Contestant Sanjay Basu had told Clarkson he was a big fan of rugby before taking on the ITV quiz show's £4,000 question.

On the recent reboot, he was asked which of the four famous British sporting stars had never received a knighthood: Jonny Wilkinson, Steve Redgrave, Chris Hoy or Andy Murray.

Confident in his knowledge, Mr Basu chose tennis star Murray without using any of his four lifelines.

But he was stunned when Clarkson revealed the correct answer was English Rugby Union player Wilkinson, the former England fly-half who famously kicked the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.

The costly blunder saw Mr Basu tumble down to £1,000 and end his hopes of landing a bigger prize.

Reacting to the mistake, Mr Clarkson jokingly branded the contestant "pathetic" for failing to answer a rugby question correctly, despite claiming to be a fan.

He said: "That was pathetic. You're a rugby fan aren't you?" he said as Mr Basu looked apologetic

Before sending him home with his smaller cash prize, Mr Clarkson said: "You don’t get knighted just because you retire."

Wilkinson remains one of England's greatest rugby players and was awarded a CBE after his glittering career, but has never been knighted.