Watch actor Mark Benton win almost £10,000 on The Celebrity Weakest Link - and donate it all to the ultimate heavy metal charity, The Heavy Metal Truants

By Merlin Alderslade
( Metal Hammer )
published

Over £9,000 will now be going to some great children's causes via the power of heavy metal - and some intense general knowledge skills

Mark Benton
(Image credit: Getty Images / Heavy Metal Truants)

On Saturday night (March 2) at 7.50pm, the latest episode of iconic BBC game show The Weakest Link aired, featuring no fewer than eight celebrities duking it out via their finest general knowledge skills to win a big wad of money for a charity of their choice. Amongst the contestants on the episode were Eastenders actress Jo Joyner, TV presenter Jenny Powell, Emmerdale's Natalie Anderson and The Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner.

It was actor and metal/prog superfan Mark Benton, however, star of the likes of Early Doors, Waterloo Road and Barbara, who ended up walking away with the prize - an impressive £9,400 pot. He bested Natalie in the final, 'sudden death' round, correctly answering that David Mitchell is the name of both the author of acclaimed 2004 sci-fi novel Cloud Atlas and the British actor who made his name in Peep Show.

Mark revealed that the charity of choice that his winnings would be going to is none other than the Heavy Metal Truants, the cycling charity group spearheaded by Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood and former Metal Hammer Editor-In-Chief Alexander Milas, who raise money for children's charities Nordoff & Robbins, Childline, Teenage Cancer Trust and Save The Children. Or, as Mark himself put it after his win, "a bunch of rock stars and journalists that do lots of events for children's charities."

Watch Mark dedicate his winnings below, and watch the whole latest episode of The Weakest Link via BBC iPlayer. To find out more about the Heavy Metal Truants and the great work they do, head to their official website. 

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin moved into his role as Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has previously written for the likes of Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.