Ian Gillies
British quiz player
About Ian Gillies
Lived 1927 – 2002 (aged 74).
Ian Malcolm Gillies (7 December 1927 – 13 April 2002 ), known to many simply as Mycroft from BBC Radio 4's Brain of Britain, was a quiz player and question setter in the United Kingdom. His character name was taken from Arthur Conan Doyle's Mycroft Holmes, the smarter older brother of Sherlock Holmes.
He won the Brain of Britain final in 1964 and later the three-year competition Brain of Brains and the nine-year-final Top Brain.
Educated at the Royal Grammar School Worcester and Jesus College, Oxford, he joined the Royal Air Force before retiring on medical grounds.
He turned question author for the show that he previously won, Brain of Britain. He chaired a single edition of that show in 1972 after the original host, Franklin Engelmann, died mid-series.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Ian Gillies's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Ian Gillies's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Ian Gillies?
British quiz player (1927-2002)
When was Ian Gillies born?
Ian Gillies was born on 7 December 1927.
When did Ian Gillies die?
Ian Gillies died on 13 April 2002.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ian Gillies. https://biography.guide/ian-gillies/
MLA: "Ian Gillies." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ian-gillies/.
Chicago: "Ian Gillies." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ian-gillies/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:05 UTC