HE’S triumphed in Blockbusters, and now a health boss is looking for similar success in Mastermind by answering questions on the Black Death.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s director of public health, Dr Tim Allison – who was the first ever single champion of the cult quiz show Blockbusters as a teenager – took his place in the famous big black chair to compete for a place in the grand final. The semi-final will be screened on March 14, at 8pm.

Dr Allison won his place in the semi-final by winning an initial heat in which his specialist subject was The Fiction of CS Lewis.

In the semi-final his subject was The Black Death. Dr Allison said: “I chose The Black Death as my specialist subject because I have an interest in history and it gave me the opportunity to study books on the subject in depth that I had not read before.”