Contestant at the centre of 1% Club ‘scandal’ denies cheating as show spokesman says row is ‘conspiracy theory and there are no grounds for suspicion’

The contestant at the center of the 1% Club ‘scandal’ has denied cheating, as the show’s spokesperson says the feud is just a ‘conspiracy theory and there is no reason for suspicion’.

Jason Duckett, 36, who appeared on the ITV quiz show with his wife Rowena, was forced to hit back at claims he cheated following an outcry from fans.

Viewers saw Jason rubbing his earlobes, in a clear signal to his wife that the answer was – which was indeed ‘ear’ and ‘hear’.

But the contestant quickly denied the suspicions, saying he “hadn’t thought about the trick” and there was no need to cheat because they were already out.

He told The sun: ‘I almost admire someone’s creativity to come up with that, because I hadn’t thought of that before.

Jason Duckett, 36, (left), who appeared on the ITV quiz with his wife Rowena, was forced to hit back at claims he cheated after fan outcry

Viewers saw Jason rubbing his earlobes to give his wife the answer – which was indeed ‘ear’ and ‘hear’

‘There was nothing to gain for either of us. We were both gone. All I did was to calm myself down a little.

“If you turn it, you could say my arms are crossed. Was the answer damage and poor?’

After claims sparked an investigation into the cheating, the 1% Club confirmed that Jason and Rowena were actually eliminated the moment he touched his ear.

And the show further added that there were “no grounds for suspicion” regarding the allegations, labeling them as “conspiracy theories.”

A spokesperson said: ‘Any game show worth its salt attracts conspiracy theories. But fortunately the initial investigation quickly showed that there was no reason for suspicion.’

Some viewers claimed the move was a ‘bit naughty’, while others called it outright ‘cheating’.

The show tests the intelligence, common sense and logic of 100 members of the public with questions that increase in order of difficulty depending on what proportion of the wider audience can answer them: 90 percent, 80 percent, up to one percent.

During Saturday’s show, viewers quickly noticed the possible cheat and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share what they saw.

The comments read: “Did anyone else notice that this guy gave away the answer when he touched both of his ears?”

But after claims sparked an investigation into the cheating, the show confirmed that Jason and Rowena were actually eliminated the moment he touched his ear.

During Saturday’s show, viewers quickly noticed the possible cheat and took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share what they saw

‘Ear ear. . . I think there was a little bit of cheating in 1% Club.”

“A bit naughty of Mr. Duckett to rub his ear.”

It comes after Lee previously spoke out about cancel culture, saying no joke on any subject should be banned as long as it’s funny enough.

The Not Going Out star said the golden rule should be that the joke should be funny rather than shocking.

But he said that while that means everything is fair in principle, in practice some topics are so sensitive that no comedian will come up with a funny enough joke.

Mack – who still writes the long-running BBC sitcom Not Going Out but now rarely does stand-up – also said too often now jokes are judged without looking at the intention behind them.

He said: ‘Basically there’s nothing you can’t joke about, nothing. But for me, the joke has to be funnier than it is shocking. So the more shocking the subject, the better the joke must be.

“And there are topics that are so shocking that no one is good enough to come up with a joke that’s funnier than shocking.”

“So in principle you can joke about anything, but in practice you can’t because no one is that good.”