Funny / Only Connect

• In the first semi-final of the second series, Victoria is appalled when a team fail to recognise a photo of Doris Day, and gets properly offended when one of them offers the excuse that she was before their time.
  Victoria: Well, she's before my time, thank you very much! These are all... have you heard of Hitler? He was before your time. That's not a reason!
  • What caps it is that she comes back to the subject for the episode closer:
  Victoria: Please join us next time — there'll be plenty more fascinating clues, possibly involving Doris Day, and other things from my generation, like the Gunpowder Plot and Beowulf.
• The following introduction to the episode aired on 8th July 2013:
  Victoria Coren Mitchell: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius. Commander of the Armies of the North. General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife – and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. But first, let's meet the teams.
• In the 2011 Comic Relief special, the Larks (Sir Andrew Motion, Michael Bywater, and Stuart Maconie) have a Connecting Wall quartet comprising "Two", "Peace", "Rabbit ears", and "Up yours" (all meanings for holding up two fingers). When Victoria asks them for the connection, Michael Bywater holds up two fingers in the last of these configurations, prompting Victoria to say, in mock offence, "Do you have an answer, Mr. Bywater!?"
• In Series 9, Episode 5, The Exhibitionists are given a Picture Sequence comprising a gymnastic balance beam, the US state of Maine (abbreviation "ME") and a still from UP... the answer can only be Beam Me Up, Scotty!, which, as Victoria goes on to say, was used in most episodes of Star Trek. Er, hang on...
  Victoria: (sighing heavily) Put your pens down Trekkies; I know it wasn't said on Star Trek, I'm just teasing!
• From Series 9, Episode 12, aka the second semi-final: The Software Engineers guess a random connection to be "Old Maid"...
  Victoria: How dare you?!... Oh, sorry, that was your answer?
• Series 10, Episode 16, when Victoria erupted into giggles and couldn't speak for a moment at the end of the Connecting Wall round. The Bibliophiles had been unable to name the connection between Malik, Tomlinson, Horan and Payne, but had had a few guesses. While reading out the four clues, Victoria had to stop and compose herself before being able to read all the names.
  Bibliophile: Golfers?
  Victoria: I'm afraid not. Now you'll forgive me for laughing. It's just you're so highbrow. You were talking about Terence Malik and Art Malik and Tom Payne, and that's all very brilliant, but these four are the members of One Direction.
  • It was so unexpected, there is even a Buzzfeed article about it.
• Series 10, Episode 26. The Missing Vowels round had the category "vowels". Naturally, three of the clues meant the same thing.
  Next clue: [SC HW]
  Rob Hannah (History Boys): Schwa.
  Victoria: An unstressed vowel.
  Next clue: [MRM RVWL]
  Stephen Pearson (Chessmen): Murmur vowel.
  Victoria: Also known as a schwa.
  Next clue: [NDT RMN TV WL]
  Stephen Pearson (Chessmen): Indeterminate vowel.
  Victoria: Also known as a schwa.
  Next clue: [DP HT HNG]
  Henry Pertinez (Chessmen): Diphthong.
  Victoria: Not a schwa.
• The 2013 Children in Need special had a great moment of Comically Missing the Point from Clive Anderson after a question about the highest UK TV audiences revealed that the most-watched broadcast was the 1966 FIFA World Cup final.
  Clare Balding: What was the figure, do you know?
  Clive Anderson: 4-2 to England.^note  The actual answer: 32.30 million.
• Series 17, Episode 14. Victoria loses her mind over a Sequence which refers to the song "Combine Harvester"
• The 2023 Boxing Day special has Victoria dressed up in a boxer's robe and boxing gloves. 10 minutes in, as one of the teams discuss clues, the camera cuts to her taking a drink — by lifting the glass very awkwardly between her gloved fists.
  • Every time Victoria says a round number, a ring bell is rung, much to her annoyance.
• At the end of the Series 19 finale^note the first series to be held following the removal of measures implemented due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Victoria gives an impassioned speech about how she is finally able to hold a closing ceremony in which she can share "warmth and genuine human contact" by directly handing over the trophy and shaking hands with the winning team ... and then she proceeds to put on a face mask and a single glove before approaching them.

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