MILLIONS of people tuned in to watch young brainbox Jessica Colderley compete in the BBC TV show Junior Mastermind.

The 11-year-old Bolton School girl answered questions on the Regency period, but failed to win her heat, instead finishing third.

Jessica left quizmaster John Humphrys red-faced with her quick-witted remarks about the Regency period in banter between rounds. Humphrys asked her if she could imagine living in the Regency period, Jessica replied: "I don't really think so, no."

Humphrys added: "Nothing about it at all? You don't fancy yourself in a crinoline dress?" Jessica, who remembered that crinoline only became fashionable in the 1830s, retorted: "No, because that was the Victorian times."