Welsh sports star to appear on Celebrity Mastermind and specialist subject is so apt

A Welsh sporting star who is no stranger to big challenges will be put through his paces in a new series of Celebrity Mastermind.

The new shows, hosted by Clive Myrie, will run cross the festive period with 14 new episodes featuring 56 celebrities taking their place in the iconic black chair under its forbidding quizzing spotlight.

One of those stars, Welsh athlete Iwan Thomas is one of those lining up to be tested on a specialist subject of their choice, and then tackle a variety of general knowledge questions – all in a race against the clock.

And as a former Olympic runner Iwan’s specialist subject couldn’t be more perfect given it’s the Oscar-winning movie Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks in the titular role as the fabled endurance runner.

One of the movie’s famous lines is ‘Run Forrest run!’ so let’s hope the Welshman pushes himself all the way in his heat.

Iwan will feature in episode 7 of the new series to be aired on Tuesday, December 30 at 7.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

He will be competing alongside:

Sophie Aldred – specialist subject Sylvester McCoy
Mobeen Azhar – specialist subject Prince’s Sign o’ the Times album
Ashley James – specialist subject Suffragette activist Lady Constance Lytton

Iwan is no stranger to competing on TV. He has appeared on Celebrity Masterchef, Richard Osman’s House of Games, Pointless Celebrities, and The Weakest Link.

Before his media career, Iwan was one of Britain’s most successful 400m runners. He won an Olympic silver medal (4x400m relay, 1996), World Championship gold (4x400m relay, 1997), and two European Championship golds. He also held the British 400m record (44.36s) for 25 years from 1997 until it was broken in 2022.

He recently published his critically acclaimed autobiography Brutal, which was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Sports Autobiography of the Year.

Iwan discussed the mental and physical challenges of his career and how he maintains focus today when he appeared on Fearne Cotton’s Happy Places podcast.

CELEBRITY MASTERMIND EPISODES AND CONTESTANTS

Episode 1
Maryam Moshiri – The Bridget Jones Films
Chesney Hawkes – The Beatles’ White Album
Desiree Burch – Viola Davis
Danny Robins – The Mandalorian

Episode 2
Sally Ann Matthews – Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Yinka Bokinni – Sharks
Felicity Ward – American band Pixies
Michael Bradley – It’s A Wonderful Life

Episode 3
Gareth Malone – Robert Schumann’s Year of Song
Gamba Cole – The ‘Rush Hour’ Films
Yewande Biala – SZA
Lucy Beaumont – Les Dawson

Episode 4
Will Best – Danny Dyer
Laura Smyth – The Films of Baz Luhrmann
Nikita Kuzmin – Cristiano Ronaldo
Jayne Wisener – Belfast punk pioneer Terri Hooley

Episode 5
Fire from Gladiators – The Music of Lauryn Hill
Matt Edmondson – The History of Board Games
Sonnaz Nooranvary – The Robert Langdon Novels of Dan Brown
Lewis Goodall – US president John Adams

Episode 6
Dean Franklin – The Hangover Films
Chloe Petts – The Vicar of Dibley
Ashley John-Baptiste – American soul singer Donny Hathaway
Robyn Cowen – Original Karate Kid Trilogy

Episode 7
Iwan Thomas – Forrest Gump
Sophie Aldred – Sylvester McCoy
Mobeen Azhar – Prince’s Sign o’ the Times album
Ashley James – Suffragette activist Lady Constance Lytton

Episode 8
Tia Kofi – Doctor Who: The Christopher Eccleston Incarnation
Lauren Patel – La La Land
Josh Jones – Lady Jane Grey
Izzie Balmer – Guinea Pigs

Episode 9
Charlotte Hawkins – André Rieu
Stephen Bailey – Cheryl
Ekow Quartey – Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ Season
Belles Berry – English physician Nicholas Culpeper

Episode 10
Colson Smith – Leeds United under Marcelo Bielsa
Nadia Jae – Marvel’s Avengers Films
Grace Campbell – Robin Williams
Joel Mawhinney – Derren Brown

Episode 11
Alexander Dragonetti – Subterranean London
Janine Harouni – The Toy Story Films
Dame Laura Davies – The Playing Career of Steven Gerrard
Greg McHugh – The Original Indiana Jones Trilogy

Episode 12
JB Gill – The Bad Boys Films
Susie McCabe – Margaret Thatcher
Lucy Shepherd – British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Richie Anderson – Singer Melanie B

Episode 13
James Cracknell – Grigori Rasputin
Jen Brister – Tina Fey
Craig Rowe – Grace Jones
Bradley Riches – Little Shop of Horrors

Episode 14
Stuart Pearce – UK Punk Rock 1976-1979
Gemma Cairney – British artist Pamela Colman Smith
Axel Blake – The History of Marvel Comics
Phil Dunning – Paul O’Grady