Finalist Loves Mastermind experience

South Staffordshire Mastermind contestant David Love finished third in the final of the famous television quiz.

The 55-year-old from Wombourne said he was pleased to have a "respectable" score in the last edition of the series last night.

Mr Love had previously had a perfect round in his initial heat, scoring an impressive 30 points.

He scored 16 of those with his specialist subject, the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.

For the semi-final, the technical consultant, who works for Birmingham-based Chamberlain Wealth Management, read up on British birds of prey.

Last night, Mr Love's specialist subject was the American songwriter and satirist Tom Lehrer, who was famous for songs such as The Elements, where he set the periodic table of chemical elements to the tune of the Major-General's Song from Pirates of Penzance.

Mr Love's wife Rosemarie, 54, had to put up with her husband playing Vaughan Williams music almost constantly while at home to practise for the quiz.

The heat, the semi-final and the final were all filmed at the BBC's Salford studios last summer.

Mr Love was able to chat with presenter John Humphrys in the green room after the shows were recorded. He said: "The contestants all chatted to each other but we didn't test each other or anything like that before recording. It's quite nerve-wracking and you just want to focus on doing your best. People are a bit chattier afterwards when they're enjoying the hospitality."

Father-of-two Mr Love, of Bumblehole Meadows, said: "I think if you'd asked the Wolves managers Mick McCarthy or Terry Connor if they'd accept finishing third out of 96 people they'd have been delighted.

"I only ever went into it to win a heat and never expected to get to the final.

"I got a respectable score and I'm happy with what I've achieved. I might go for it again, I haven't decided yet."