Eleanor Ayres, a proofreader from Cambridge, appeared as the first contestant on Series 32 of the UK version of the show on 1 January 2019. She won £125,000 after answering her £500,000 question incorrectly.
She set her safety net on £125,000, so she didn't lose £218,000 like Duncan Bickley and Rob Mitchell, instead she lost £125,000, which is most recently the biggest amount of money ever lost by a female contestant in the UK version of the show, breaking Sheila McHale's record. She is the first contestant in the revival version to correctly answer the 13th question since John Gallantry, along with keeping three lifelines on the 13th question and two on the 14th since Dougie Wilson (though Eleanor had the extra fourth lifeline).
It should be noted that in the adjustable high-risk format as used in the UK, answering one of the last two questions is not usually considered a catastrophic failure unless the second safety net is set at £32,000 or lower.
WWTBAM Run[]
Fastest Finger First[]
| Fastest Finger First Question | |
| Starting with the earliest, put these iconic villains in the order they first appeared in a major film. | |
| ⬥ A: Darth Vader | ⬥ B: Wicked Witch of the West |
| ⬥ C: Cruella De Vil | ⬥ D: Lord Voldemort |
| Of all 6 contestants and they all answered in the correct order (B-C-A-D) Eleanor was the fastest in 3.21 seconds. |
Eleanor's Run to the Million[]
| £100 (1 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which of these is a traditional accompaniment to fish and chips? | |
| ⬥ A: Pulpous broccoli | ⬥ B: Quaggy cabbage |
| ⬥ C: Squishy spinach | ⬥ D: Mushy peas |
| £200 (2 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| In rugby, what is scored when a player grounds the ball behind the opponents' goal line? | |
| ⬥ A: Cry | ⬥ B: Dry |
| ⬥ C: Fry | ⬥ D: Try |
| £300 (3 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| In 2014, Susanna Reid co-presented the first episode of which new television show? | |
| ⬥ A: Good Morning Britain | ⬥ B: Good Afternoon Britain |
| ⬥ C: Good Evening Britain | ⬥ D: Good Night Britain |
| £500 (4 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Formed in 1964, by what name is the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team more commonly known? | |
| ⬥ A: Midnight Hawks | ⬥ B: Black Falcons |
| ⬥ C: Red Arrows | ⬥ D: Blue Angels |
| £1,000 (5 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| What does the letter P stand for in the abbreviation 'SPF', commonly seen on bottles of sunscreen? | |
| ⬥ A: Pool | ⬥ B: Planet |
| ⬥ C: Protection | ⬥ D: Pocket |
| £2,000 (6 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| 'Ol' Blue Eyes' and 'Chairman of the Board' were popular nicknames for which American singer? | |
| ⬥ A: Elvis Presley | ⬥ B: Frank Sinatra |
| ⬥ C: Johnny Cash | ⬥ D: Andy Williams |
| £4,000 (7 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Between July and November 2014, more than 800,000 ceramic red poppies were planted at which London landmark? | |
| ⬥ A: Houses of Parliament | ⬥ B: Trafalgar Square |
| ⬥ C: Tower of London | ⬥ D: Buckingham Palace |
| £8,000 (8 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Where is the Dewey Decimal System most likely to be used? | |
| ⬥ A: Library | ⬥ B: Cloakroom |
| ⬥ C: Greenhouse | ⬥ D: Wine cellar |
| £16,000 (9 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| 'I Don't Know How to Love Him' is a song from which Andrew Lloyd Webber musical? | |
| ⬥ A: Cats | ⬥ B: The Phantom of the Opera |
| ⬥ C: Starlight Express | ⬥ D: Jesus Christ Superstar |
| £32,000 (10 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| In 2015, which artist created a dystopian 'bemusement park' called 'Dismaland'? | |
| ⬥ A: Banksy | ⬥ B: Tracey Emin |
| ⬥ C: David Hockney | ⬥ D: Sarah Lucas |
| £64,000 (11 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| Which of these is a type of arachnid? '50:50' lifeline used | |
| ⬥ A: Mite | ⬥ B: Mantis |
| ⬥ C: Earwig | ⬥ D: Termite |
| £125,000 (12 of 15) - Not Timed Safety net question | |
| In Greek mythology, which goddess was kidnapped by Hades and made queen of the underworld? | |
| ⬥ A: Demeter | ⬥ B: Persephone |
| ⬥ C: Hera | ⬥ D: Athena |
| £250,000 (13 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| A lion is depicted on the national flag of which of these countries? 'Ask the Host' lifeline used | |
| ⬥ A: Moldova | ⬥ B: Albania |
| ⬥ C: Zambia | ⬥ D: Sri Lanka |
| £500,000 (14 of 15) - Not Timed | |
| The Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole on 14th December of which year? 'Ask the Audience' lifeline used | |
| ⬥ A: 1891 | ⬥ B: 1901 |
| ⬥ C: 1911 | ⬥ D: 1921 |
| Ask the Audience Results: A: 29% ⬥ B: 47% ⬥ C: 24% ⬥ D: 0% | |
| Total Prize Money: £125,000 |
Trivia[]
- Eleanor reached the final in the 2021/22 series of Mastermind. Her specialist subject in the final was Eleanor of Aquitaine, with the identity of her spouse being Judith Keppel's million-pound question. Judith gave a video message to Eleanor in her introductory spiel for the final. Eleanor did mention her £125,000 win, yet not her big loss. Her final total was 22 points, coming sixth of six in the final.
- Eleanor took part in Series 20 of Only Connect, as part of the Tea Totallers. Her teammates were Rob Sassoon and Matt Taylor, the latter being the team captain.
| Preceded by Paul MacAulay (Series 31) |
UK Contestant (Series 32) Eleanor Ayres |
Succeeded by Sandra Howe |