked for CBC News from 1981 to 2021 in roles including national correspondent at the Quebec Legislature and the Ottawa Parliamentary Bureau. She was the anchor of ' ...
. The sixth edition was hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos and Carole MacNeil. In the Canadian version, celebrity guests are selected to represent one of six in-studio teams. The celebrity guests also take the test and the top celebrity's score is revealed on air. ''Test the Nation: Trivia'' featured celebrities: Farley Flex, Debbie Travis, Lorne Cardinal,
Carlo Rota Carlo Dante Rota (born 17 April 1961) is a British-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in '' Little Mosque on the Prairie'' and as systems analyst Morris O'Brian on the Fox series '' 24''. He also co-starred as Emilio Solano in '' Jane the ...
, Samantha Bee and Tricia Helfer. ''Test the Nation: Sports'' celebrity guests are
Paul Coffey Paul Patrick Coffey (born June 1, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for nine teams over 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Known for his speed and scoring prowess, Coffey ranks second all-time ...
, Debra DiGiovanni,
Alan Thicke Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitco ...
, Brian Bailey, Victoria Pratt and Chris Murphy. All of the episodes were written by Kristeen von Hagen & George Westerholm and Edward Kay.


Australia

The Australian version, titled ''Test Australia: The National IQ Test'', was the most viewed television show in Australia in 2002. Versions of the program aired in 2003 and again in 2010.


Italy

The Italian version, titled ''Fratelli di Test'', was aired in Italy in 2007.


Broadcast dates


UK

# ''The National IQ Test'' (11 May 2002) # ''The National 2002 Test'' (23 December 2002) # ''The National Relationship Test'' (22 March 2003) # ''The National IQ Test 2003'' (4 May 2003) # ''The National Quiz'' (6 September 2003) # ''The 2003 Test'' (22 December 2003) # ''The Great British Test'' (20 March 2004) # ''The National IQ Test 2004'' (22 May 2004) # ''The Popular Music Test'' (4 September 2004) # ''The 2004 Test'' (19 December 2004) # ''The Big Entertainment Test'' (12 March 2005) # ''The 20th Century Test'' (4 June 2005) # ''Know Your English Test'' (8 October 2005) # ''The 2005 Test'' (18 December 2005) # ''Know Your Planet Test'' (29 May 2006) # ''The National IQ Test 2006'' (2 September 2006) # ''The National IQ Test 2007'' (27 August 2007)


Canada

# ''Test the Nation: IQ'' (18 March 2007) # ''Test the Nation: Watch Your Language'' (9 September 2007) # ''Test the Nation: Trivia'' (20 January 2008) # ''Test the Nation: Sports'' (25 May 2008) # ''Test the Nation: Canada Eh?'' (7 September 2008) # ''Test the Nation: IQ'' (24 January 2010)


References


External links

* {{UKGameshow, Test_the_Nation
Official BNN site
(in Dutch)
Official RTÉ site

Official Canadian site


2002 British television series debuts BBC television game shows Irish quiz shows