Victoria Coren Mitchell makes rare statement as New York Times launches copy of Only Connect

On Monday 12 June 2023, a New York Times employee celebrated the launch of a new game she and her team had been working on: ‘Connections’. Immediately people on Twitter reacted and pointed out that the so-called new game is only a copy of BBC 2'sOnly Connect.

Mistakes are made everyday but in this case Only Connect has been on British television since 2008 and it is hugely successful as it has become a ‘bonafide institution’.

In 2021, the show hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell where she encourages ‘teams to make connections between apparently unconnected things’ even had better ratings than the TV establishment EastEnders.

Victoria Coren Mitchell defends Only Connect

Victoria Coren Mitchell is the host of Only Connect since it started airing in 2008 and like the show, she is also an institution. She is known for her quirky, witty and endearing personality.

But Coren Mitchell isn’t just a TV host. She is also a successful poker player. In 2014 she made history as she became the first two-time winner of the European Poker Tour.

Adding to her long list of jobs, she is an established writer. You can read her weekly column in The Telegraph in which she focuses on Entertainment.

Victoria Coren Mitchell, is not afraid of being honest. When she was on TaskMaster, she was cheekily blunt when going against Greg Davies ‘I was constantly pushing back. (...) All I had was a slightly analytical mind, and the opportunity to try and talk myself out of things.’

Usually, her Twitter activity is limited to sharing her column but that changed when she caught wind of the new game the New York Times had launched.

Her ‘analytical mind’ and wit came in handy when she took matters into her own hands. Indeed, a couple of days later she decided to answer the New York Times game creator herself.

In her tweet she writes:

So far Coren Mitchell has not received an answer from the creators of the game but is instead getting support from Only Connect fans.

Read more: Graham Norton reveals details about private wedding with husband Jonathan McLeod

The New York Times' games

The established American publication is not just known for its reporting. In very recent years, in an attempt to stay relevant, they have launched a game section on their website in which they now have over five games.

The games available range from word games like Spelling Bee and number games like Sudoku.

However, in 2022, they made the news with the purchase of the viral gameWordle.

Wordle had been going viral online with players sharing their daily scores in the form of enigmatic green, yellow and grey squares.

While the game was very successful on its own, The New York Times took the decision to purchase it.

Josh Wardle, the creator of Wordle was ‘thrilled’ and sold his game for an ‘undisclosed seven-figure number’.

While Wordle was purchased willingly because Wardle didn’t want it ‘to become a source of stress and anxiety’ for him, Only Connect is a completely different case.

Victoria Coren Mitchell hits the nail on the head with her question: how could they not be aware that their game already existed?

Read more:

⋙ Phillip Schofield: This is the shocking amount he earned for ITV's This Morning

⋙ Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: The alleged feud between the This Morning hosts explained

Sources:

Twitter

BBC: Only Connect

Metro: Only Connect: How BBC’s impossible quiz show became more popular than EastEnders

BBC: Victoria Coren Mitchell makes poker history with double win

Chortle: 'I have no self-esteem... I have no dignity'

Wikipedia: The New York Times

The Guardian: Wordle: New York Times buys viral game for seven-figure sum