Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes Mycroft Holmes is a fictional character appearing in stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is the elder brother (by seven years) of detective Sherlock Holmes. He is described as having abilities of deduction and knowledge exceeding even those of his brother, though their practical use is limited by his poor physique and dislike of fieldwork. The character has been adapted in various pieces of literature and media, including television series, movies, radio, and comics. He is also popular in culture, being mentioned by many works, which mostly reference his job, personality, or his relationship with Sherlock
Brain of Britain a pseudonym, to adjudicate when an answer was imprecise. For many years Ian Gillies fulfilled the role, taking the name "Mycroft" (from Mycroft Holmes, older and wiser brother of Sherlock). After his death in April 2002, the new question setter was Kevin Ashman, who has the distinction of winning both "Brain of Britain" and "Mastermind". He chose to be known as "Jorkins", a character in Dickens' "David Copperfield". From the 2007 series a team of setters was engaged, as is the practice in most other quiz shows. For much of its life the theme music of "Brain of Britain" was