Pub quiz row in High Court

by Phil Pemberton A friendly quiz night in a Bedford pub is to be settled in the High Court after a contestant accused the quizmaster of cheating. The quizmaster of the King's Arms in Bedford, Tony Barclay, is suing contestant Dave Crane for £15,000, claiming that Crane libelled him after a quarrel over a jackpot question. Crane had used his team's website after the contest to accuse Barclay of "cheating" him out of the quiz's £210 prize. Despite legal warnings from Barclay, Crane had refused to remove the comments. Barclay said: "It saddens me that it has got so far. I've already spent £8,000 on legal bills." The row erupted in December 2002 when quiz teams were asked a final question concerning the names of the first five presenters of the National Lottery draw. Barclay was asked to clarify the question, which he then rephrased to add "regular presenters". This caused Crane's team to change their answer from Noel Edmonds to Philip Schofield. After checking the answers, Barclay said there was no winner and gave the final answer, which included Noel Edmonds, the only point on which Crane's team had been incorrect. The pub's landlord, Sean O'Donnell, a Greene King Pub Partner tenant, said: "The quiz is still doing great business, but we haven't seen Crane or his team since that night.