Victoria Coren Mitchell has been blasted for a ‘rude’ swipe she made to Only Connect contestants, causing fans to rage ‘she should apologise’.

The quiz show presenter, 52, hosted the third place play-offs on Monday evening’s episode, which saw Cat Cows go against Crunchers.

Only Connect, first broadcast in 2008, consists of a tournament-type format in which teams compete by finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. 

However Victoria opened the show by jokingly introducing the contestants as ‘idiots’ in comparison to the finalists, which didn’t go down well with some viewers. 

She said: ‘98% of viewers don’t even understand the questions on this show, they’re not even sure we’re broadcasting in English. Some people are only watching because their cat is sitting on the remote. 

‘So to finish third in the actual compeтιтion is a towering achievement and the people here are intellectual giants.

Victoria Coren Mitchell has been blasted for a ‘rude’ swipe she made to Only Connect contestants, causing fans to rage ‘she should apologise’ 

The quiz show presenter, 52, hosted the third place play-offs on Monday evening’s episode, which saw Cat Cows go against Crunchers 

However Victoria opened the show by jokingly introducing the contestants as ‘idiots’ in comparison to the finalists, which didn’t go down well with some viewers

‘They’re just idiots compared to the people in the final.’

The host went on to introduce the teams with, ‘And those idiots are…’

Some of the contestants seemed to laugh and smile about Victoria’s joke, while others had a more serious expression.

However, some viewers were not amused by the quip and took to social media with one even calling for the presenter to apologise. 

One posted on X: ‘Bit rude of Victoria Coren Mitchell to call them idiots. Can’t imagine those smiles were real. She should apologise! #OnlyConnect.’;

‘Not many quizzers would laugh at being called idiots. #OnlyConnect.’

It comes after fans were previously baffled when they noticed a bizarre change to Victoria’s appearance halfway through an episode last month.

Victoria returned to screens as she welcomed two teams Too Many Cookes vs the Tea Totallers.

However, some viewers were not amused by the joke and took to social media with one even calling for Victoria to apologise

But as the presenter read out the clues on her cue card her appearance changed just minutes later and eagle-eyed fans noticed.

In the first few moments Victoria was seen with bright red polish on her nails, but when the camera flashed back to her it had been removed.

Fans shared their thoughts on social media, asking if anyone else had noticed the change.

Only Connect airs on BBC Two on Monday nights and is available to stream on iPlayer.