The answer ruled incorrect was “red, green and blue”, and “red, yellow and blue” was given as the correct answer. What counts as a primary colour depends on the colour system being used.  Red, yellow and blue, which are commonly taught as the primary colours, are the colours associated with painting and colour mixing.  Red, green and blue are the primary colours applied to light.  The question posed in the quiz did not specify the colour system, so either combination of three colours could, in theory, have been accepted as a correct answer (as could cyan, magenta and yellow, the primary colours used in printing).  The ECU noted, however, that the BBC’s guidelines on accuracy are clear that entertainment programmes will not usually be held to the same level of precision as factual output, and that the quiz is a light-hearted element in what is essentially an entertainment programme.  It concluded that, while the question could have been better-phrased, the reference to red, yellow and blue as the correct primary colours was not the kind of error which would significantly mislead the audience when judged in context.

Not upheld