IS there something in the water that makes people from the Bolton area so brainy?

There really must be a reason that so many clever people come from around the town. All I know is that when I’ve been involved in quiz teams, we’ve nearly always been beaten by local people with quite astounding knowledge across the board.

However wild or whacky the subject, they have the answers. And the nationally visible sign of this is that two of the Chasers in the popular daytime ITV game show The Chase – where professional quizzers try to stop contestants from winning money with general knowledge questions – are locals.

Anne Hegerty (nicknamed The Governess) and Jenny Ryan (The Vixen) were both members of the same quiz team playing for the Crown pub in Horwich.

There’s no denying that the quality of the local quiz leagues is particularly high so the teams need to be ever brighter. But, as I say, where did it all start? Answers written in simple language only, please.