Following a tough string of questions that would leave even Britain’s brightest stumped, 10-year-old Rhea was eventually crowned the victor of the quiz competition, though some viewers noted that her “pushy” mum may have been responsible for the victory.
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Rhea, from west London, spelt the word eleemosynary, to defeat nine-year-old Saffy in last night’s final hosted by the television presenter Richard Osman.
In her specialist subject round of Florence Nightingale’s influence on military and healthcare reform, Rhea answered Dr Duncan Menzies to the question, “To which medical officer did Florence Nightingale report to in the Crimea?” which wasn’t what quizmaster Richard Osman had on his card.
In the first part of the show, Meadowcroft Primary pupil Saffy answered questions about her specialist subject – Margaret Thatcher.
She clinched her final spot when her mother Sonal – who gave up her job as an obstetrician to help educate Rhea – intervened in a previous round.
It meant that Rhea avoided a tie-break with Birmingham-born Stephen, who was ranked third, with Saffy and Rhea securing their place in the final. She claimed the title by correctly spelling the word “eleemosynary”, meaning relating to charity, at the end of four weeks of tough question rounds. “It just feels really, really great”, Rhea said after her win.
Another said: “Rhea’s mum is mental”.
Twitter user Sher wrote: “There’s always one pushy parent who wants the trophy”.
Many accused them of getting too involved with comments on social media including: “Rhea is such a smart young lady but her mother is shocking!”
Charlotte Pullar @charlielydiaxo added: “Rhea’s parents are ridiculously pushy, poor kid”. “Rhea’s mum over the top”.
The victor of Channel 4’s ‘Child Genius’ was revealed in Tuesday night’s (2 August) exciting final… but some viewers have called the result into question.
Pint-sized mastermind Rhea showed jaw-dropping intelligence to get her hands on the trophy – but viewers were left appalled by her mum’s competitive and “swindling” behaviour.
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Other viewers rallied to the defence of the family, who moved to Britain from the U.S. six years ago. “They were all amazing”.
