Classics teacher is Taylor Swift 'Mastermind'

A classics teacher who chose pop star Taylor Swift as her specialist subject on BBC quiz show Mastermind said she felt a "jolt of worry" knowing her pupils would be watching.

Aine McMenamin, 26, made it through to the semi-finals in Monday's episode and hopes to be crowned Mastermind champion, to take home the coveted glass bowl prize.

The Taylor Swift fan, who lives and works in Norwich but is originally from London, said she had been setting her own homework on the US singer in an effort to score top marks.

"I was watching the Eras tour film, listening to all her lyrics and making notes about her biographies," said Ms McMenamin.

"When I told people I chose Taylor Swift as my subject, a lot of them were surprised because of my job.

"I really wanted to pick something different from classics, so I could have something different going on."

Ms McMenamin, who has taught at Norwich High School for Girls for three years, said the atmosphere in the TV studio during recording was "nerve-wracking".

She said it evoked childhood memories of her watching questions being fired at contestants in the show's iconic black leather chair, which led her to once call the programme "The Scary Chair Show".

While a question aptly about Swift's hit song Mastermind threatened to throw Ms McMenamin off course, she correctly answered it to score a total of 19 points.

Her quiz show appearance showed off her in-depth knowledge of the top-selling singer-songwriter, who often focuses on autobiographical tales - with Ms McMenamin saying she admired her "beautiful lyricism".

The teacher, who runs a school general knowledge club, said she was relieved after answering a classics-based question in the show's general knowledge section, to save any embarrassment back in the classroom.

"When they asked the question about the Greek word, I felt a jolt of worry that I was going to get it wrong, but I was able to work it out from [host Clive Myrie] saying the etymology of the word," said Ms McMenamin.

"He said 'only' and 'name', and I knew them in Greek so I was able to answer."

The quiz show fan, who has previously appeared on University Challenge, is on half term holiday in Spain, but said she had been "blown away" to be contacted by colleagues and students after her winning performance.

She said while she could not reveal her specialist subject for the semi-final, it would be something "more high brow".

Ms McMenamin is one of 96 contestants to appear in the latest series of Mastermind, which has run for 52 years and been hosted by news presenter Clive Myrie since 2021.

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