A-ha! I'm a Patridge Mastermind

There was a time when Mastermind contestants answered questions on Aztec mythology and the life of Tiberius.

Now the BBC TV quiz, on air since 1972 and once considered the world's toughest, has been condemned for "dumbing down".

The latest series, to end in the autumn, has allowed contestants to answer questions on TV, popular fiction and sports trivia. Among the topics have been Star Trek: The Next Generation, Only Fools And Horses, Dr Who and even trivia about comic creation Alan Partridge.

This week's programme saw television subtitler Andrew Burrows from Shropshire answer 19 questions on comedian Steve Coogan's fictional DJ - and he got only one wrong.

Specialist subjects in this series, relaunched with John Humphrys last year after Magnus Magnusson retired in 1997, would almost certainly have been rejected in the past.

Shadow Culture Secretary Julie Kirkbride condemned a collapse of standards. "I do not really think these sort of subjects are the point of Mastermind," she said. "There are plenty of other quiz shows that can take them on. With all due respect to Alan Partridge, it is a real shame that so much of television has to play to the lowest common denominator rather than keep some sort of intellectual purity."

A spokesman for television standards campaign group licencefee.com said: "This is rubbish being passed off as public service broadcasting.

"It is no longer a serious quiz but dumb entertainment for the cerebrally challenged. The only true intellectual programme left on BBC television is The Sky At Night, and I am sure that will not last when Patrick Moore steps down."

Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: "The very title suggests it should focus on traditional culture and general knowledge. It would certainly help viewers and raise standards all round if there were more questions on traditional subjects."

John Meyer, director of MediaWatch UK, said Mastermind had sold out in a bid to improve ratings. He added: "The BBC wants to make it a more popular programme. The new type of questions reflects that."