‘What muppets’ cry 1% Club fans as 20 players are immediately wiped out on ‘simple’ first question

The 1% Club has returned with bang - and wiped out a staggering 20 contestants within the first minute.

Fans were left gobsmacked when the players were quickly eliminated as the popular quiz show returned to ITV for a new run.

Host Lee Mack was also stunned as one fifth of the contestants lost their place in the game over a very "simple" first question.

Lee had shown a graphic of a person holding the strings of a puppet.

He asked: "In order to move the puppet's left arm, does the puppeteer need to move their own left hand or right hand?"

As the '90 per cent question', 90 out of the 100 players in the audience were expected to get it right.

But a whopping 20 got it wrong. The correct answer was 'right hand'.

Gasping, Lee exclaimed: "Holy flips! We've lost 20 people!"

He added: "I don't think we've ever had such a loud, 'Oh my God' on the show before!"

One player who answered incorrectly was a micro pig trainer called Scarlett.

She told Lee: "I don't actually know my left and right so it was just close my eyes and guess."

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, fans of The 1% Club were quick to share their amazement.

One wrote: "20 already?!"

Another added: "Unreal that 20 got that wrong!"

A third said: "Wtf 20 out on the 1st simple question."

And another chimed in: "They lost 20 people on THAT? What literal Muppets!"

The 1% Club returned to ITV1 on Monday evening.

The episode finished with three contestants correctly answering the 1% question, which won them each a share of the £98,000 prize pot.

This week, four new episodes are running on the channel from Monday to Thursday evening (December 12).

Two 1% Club Christmas specials will also air this month, while Lee will front another episode in support of Soccer Aid.

The 1% Club first hit screens in 2022 and has fast become one of TV's most popular game shows.

In September, it won Best Quiz Game Show at the National Television Awards for the third year in a row.

It faced stiff competition but still beat The Wheel, Beat The Chasers, Richard Osman’s House of Games, and Ant and Dec’s Limitless Win.