HE'S started but where will he finish? That is the question on the lips of friends and family of a Stourport man who has reached the final of television's Mastermind.

Jim Cook will grace our screens on December 6 in a bid to be crowned Britain's biggest brainbox by answering questions about American Presidents of the 20th century.

The 45-year-old, from Park Crescent, has already stormed through the first round and semi-final of the popular BBC Two programme with his impressive knowledge of US manned space flights from 1961 to 1975 and British Prime Ministers of the 20th century.

The history buff sorted his Tony Blairs from his Stanley Baldwins before millions of viewers last Monday night, totalling 25 points in both rounds.

And now he is knee deep in books about the 18 commanders-in-chief who led America through the last century.

The machine operator said he was quietly confident about the final after his relatively stress-free appearances opposite presenter, John Humphreys.

He added: "Everybody assumes that the spotlight they put on you when you are in the chair is intimidating. It isn't.

"It shuts out everything else and it is just you and John Humphreys, sitting across from one another.

"It can get a bit intimidating when the music starts and you realise there is no way out but, other than that, it is OK."

Mr Cook - who said space travel was a "boyhood fascination" and counts Harry Truman and Winston Churchill as his favourite President and Prime Minister - said preparing for the show was a major task.

He explained: "It can more or less take over your life for six months - you really have to bone up on your specialist subjects.

"The general knowledge section is different. The only way you can acquire general knowledge is by wide reading, by reading the paper and keeping abreast of things and taking an interest in general matters."

The former Stourport High School pupil previously made it to the semi-final of the Discovery Channel version of Mastermind and Channel 4's Fifteen to One quiz and said he was thrilled to make it on to the BBC show, of which he has been a fan for 30 years.

"It was very much an ambition of mine," he added.