Mastermind is back with an extended series. This time, 64 hopeful contenders set out to see who can become Mastermind 1986. This 14th season opens tonight at the University of St Andrews when the first four of the contenders from Scotland meet to decide who wins the first place in the semi-finals. David Campbell-Suttie (retired executive) Jazz, 1910-1927

Thomas Kirkpatrick (head chef) The life and work of Auguste Escoffier 1846-1935 Brian Miller (schoolteacher) The history of World Cup football, 1930-1982 Ivor Cooksey (retired company director) Exploration of the Arctic, c 1550-1909

The University of St Andrews is host as four more contenders from Scotland and Northern Ireland do friendly battle in the quest to find

Mastermind's 1986 champion. Michael MacDonald-Cooper (freelance writer) The Jacobite rising of 1745 Struan Case Robertson (retired soldier) Allenby and the Palestine Campaigns 1914-1918

Iain Bradley (schoolteacher) Life and times of Erskine Childers 1870-1922 Michael Chilton (minister of the Gospel) Russian orchestral music 1840-1943

From the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester Tony Ireson (assistant prison governor) Life and works of A. E. Housman

Margaret-Louise O'Keeffe (housewife) Life and works of Michelangelo Buonarroti Philip Fleming (solicitor) History of the USA, 1776-1948

Philip McDonald (schoolmaster) History of Liverpool, 1600-1900

The University of Exeter is host to four contenders from the south and west of England and Wales. In the Great Hall they compete in the challenges for Mastermind 1986. Barrie Brown (officer, Royal Navy) The life and times of Samuel Pepys

Patricia Wharton (postgraduate researcher) Life and works of Hilaire Belloc 1870-1953 Richard Aldous (accountant) British history, 1815-1914 John Bowers (chartered town planner) Geography of Wales

Tonight's four contenders all come from the south and west of England and compete in the Great Hall of the University of Exeter.

Stanley Holbrooke-Jones (vicar) Life and times of Sir Walter Raleigh Peter Chapman (retired naval officer) The works of Albert Camus

Deirdre Borer (teacher) The 'Ramage' novels of Dudley Pope

Gerard Godfrey (accountant) Life and plays of J. M. Synge

with Magnus Magnusson from The Grand Priory Church of the Order of St John, Clerkenwell, London David le Page (schoolteacher) Life and reign of Louis XI of France, 1423-1483 Nigel Oakley (research scientist) The American War of Independence 1775-1781

Janet Williams (civil servant) Life and work of Peter Warlock

Andrew Turek (solicitor) Life and writings of Lord Macaulay

Four contenders from London and the south east seek a place in the semi-finals of Mastermind 1986 in the Grand Priory Church of the Order of St John in Clerkenwell, London. Barry Ramsay (bank official) Life and works of Benjamin Britten

Mary Knox-Johnston (retired dress designer) Life of Perkin Warbeck 1474-99

Albert Bertin (engineer and draughtsman) Life and times of Benito Mussolini Owen Gunnell (schoolteacher) Life and works of Geoffrey Chaucer

The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu provides an imposing setting for four contenders from London and the south of England as they compete for a place in the semi-finals of Mastermind 1986.

Donald Crerar (actor) The plays of Harold Pinter

Michael Anderson (member of Diplomatic Service) British coins from AD 786

Jean Hossain (schoolteacher) Life and career of Benjamin Disraeli

Joseph Hand (legal executive) History of Gibraltar from 8th century

Tonight's four contenders in the quest for the title of Mastermind 1986 all come from London and the south-east. They compete in the surroundings of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Julian Lipton (solicitor) Life and plays of Christopher Marlowe

Bill Fleming (clerical officer) The works of Rabelais

Jane Ennis (unemployed) The operas of Wagner Marcus Taylor (schoolteacher)

Life and times of Edward the Confessor 1016-1066

Four contenders do battle for a place in the semi-finals in the Great Hall of the University of Birmingham. David Winpenny (National Parks Campaign co-ordinator) English architecture 1600-1900

William Tighe (historian) The reign of Elizabeth I of England

Hendy Farquhar-Smith (teacher) The history of Edinburgh 1745-1815 Bill Muir (Inspector of Taxes) The works of Dornford

The University of Birmingham is the host for tonight's four contenders seeking the title of Mastermind 1986. They compete in the surroundings of the Great Hall of the University.

