Monday Night Quiz on BBC Two: Mastermind 7.30, Only Connect 8, University Challenge 8.30 — Times, iPlayer and How the Rounds Work

Ninety minutes, three hosts, one black chair. On Monday evenings BBC Two stacks its three hardest quizzes back to back, and plenty of households treat the run as a fixture.

Here's the timetable: Mastermind at 7.30pm, Only Connect at 8pm, University Challenge at 8.30pm, all on BBC Two and all on BBC iPlayer.

What time are Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge on?

Each show is 30 minutes, so the block finishes at 9pm sharp. Nothing else in BBC Two's week packs three quizzes into one evening.

The order never changes within the block. If you only catch the second half hour, you've missed Mastermind but not the Connecting Wall.

The current series of all three began together on Monday 13 July 2026, according to TVmaze's episode lists. First-round University Challenge matches have run every Monday since.

Can I watch them on BBC iPlayer?

Yes, all three. iPlayer streams BBC Two live, and episodes go into each programme's collection once they've aired. That's handy if 7.30pm clashes with dinner: start Mastermind at 8 and you're only half an hour behind.

A TV licence is needed to watch live or on demand, as with anything on iPlayer.

How does Mastermind work?

Each contender takes the chair twice. The first visit is on a specialist subject they've chosen; the second is general knowledge. The highest combined score goes through, and if two players tie, the one with fewer passes wins.

Specialist subjects swing wildly from one heat to the next, from golfers to novelists, which is half the reason people stay for the general knowledge round.

How do the rounds work on Only Connect?

Two teams of three, four rounds. In Connections a team sees up to four clues and has to work out what links them, scoring more the fewer clues it needs.

Sequences is similar, except the team must say what would come fourth. Then comes the Connecting Wall: 16 clues to sort into four groups of four against the clock. It finishes with Missing Vowels, a buzzer round of phrases with the vowels stripped out.

Teams can turn up more than once in a series: the Merseyside Eyes played in July and again in September, going by TVmaze's episode titles. Victoria Coren Mitchell has hosted since the first series in 2008. Team names are half the entertainment, and the BBC's one-line descriptions of them are often the best clue to what a team is into.

How does University Challenge scoring work?

Four students per team. A "starter for ten" goes to whoever buzzes first and answers correctly, worth 10 points; interrupting with a wrong answer costs five.

The team that wins a starter gets three bonus questions worth five points each, conferring allowed. Picture and music rounds break things up, and the higher score at the gong goes through.

Amol Rajan has asked the questions since 2023, taking over from Jeremy Paxman, and the format has barely moved in that time. First-round matches feed a second round, with the highest-scoring losers given a way back through play-offs.

Which one should I watch if I've only got half an hour?

Honest answer from our desk: it depends how you like to play along. University Challenge is the one to shout at, because the starters come thick and fast and you'll get a few.

Only Connect is better with company; the Connecting Wall is a group activity in most living rooms. Mastermind is the most tense of the three, a single chair and a clock with nowhere to hide, and it rewards watching from the start.

For the daytime quizzes on the same Monday, see Pointless at 5.15pm and The Chase at 5pm.

Where can I see who won University Challenge?

BBC iPlayer, once the 8.30pm broadcast ends at 9pm. BBC Two's listings describe each match but don't carry scores, and we don't reproduce questions.

The same goes for Only Connect and Mastermind: the episode itself is the record. Our weekly quiz listings name the teams for the Mondays ahead.

Questions readers ask

Are these shows on BBC One?
No. All three are BBC Two on Monday nights.

What else is on at 7.30pm?
EastEnders on BBC One, Monday to Thursday. Our sister site's EastEnders guide has its iPlayer release time too.

Where are the daily quiz rundowns?
On our Chase page, and every explainer we've written is under UK Quiz Guide.

Sources

• BBC Two England schedule, Monday 14 September
• BBC Two England schedule, Monday 21 September
• TVmaze UK schedule (episode titles cross-check)

By the UK Quiz On Air desk · Updated 22 October, 11.17pm BST