He's already started, and he's already finished.

So where does that leave Scots viewers of the grand final of BBC's Mastermind, hosted by John Humphrys?

The vagaries of our (terrestrial) national broadcaster's regional programming have been well and truly exposed. The Mastermind winner was revealed last night to viewers in England, but not to viewers in Scotland, where the final is scheduled to air at 7.05pm this evening.

In times gone by, this may not have been a big deal. But in the age of social media, the winner will have been known to thousands of subscribers to YouTube, Google, Twitter and Facebook in Scotland as soon as the programme was aired last night. Even before they switch on their tellies tonight, they'll already be aware of who was most proficient in their specialist subject, be it the Falklands conflict, the 19th-century prime minister Lord Palmerston, the Italian noblewoman Caterine Sforza, the Ashes between 1964 and 1981 or the life of ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

The chances are they'll switch to another programme, possibly on another channel, instead.

So our original question should be not where this leaves Scottish viewers, but where this leaves the BBC in the eyes of the Scottish viewer.

Clearly, this is a game of two halves. To borrow the catchphrase of another popular TV contest: nul points.