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SPOTLIGHT: Michael Burton

A CONTESTANT who achieved the joint worst score in the history of BBC’s Mastermind says he is enjoying the publicity his poor performance has generated.

Michael Burton who appeared on the BBC2 show recently, got only seven points in the general knowledge quiz show, despite claiming that the topic, angels, was his specialist subject.

“I knew what the lowest score was going to be and I knew if I got a low sets of scores that was what was going to get me noticed and I was going to get adverse publicity,” he explained.

Burton, a gas technician from Peckham in south London, admits to being “publicity hungry” and said that it was part of his plan to propel himself into the media spotlight.

“I knew what I was walking into and what the repercussions were. No one would talk about you if you only got an average set of scores,” he said.

Burton’s disastrous performance on the show made headlines, but some newspapers have also delved into his personal life, revealing that the 45-year-old has seven children born to six mothers.

“Once you go into the media spotlight, I’ve seen a lot worse… I’ve been on some n***er hating websites,” he said.

Despite the negative attention, Burton has not been deterred in his quest for publicity and wants to pursue a career in television and radio.

“It doesn’t matter because people form their own opinion,” he said.

Burton says he has been invited back on to the show to prove that he does have good general knowledge.

“I spoke to the producer and they have invited me back,” he said.

He says has also been offered some TV work and is hoping to be a household name in 2010.

“I have a few low-budget proposals to look at. I worked with Ant and Dec on a few things recently and I have worked with BBC3,” he said.

Published: 30 November 2009
Issue: 1400

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