20 PLAYERS OUT. £98,000 ON THE LINE. AND IT HAPPENED IN UNDER 60 SECONDS. That’s how brutally The 1% Club returned — with host Lee Mack left in total disbelief after a “simple” opening question instantly wiped out one-fifth of the room before the real game had even begun. For a question designed for 90% of players to survive, the collapse was almost unthinkable. One puppet. One arm. One split-second choice. It looked so easy… until the answers locked in and the truth hit hard. Lee could barely hide his shock as the result flashed up, gasping at one of the biggest opening wipeouts the show has ever seen. And with a massive £98,000 prize pot waiting at the end, those 20 players watched their shot at life-changing money vanish before the pressure had even properly started. The brutal part? It wasn’t a hard question. It was a trap your brain walks into without warning — and once you see it, you can’t believe so many missed it

The 1% Club has returned with bang – and wiped out a staggering 20 contestants within the first minute.

Fans were left gobsmacked when the players were quickly eliminated as the popular quiz show returned to ITV for a new run.

Lee Mack returned with The 1% Club on Monday nightCredit: ITV
Fans were stunned by how many people came unstuck on the first question
A whopping 20 people were eliminated immediately

Host Lee Mack was also stunned as one fifth of the contestants lost their place in the game over a very “simple” first question.

Lee had shown a graphic of a person holding the strings of a puppet.

He asked: “In order to move the puppet’s left arm, does the puppeteer need to move their own left hand or right hand?”

As the ’90 per cent question’, 90 out of the 100 players in the audience were expected to get it right.

Future of Lee Mack’s The 1% Club revealed by ITV after three series on air

But a whopping 20 got it wrong. The correct answer was ‘right hand’.

Gasping, Lee exclaimed: “Holy flips! We’ve lost 20 people!”

He added: “I don’t think we’ve ever had such a loud, ‘Oh my God’ on the show before!”

One player who answered incorrectly was a micro pig trainer called Scarlett.

Celebs Go Dating’s James Haskell slammed for having ‘no chat’ at mixer

She told Lee: “I don’t actually know my left and right so it was just close my eyes and guess.”

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, fans of The 1% Club were quick to share their amazement.

One wrote: “20 already?!”

Another added: “Unreal that 20 got that wrong!”

A third said: “Wtf 20 out on the 1st simple question.”

And another chimed in: “They lost 20 people on THAT? What literal Muppets!”

The 1% Club returned to ITV1 on Monday evening.

The episode finished with three contestants correctly answering the 1% question, which won them each a share of the £98,000 prize pot.

This week, four new episodes are running on the channel from Monday to Thursday evening (December 12).

Two 1% Club Christmas specials will also air this month, while Lee will front another episode in support of Soccer Aid.

The 1% Club first hit screens in 2022 and has fast become one of TV’s most popular game shows.

US jet fires on Iranian ship as Trump gives regime a week to reach peace deal

In September, it won Best Quiz Game Show at the National Television Awards for the third year in a row.

It faced stiff competition but still beat The Wheel, Beat The Chasers, Richard Osman’s House of Games, and Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win.

The correct answer to the 90% question was the ‘right hand’Credit: ITV
Lee gasped as 20 players were instantly shut outCredit: ITV
Contestant Scarlett was one of those who answered incorrectly

The 1% Club has returned with bang – and wiped out a staggering 20 contestants within the first minute.

Fans were left gobsmacked when the players were quickly eliminated as the popular quiz show returned to ITV for a new run.

Lee Mack returned with The 1% Club on Monday nightCredit: ITV
Fans were stunned by how many people came unstuck on the first question
A whopping 20 people were eliminated immediately

Host Lee Mack was also stunned as one fifth of the contestants lost their place in the game over a very “simple” first question.

Lee had shown a graphic of a person holding the strings of a puppet.

He asked: “In order to move the puppet’s left arm, does the puppeteer need to move their own left hand or right hand?”

As the ’90 per cent question’, 90 out of the 100 players in the audience were expected to get it right.

Future of Lee Mack’s The 1% Club revealed by ITV after three series on air

But a whopping 20 got it wrong. The correct answer was ‘right hand’.

Gasping, Lee exclaimed: “Holy flips! We’ve lost 20 people!”

He added: “I don’t think we’ve ever had such a loud, ‘Oh my God’ on the show before!”

One player who answered incorrectly was a micro pig trainer called Scarlett.

Celebs Go Dating’s James Haskell slammed for having ‘no chat’ at mixer

She told Lee: “I don’t actually know my left and right so it was just close my eyes and guess.”

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, fans of The 1% Club were quick to share their amazement.

One wrote: “20 already?!”

Another added: “Unreal that 20 got that wrong!”

A third said: “Wtf 20 out on the 1st simple question.”

And another chimed in: “They lost 20 people on THAT? What literal Muppets!”

The 1% Club returned to ITV1 on Monday evening.

The episode finished with three contestants correctly answering the 1% question, which won them each a share of the £98,000 prize pot.

This week, four new episodes are running on the channel from Monday to Thursday evening (December 12).

Two 1% Club Christmas specials will also air this month, while Lee will front another episode in support of Soccer Aid.

The 1% Club first hit screens in 2022 and has fast become one of TV’s most popular game shows.

US jet fires on Iranian ship as Trump gives regime a week to reach peace deal

In September, it won Best Quiz Game Show at the National Television Awards for the third year in a row.

It faced stiff competition but still beat The Wheel, Beat The Chasers, Richard Osman’s House of Games, and Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win.

The correct answer to the 90% question was the ‘right hand’Credit: ITV
Lee gasped as 20 players were instantly shut outCredit: ITV
Contestant Scarlett was one of those who answered incorrectly