IAN BAYLEY is one of the brainiest people in Britain after notching up an impressive array of top intellectual prizes.

The Oxford Brookes University lecturer was crowned Mastermind Champion 2011 after beating tough competition in a final watched by two million viewers.

His feat came just three years after he narrowly missed out by coming runner-up in 2008.

He is also BBC Radio Four’s current Brain of Britain, and coached the Oxford Brookes team to success on University Challenge.

Dr Bayley, a computer science lecturer at the university, said: “General knowledge quizzes have been my main hobby for 15 years.”

He scored 18 points and no passes in his Mastermind specialist subject round, answering questions on paintings in the National Gallery. He also scored 19 in the general knowledge round.

The 36-year-old, from Oxford, said: “I was absolutely driving myself nuts with the revision that I have been doing.

“It feels very good being recognised nationally in this way.

“Two million people watch each episode. It’s very good for television that high-quality quizzes like these are made by the BBC and are still going strong after so many years.”

Dr Bayley admitted that he was nervous. He said: “It was better to accept the nerves rather than spend energy calming myself.

“Entering Mastermind is inevitable if you are good at quizzes, so if you can handle the stress and can think of good specialist subjects, a problem for most people, which delayed me for many years, then of course you go on because it is so important to quizzers.”

Having narrowly missed out on winning in 2008 – Dr Bayley was determined to give it another go.

He said: “I think everybody is competitive. I am lucky to have found an activity where the process of improving your chance of doing well is enjoyable.

“I wouldn’t have put myself through it otherwise, just to have a title. I thought my chance of winning was slightly lower than evens. The turning point was when Paul Steeples, the person most likely to beat me, had the worst specialist subject round.”

Ian studied the National Gallery’s website and detailed guide books to make sure his knowledge was up to scratch.

He said: “I was determined to revise my subject better than anybody else. On the day itself, you don’t improve your chances by being determined or wanting it badly enough.”

He added that he really enjoyed taking part in the competition. “The only advice I would give is to choose a broad subject because it makes the show more entertaining for the viewer.

“You have to spend a very large amount of time on the subject so you should choose something you definitely would like to know everything about.”

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

GENERAL knowledge questions in the Mastermind final:

Which French word is used for a precious stone, usually a diamond set by itself in a ring?

In 2003 Aled Jones was the last guest on which show hosted by Michael Aspel in which an unsuspecting guest is presented with a red book?

Who is the only American president who resigned from office?

Which common spring flower is sometimes called a Lent lily?

In the 2010 World Cup which was the only non European country to reach the semi-finals?

The Avenue Gordon Bennett is situated in which European capital city?

King John is buried in which Midlands cathedral next to a county cricket ground?

The flag of which American state features a Union Jack, possibly reflecting Captain Cook’s voyage there in 1778?