Skip to content

Couple host pub quiz for 'record' 30-year run

Vanessa Pearce,West Midlandsand
John Dalziel,BBC CWR
News imageBBC A smiling Val and Geoff King. She is wearing glasses and a black and white top. He is wearing a white shirt and both are holding their thumbs up in front of them. BBC
Val and Geoff King have run a quiz night at The Longshoot Hotel in Nuneaton since 1996

A couple who have been running a pub quiz at the same venue for 30 years will be holding a celebration, in the belief they have set a UK record.

Val and Geoff King have been hosting their popular Thursday night quiz at The Longshoot Hotel in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, since 1996.

They said it was the longest recorded pub quiz residency hosted by the same duo at a single venue anywhere in the United Kingdom.

But the origins were more modest, with Geoff King saying they set out to create "just a bit of fun".

"There used to be a saying in the pub trade that if you could get a residency of more than 12 months you were doing very well," he added.

Thirty years had "come along very gradually", he said, adding "we just never ever thought it would happen".

The couple from Hinckley in Leicestershire continued running the quiz night from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

"So we kept all the teams happy," Geoff King said.

News imageGeoff King A smiling Val and Geoff King are pictured during a pub quiz. She is wearing a red flowery Christmas dress. He is wearing a colourful hat and a suit jacket with a Father Christmas print. Geoff King
The pair have also raised thousands of pounds for charity

The quizmaster said he had a "pretty good memory" to make sure questions were not repeated, as well as a database of quiz books going back to the 1980s to help with question setting, he explained.

"I don't claim to be the brain of Britain," he stated. "I just wanted to do quiz nights for all age groups and knowledge levels."

News imageGeoff King A crowd of people stand in a pub with Geoff and Val King. He is speaking into a microphone behind a desk with audio mixing equipment onGeoff King
The quiz night is popular, with between 25 and 30 teams taking part

The quiz nights always finish with a joke.

"I've actually got teams that deliberately won't laugh even though the jokes are funny," the quiz master said.

Over the years the event has also helped raise many thousands of pounds for charity, hosting between 25 and 30 teams.

Retirement is not on the cards just yet, though, and nor are there ambitions to compete on TV.

"If I knew everything I'd be on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, I'd win it and I wouldn't do pub quizzes," he said.

"I said that to somebody in the pub last night and she said 'you would still do pub quizzes because you love it'."

A special anniversary quiz night will be held on Thursday 9 April.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

More on this story