‘I wish I hadn’t done it’: Tearful 11-year-old girl QUITS gruelling Child Genius contest after scoring just one point in the spelling test (while her twin brother almost gets top marks)
- Channel 4 show Child Genius returned to screens last night at 9pm
- Series sees Britain’s brightest children compete to be named the cleverest child
- Melissa, 11, cried into her mother’s arms before quitting the competition
In the hunt for Britain’s brightest youngsters, one candidate tearfully quit the competition as she managed to score just one point – while her twin brother got perfect marks.
The first episode of the new series of Child Genius saw contestant Melissa, 11, from Birmingham, score just one point in the spelling round.
The little girl broke down in her mother’s arms and decided to quit the competition, which is designed for eight to 12-year-olds, during last night’s episode.
Her twin brother Michael, meanwhile, took to the podium immediately before Melissa to gain a perfect score in the Channel 4 quiz show.
The 19 contestants taking part in the show, which aims to find the brightest child genius in the country, have been whittled down from hundreds who applied.
Kaja comforted her daughter Melissa, who was one of 19 contestants competing to be named Brighton’s brightest child
Melissa, 11, was left in tears after she struggled with the spelling round of the competition, managing a score of 1 out of a possible 10
Melissa’s twin brother Michael, pictured, was able to read by himself by the age of two and received a lifetime membership to Mensa for his incredible IQ of 151
Presenter Richard Osman started off the programme reminding the children that only one person could win.
He told them: ‘That will mean the rest of you are not going to win. And that’s life.’
Competitors took part in two challenges, beginning with a spelling test, including 11-year-old twins Michael and Melissa who were entered into the competition by their proud mum Kaja.
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Kaja said: ‘Melissa is very very bright indeed. Michael is on a different plane.’
The twins went head to head for the first time in front of a packed audience, with Michael confidently saying: ‘I think I could win this, watch me’.
Michael was able to read by himself by the age of two and received a lifetime membership to Mensa for his incredible IQ of 151.
Mother Kaja, who entered both her children into the competition, described Melissa as ‘very,very bright’ and her son Michael ‘as on a different plain’ of intelligence
A valiant effort: Melissa was able to spell orgulous, but struggled to spell any of her other words, including enneagram and popliteal
Melissa’s twin brother, Michael, pictured, got full marks and was top of the leader board after the first round of Child Genius
Melissa’s IQ remains untested, however the youngster has already gained a scholarship to a prestigious school.
The little girl admitted:’I’m quite nervous about competing with him. If I go out before him I’d be really happy for him. But I really want to win.’
‘I want to do my best in the competition and bring out my potential and not just my brothers,’ she added.
The twins took part in the first round of the competition, which involved spelling aloud ten words in front of an audience.
Melissa (pictured at home before the show started filming) hasn’t had her IQ tested, but has gained a scholarship to a prestigious school
Michael, who taught himself to read at two years old and has an IQ of 151, is confident he can win the programme (pictured at home playing chess with his twin sister)
Children were asked to spell words including prosopagnosia, vraisemblance and averrunciation.
With his sister nervously watching from the sidelines, Michael was able to spell all ten of the words he was given, including lorgnette, hirsute and gemeinschaft.
Melissa was able to spell orgulous, but struggled to spell any of her other words, including enneagram and popliteal.
As her brother mouthed ‘well done’ at her, she rushed off stage, and was greeted by her mother who took the tearful girl into her arms as she sobbed: ‘I wish I hadn’t done it.’
Melissa watched her brother compete, along with the other 17 children, before taking to to the podium herself. However it wasn’t long before she fled the hall in tears
Michael at the podium just minutes before his sister took the stage. The 11 year old boy didn’t fumble on his words, and was one of three children who scored a perfect 10 in the first round
Melissa started off the round confident, but it was clear as time went on that her confidence was wavering and she later made the difficult decision to quit the competition entirely
The tearful twin told her mother ‘I wish I hadn’t done it’, before bursting into tears backstage. Kaja reminded Melissa of how well she’d done, and comforted her by reminding her how proud she was of her
Kaja comforted her daughter, saying: ‘Do you know why you did brilliantly? Because you went up there. You were brave enough. Well done.’
Afterwards, quizmaster Olivia van der Werff checked in with the young competitor, and Melissa said she had decided not to continue with the rest of the contest.
Her brother Michael went on to compete in the second round of the competition, a memory test, where he scored a strong nine out of 10 points.
Child Genius continues on Channel 4, 8pm next Monday and is available on All4
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