The 1% Club Makes History As Matthew Lock Claims £99,000 In Biggest-Ever Solo Win

A single answer was all that stood between Matthew Lock and a life-changing £99,000 payday. After narrowly surviving earlier rounds, the contestant stunned his fellow finalists by solving one of the show’s toughest challenges – and walked away with the biggest prize ever secured by a solo player on The 1% Club.

Since its ITV debut in 2022, the quiz show, hosted by comedian Lee Mack, has welcomed only a handful of contestants into its exclusive 1% Club. Now, Matthew has added his name to that small group with a remarkable victory.

How The 1% Club’s Prize Money Works

Every episode begins with 100 contestants, each given £1,000 to compete in a series of questions based on logic and common sense.

The rules are simple, but the stakes rise quickly. Whenever a contestant answers incorrectly or exchanges their money for a pass, their £1,000 is added to the overall prize pot. Players can also choose to leave the competition and keep their original £1,000.

Those who survive all the rounds eventually face the final 1% question, with the opportunity to claim a share of the accumulated prize money – potentially as much as £100,000.

So far, however, nobody has managed to take home the full £100,000.

The record stands at £99,000, a figure that has now been claimed twice. Matthew’s recent victory marks the latest time a contestant has reached that extraordinary total.

Five Finalists Faced One Last Decision

In the episode broadcast last Saturday, Matthew Lock made it through to the notoriously difficult 1% question alongside four other contestants.

But before revealing the final challenge, Lee Mack gave the group a choice: walk away with a guaranteed share of £10,000 or risk everything for the chance to win the entire prize pot.

That meant each finalist could take home £2,000 simply for reaching this stage.

Lee explained the dilemma:

“You win a share of £10,000 [for making it this far]. But now you all face a dilemma. You can choose to leave the show tonight and take your share, which works out at £2,000, or you can risk it all by attempting our 1% question. Get it right and you win your share of everything in the prize pot, which stands at £99,000.”

Despite the considerable risk, all five contestants decided to continue.

The 1% Question That Could Win £99,000

The finalists were then presented with a challenging word puzzle:

“If you remove all the underlined letters from the sentence below, what word can be spelt if you rearrange all of the remaining letters?

ANIMAL TO SHUN IN STAMPEDE.”

They had just 30 seconds to work out the answer.

When the countdown ended, two contestants had failed to submit an answer, while two others were believed to have entered random words.

Matthew, however, had a very different response.

He revealed that his answer was ‘elephant’.

The moment of truth came when Lee confirmed whether he had cracked the puzzle. Matthew had got it right.

Matthew’s Reaction As Lee Reveals The Huge Prize

Lee delivered the announcement that changed the night for Matthew.

“Congratulations, Matthew. You are the winner and get everything in the prize pot.”

He then confirmed the remarkable amount waiting for him:

“You’ve just won £99,000.”

Matthew admitted that he had spotted the answer “straight away”. But recognising the correct word and actually winning such a huge sum of money were two very different things.

He confessed that he was still in shock, particularly because his journey through the competition had not been entirely comfortable. He revealed that he had come close to being eliminated in two earlier rounds.

Despite those near misses, Matthew had survived long enough to deliver the answer that secured him the entire £99,000 prize pot.

Matthew Joins An Exclusive Group Of Winners

Although Matthew’s achievement is remarkable, he is not the first contestant to walk away with £99,000.

Daniel O’Halloran previously claimed the same amount when he appeared on an episode broadcast in 2023. Unlike Matthew’s letter-based challenge, Daniel’s winning 1% question revolved around numbers.

The £99,000 record therefore remains shared by two contestants, while the show’s elusive maximum prize of £100,000 is still waiting to be won.

When To Watch The 1% Club

Hosted by Lee Mack, The 1% Club continues on Saturday nights across ITV, ITVX, STV and STV Player, with episodes starting at 8.30pm.