BBC Only Connect fans furious as they spot glaring ‘mistake’ upon quiz show return: ‘Standards are SLIPPING!’
The popular BBC show Only Connect made a welcome return to screens on Monday, but fans spotted one crucial mistake in the first few minutes.
The show, once again being fronted by BBC veteran and professional Poker Player, Victoria Coren Mitchell, sees teams compete to find connections between seemingly unrelated clues.
However, the BBC2 show left fans disappointed last night as they spotted a “mistake” within the first couple of minutes.
Turning to address one of the teams, Coren Mitchell asked: “What is the connection between these, apparently random, picture clues?” as a photograph of snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan appeared on the screen.
The next image to appear was of Rocket Raccoon from Marvel Rivals, which prompted the contestants to guess the connection between the two clues was “rocket”.
Victoria informed the team their guess was correct, before unveiling the next two clues: a sketch of Stephenson’s Rocket and a snap of rocket leaves.
However, home viewers were convinced the sketch displayed did not accurately depict Stephenson’s Rocket.
“First mistake on the new series of @BBC #OnlyConnect. This is LOCOMOTION, not Stephenson’s ROCKET” one furious user penned, another added: “Sorry ‘Only Connect’ but Rocket is in fact Locomotion…”.
“Came here to the #OnlyConnect trending comments to see this! I got the answer in two, but if I’d needed a third this would have thrown me,” another viewer added.
Another Only Connect viewer penned: “On the very first question too!”, whilst another didn’t hold back in saying “Standards are slipping”.
Stephen’s Rocket was a locomotive trialed by the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Company to find the best engine for a railway line being built between the two cities.
Fans argue the sketch was not of Stephen’s rocket, which is currently housed at the Locomotion Museum in Shildon.
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#onlyconnect Probably says more about me than anything else, but the picture of Stephenson’s Rocket in round one tonight wasn’t Stephenson’s Rocket. It was Puffing Billy. I shall now go back to looking for my life down the back of the sofa. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/2LNS53nCWQ
— Andy Crawford (@crawfszzz) July 21, 2025
Only Connect debuted back in 2008, and has remained a staple amongst keen game show fanatics.
The BBC Two programme is regularly the channel’s most watched title of the week, usually scheduled between Mastermind and University Challenge, making up part of the channel’s mammoth quiz night.
As well as presenting Only Connect, Coren Mitchell is a professional poker player.
In 2014, she made poker history by becoming the first two-time winner of the European Poker Tour, was the first woman to ever win an event on the European Poker Tour, and the first to win a televised professional tournament.
Earlier in the month, the mother-of-two shared a rare glimpse into her home life with her husband David Michell and their two children.
The Only Connect host has two daughters with the 51-year-old comedian, 10-year-old Barbra and two-year-old June, whom they usually shield from the public eye.
In a rare interview, she revealed her eldest daughter’s most loved TV show is Poirot: “Just like her mother”.
She added her two-year-old: “Loves Bluey – but she doesn’t know it’s a TV show. She just thinks it’s a source of really great plastic dog Weebles.”
In March 2012, Coren announced her engagement to comedian David Mitchell.
The TV duo met at a film premiere in 2007 and had a short-lived series of dates, but only began dating properly in 2010 and later married in 2015.
GB News has contacted the BBC for a comment.