C. J. de Mooi
Encyclopedia
Connagh-Joseph de Mooi, known as CJ de Mooi or simply CJ (b. 6 November 1969 ), is a professional quizzer and a panellist on the BBC television
show Eggheads
. Born Joseph Connagh, he took up the name De Mooi when he was modelling; he claims it means "the Handsome man" in Dutch, as he stated on Eggheads, although 'mooi' is actually the Dutch word for 'beautiful’ and is pronounced incorrectly when CJ is introduced and presumably therefore by CJ himself.
and Performing Arts
at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology before embarking upon a modelling
career in Germany which lasted for four and a half years.
has been featured on the show's website, video and led to a 'bad losers show' which he eventually won). He has also appeared on numerous other quiz shows including Fifteen to One
, Countdown
, Beat the Nation
, 100% and No Win, No Fee. He challenged six former professional snooker
players during the 2010 World Snooker Championship to test his snooker knowledge against their knowledge of chosen specialist subjects. He won all but one round, John Parrott
being the only player to get the better of him.
As part of the Cardiff Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Mardi Gras in March 2007, CJ acted as host of a quiz night. He also hosted a quiz at the June 2010 conference of the British Humanist Association
. CJ has written a book entitled How To Win TV Games Shows.
player and in October 2009, he was elected President of the English Chess Federation
.
In September 2010 he was very outspoken as a delegate to the FIDE Presidential Elections. De Mooi described the events, which saw Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
re-elected over Anatoly Karpov
, as "a farce of a vote", going on to declare: "You wouldn't believe the blatant breaking of rules and FIDE's written statutes. It's amazing. There wasn't even a pretence of fairness and free speech." According to De Mooi, Ilyumzhinov, FIDE's president for 15 years, had refused to allow Karpov's supporters to address FIDE's general assembly meeting, but turned off their microphones and carried on speaking himself and ignored legal points raised from the floor, eventually storming off stage with FIDE's ruling board.
raising money for Amnesty International
. He also competed in the 2010 Virgin London Marathon, completing with a time of 3 hours 25 minutes and 44 seconds.
De Mooi is a vegetarian and claims he can speak German. Like his claim to be able to speak Dutch, despite not knowing how to pronounce his own name, this however seems questionable. On an episode of Eggheads he thought the German words 'Zustand' and 'Vorschrift' were made up and not real words, although in fact they mean situation and regulation respectively.
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
show Eggheads
Eggheads
Eggheads is a BBC quiz show created by 12 Yard Productions, first broadcast in 2003, and presented by Dermot Murnaghan. For the 2008 series, Jeremy Vine was brought in to present on nights when Murnaghan was hosting the spinoff series Are You an Egghead? This happened again from October 2009 while...
. Born Joseph Connagh, he took up the name De Mooi when he was modelling; he claims it means "the Handsome man" in Dutch, as he stated on Eggheads, although 'mooi' is actually the Dutch word for 'beautiful’ and is pronounced incorrectly when CJ is introduced and presumably therefore by CJ himself.
Early life
De Mooi studied EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Performing Arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology before embarking upon a modelling
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
career in Germany which lasted for four and a half years.
Quizzer
In 2000, de Mooi applied to several game and quiz shows as a contestant and stood out for being outspoken (his tirade when voted off The Weakest LinkThe Weakest Link
The Weakest Link is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and will end its run in 2012 when its host Anne Robinson ends her contract. The original British version of the show airs around the world on BBC Entertainment...
has been featured on the show's website, video and led to a 'bad losers show' which he eventually won). He has also appeared on numerous other quiz shows including Fifteen to One
Fifteen to One
Fifteen to One was a popular general knowledge quiz show broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 4 January 1988 to 19 December 2003, and had a reputation for being one of the toughest quizzes on TV. Throughout the show's run it was presented and produced by William G. Stewart...
, Countdown
Countdown (game show)
Countdown is a British game show involving word and number puzzles. It is produced by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. It is presented by Jeff Stelling, assisted by Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme to be aired on Channel 4, and over sixty-five...
, Beat the Nation
Beat the Nation
Beat The Nation was a quiz show on the UK commercial channel Channel 4 that ran for just one series and 120 episodes from 5 January to 2 July 2004...
, 100% and No Win, No Fee. He challenged six former professional snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
players during the 2010 World Snooker Championship to test his snooker knowledge against their knowledge of chosen specialist subjects. He won all but one round, John Parrott
John Parrott
John Parrott MBE is an English professional snooker player and TV personality.He won the World Snooker Championship in 1991, defeating Jimmy White in the final. Two years earlier he had lost 3–18 to Steve Davis, the heaviest final defeat in modern times...
being the only player to get the better of him.
As part of the Cardiff Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Mardi Gras in March 2007, CJ acted as host of a quiz night. He also hosted a quiz at the June 2010 conference of the British Humanist Association
British Humanist Association
The British Humanist Association is an organisation of the United Kingdom which promotes Humanism and represents "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs." The BHA is committed to secularism, human rights, democracy, egalitarianism and mutual respect...
. CJ has written a book entitled How To Win TV Games Shows.
Chess
De Mooi was a competitive chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player and in October 2009, he was elected President of the English Chess Federation
English Chess Federation
The English Chess Federation is the governing chess organisation in England and is affiliated to FIDE. The ECF was formed in 2004 and was effectively a re-constitution of the extant governing body, the British Chess Federation , an organisation founded in 1904...
.
In September 2010 he was very outspoken as a delegate to the FIDE Presidential Elections. De Mooi described the events, which saw Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Kalmyk multi-millionaire businessman and politician. He was the President of the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation from 1993 to 2010, and he has been the President of FIDE , the world's pre-eminent international chess organization, since 1995...
re-elected over Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
, as "a farce of a vote", going on to declare: "You wouldn't believe the blatant breaking of rules and FIDE's written statutes. It's amazing. There wasn't even a pretence of fairness and free speech." According to De Mooi, Ilyumzhinov, FIDE's president for 15 years, had refused to allow Karpov's supporters to address FIDE's general assembly meeting, but turned off their microphones and carried on speaking himself and ignored legal points raised from the floor, eventually storming off stage with FIDE's ruling board.
Personal life
'CJ de Mooi' is not de Mooi's birth name: he had it changed by deed poll at age 19 and is quoted as saying 'I no longer wanted to be associated with my family'. De Mooi resides in Wales with his civil partner Andrew. De Mooi competed in the 2009 Flora London MarathonLondon Marathon
The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...
raising money for Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
. He also competed in the 2010 Virgin London Marathon, completing with a time of 3 hours 25 minutes and 44 seconds.
De Mooi is a vegetarian and claims he can speak German. Like his claim to be able to speak Dutch, despite not knowing how to pronounce his own name, this however seems questionable. On an episode of Eggheads he thought the German words 'Zustand' and 'Vorschrift' were made up and not real words, although in fact they mean situation and regulation respectively.