By SALLY JONES FOR THE DAILY MAIL The call came while I was sitting in my daughter’s Oxford study. ‘Congratulations. I’m delighted to tell you that you’ve been selected to appear on Mastermind,’ said the producer. ‘We’ll be in touch soon to finalise dates and your specialist subjects.’ My stomach turned over with a familiar pang — half-excitement, half-terror at the thought of my fourth appearance on the cult show. Why do I keep putting myself through this? It must be the dangerous thrill of that Approaching Menace theme tune, the black leather chair, the blinding spotlights that induce brain‑numbing panic and John Humphrys, trying unsuccessfully to sound avuncular.
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They are the mother and daughter duo who will both be victim to John Humphrey's question on the popular quiz
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Madeline will be one of the show's youngest ever contestants and her mum, Sally, is a seasoned veteran in the quiz arena
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Former sports journalist, Sally, will be tested on John Betjeman’s poetry
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Oxford University student, Madeline, will be taking on the novels of E.M. Forster
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