A QUIZ showdown took place on Monday as rivals Dave Stedman, from Stotfold, and Geoff Thomas, from Cheshire, battled it out in the Mastermind final. Geoff won the quiz with 36 points while Dave managed to score a joint second place with 24 points. However

A QUIZ showdown took place on Monday as rivals Dave Stedman, from Stotfold, and Geoff Thomas, from Cheshire, battled it out in the Mastermind final.

Geoff won the quiz with 36 points while Dave managed to score a joint second place with 24 points.

However, Dave, 57, had the satisfaction of knowing that he beat Geoff, 70, to win in the final of another famous quiz show, Fifteen to One, in 2003.

The Stotfold finalist, who has been doing quizzes for over 20 years, said: "I was delighted Geoff won it, we were long-term friendly rivals".

As well as appearing on Fifteen to One the quiz expert won the Greene King Pub League for seven years and was also crowned Brain of Britain on BBC Radio 4.

However, he described Mastermind as the ultimate accolade and challenge for any quiz player.

In preparation for the final he studied for two months. He was already accustomed to cameras, but nothing could have prepared him for the famous black chair moment.

He said: "It's very satisfying. Having to do all the studying and see how it pays off makes it all worthwhile."

Dave was asked to nominate three topics for Mastermind. In the first round he chose the life and work of Caravaggio, for the second he answered questions on the life and reign of Edward I and for the final he studied the life and work of Thomas Girtin.

Previous prizes include the Fifteen to One silver ball.

However, Dave proved his passion for quizzes when asked if he would enter money- spinning games like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as he said he had never entered for the prize and that the premium rate phoneline was off-putting.