Malcolm Highfield (police officer) The life and works of Ralph Vaughan-Williams Vicki Black (part-time teacher) The Hercule Poirot stories of Agatha Christie Ralph Hawtrey (schoolmaster) The life and works of Plato William Hamill-Keays (chartered engineer) The British Army in the Peninsula, 1808-1813

The London Hospital Medical College in Whitechapel is host to four contenders from London and the south east. Robin Gordon-Walker (government information officer) Labour Government 1964-70

Phillip Clayton (civil servant) Norse mythology

Jennifer Keaveney (careers information officer) Life and works of Elizabeth Gaskell

Douglas Pickett (examinations officer) Life and works of Richard Strauss

Four more contenders do friendly battle for the title of Mastermind 1986 at the London Hospital Medical College in Whitechapel. James McLeod (chartered secretary) History of Albania from 1945 Judith Brooks (educational administrator) History of the RAF 1939-45 Peter Cains (research scientist) Life and works of Monteverdi 1567-1643

Timothy Stewart (translator) Life and works of Dante Alighieri

The Great Hall of the University of Nottingham is the setting as four contenders compete for one of the remaining places in the semi-finals of Mastermind 1986.

Gordon Barnes (gas plant operator) The history and development of firearms 1500-1900

Mary Turner (schoolteacher) Life and career of Laurence Olivier

Sean Howley (RAF technician) The First World War 1914-1918

Fred Singleton (retired university lecturer) The history of the Yugoslavs 1900-1945

Tonight sees the last of the first-round programmes, with four more contenders competing for the last place in this year's semi-finals.

The location is the Great Hall of the University of Nottingham.

David Milnes (solicitor) The history of Nottinghamshire 1066-1939

Vie Bonfiglio (US Air Force) The Spanish Empire in America 1492-1815

Wendy Greene (schoolteacher) The life of Prince Rupert of the Rhine 1619-1682

Roderick Moore (cartographer) Narrow gauge railways of Great Britain from 1863

Tonight Mastermind reaches the semi-final stage when the first four of this year's first-round winners compete for a place in the final.

In the splendid setting of the Nereid Room at the British Museum in London each contender must now take a specialised subject different from the one taken in the first round.

Andrew Turek (solicitor) History of The Netherlands 1565-1715 Ivor Cooksey The physical geography of the USA and Canada Philip McDonald (schoolmaster) Life and work of James Brindley 1716-72

Albert Bertin (engineer and draughtsman) Life of Giuseppe Garibaldi and the Risorgimento

The second place in this year's final is at stake, as a further four first-round winners compete in this semi-final, which takes place in the Nereid Room at the British Museum in London.

Gerard Godfrey (accountant) The life and reign of Henry VIII

Michael Macdonald-Cooper (freelance writer)

The poems of Rudyard Kipling

John Bowers (chartered town planner) The history of the Isle of Man Michael Formby (chartered surveyor) History and architecture of Lincoln Cathedral from 1072

The University of Bradford is host tonight, as four more first-round winners compete in the third semi-final of Mastermind.

William Hamill-Keays (chartered engineer) The Crimean War

Hendy Farquhar-Smith (teacher) Life and works of Sir David Wilkie 1785-1841

Timothy Stewart (translator) Life and works of Beethoven Donald Crerar (actor) European history 1914-1945

The last four outright winners in the first round of this year's competition are in contention for the fourth place in the final. The Great Hall of the University of Bradford is the setting. Sean Howley (RAF technician) Aircraft of the RAF since 1939 Jennifer Keaveney (careers information officer) Life and work of E. Nesbit 1858-1924

Julian Lipton (solicitor) Victorian politics 1830-1870 David Milnes (solicitor) The operas of Mozart

The last semi-final is reserved for the four highest-scoring losers in the whole of the first-round programmes. There have been some tremendously high scores and the competition has been intense. The four who made it now compete for the last place in the final. The location is the University of 1 Bradford.

Jane Ennis (unemployed graduate) The plays of Schiller

Owen Gunnell (schoolteacher)The life a nd reign of King Stephen Malcolm Highfield (police officer) English composers, 1900-1950 Wendy Greene (schoolteacher) The Savoy operas of Gilbert and Sullivan

Magnus Magnusson introduces a closer look at the five contenders who have made it to the Final.

Out of 4,000 applicants, 64 were selected and started to pit their wits and knowledge against the clock and the ordeal of the big black chair. Now these five will compete on Sunday night for the coveted title:

Michael Formby , a chartered surveyor from Aintree; Philip McDonald, a schoolmaster from Liverpool; Henry Farquhar-Smith, a teacher from Stamford;

Jennifer Keaveney, a careers information officer from Canterbury; and the winner of last Sunday's semi-final for the best scoring runners-up

After nearly six months of intense competition during which a new Mastermind scoring record has been set, the five finalists out of the 64 original contenders now seek the coveted title of Mastermind 1986.

In the imposing surroundings of the McEwan Hall at the University of Edinburgh, one of them will receive the specially engraved Caithness glass trophy from the Controller of BBC1,

Michael Grade.

The five contenders are: Michael Formby (chartered surveyor) The history of the Epsom Derby from 1780 Owen Gunnell (schoolteacher) The life and works of Geoffrey Chaucer

Henry Farquhar-Smith (teacher) The history of Edinburgh from 1745

Jennifer Keaveney (careers information officer) The life and works of Elizabeth Gaskell Philip McDonald (schoolmaster) The life and poetry of John Donne