IT’S OFFICIAL – a Basingstoke pub landlord is now a world record breaker after hosting the longest quiz ever, smashing the previous record.

Richard Curtis has raised an incredible £21,000 for a Basingstoke cancer charity during his marathon virtual quiz, which he started at 12noon on Saturday, and finished just after 10pm this evening.

The father-of-three, who is landlord of the Portsmouth Arms, in Hatch Warren, entertained thousands of participants who enjoyed back-to-back 50-question quizzes held live on Facebook, with special guests who joined him on a screen.

Richard’s amazing efforts have generated more than £21k for The Pink Place, which supports those going through cancer treatment.

He is now officially the new Guinness World Record holder for the longest quiz, beating the previous record held by Jason Hinkledire from the USA, who broke the record on April 12, 2014 following a 33-hour and eight-minute quiz in Pennsylvania.

Richard, 30, has been hosting a quiz online every day since lockdown, entertaining nearly 300,000 people who have taken part, and raising more than £40,000 for local charities.

Speaking to the 818 people who were watching live as his quiz came to an end, an emotional Richard said: “We’re done. We’ve beaten it by an hour, we’re done. Thank you to absolutely everybody who has donated.”

Looking like he couldn’t quite believe it, Richard added: “We’ve been doing this every single day since lockdown, we’ve been helping people stay in and stay together.”

He promised to return again on Monday evening at 8pm for his usual quiz, before signing off by saying: “Guys, I need to go to my sofa. You’ve been amazing.”