More than you ever wanted to know about the UK's longest-running quiz show
University Challenge musical returns
It's not often I get to post University Challenge theatre news, but after its initial run in Bristol last year, the musical Starter for Ten will be running in Bristol and Birmingham later this year.
Student series
The 2024-5 student series was won by Christ's College, Cambridge who triumphed over Warwick in one of the closest finals in the show's 63-year history. Congratulations to both teams for superb buzzing throughout.
Christmas series
The now traditional series of Christmas University Challenge ran over the Christmas period with Durham beating Queens', Cambridge in the final.
New presenter
The 2022-23 student series was Jeremy Paxman's 29th and final series in charge. Series 53 of the show, which began in 2023, introduced the new host Amol Rajan. Here's an article from The Independent on those that were initially rumoured to be taking over.
Help needed
Can you help track down more fixtures and results from the Bamber Gascoigne series? Click on a row in the table below:
| Series | Start | End | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21/09/1962 | 26/11/1963 | Leicester |
| 2 | 03/12/1963 | 26/05/1965 | New, Oxford |
| 3 | 25/08/1965 | 08/06/1966 | Oriel, Oxford |
| 4 | 07/09/1966 | 03/06/1967 | Sussex |
| 5 | 27/09/1967 | 24/07/1968 | Keele |
| 6 | 02/08/1968 | 13/07/1969 | Sussex |
| 7 | 20/07/1969 | 30/08/1970 | Churchill, Cambridge |
| 8 | 25/10/1970 | 01/08/1971 | Sidney Sussex, Cambridge |
| 9 | 17/10/1971 | 23/07/1972 | University, Oxford |
| 10 | 25/10/1972 | 05/09/1973 | Fitzwilliam, Cambridge |
| 11 | 31/10/1973 | 02/10/1974 | Trinity, Cambridge |
| 12 | 18/11/1974 | 31/10/1975 | Keble, Oxford |
| 13 | 07/11/1975 | 10/12/1976? | University, Oxford |
| 14 | 17/12/1976? | 31/10/1977 | Durham |
| 15 | 07/11/1977 | 20/11/1978 | Sidney Sussex, Cambridge |
| 16 | 27/11/1978 | 11/02/1980 | Bradford |
| 17 | 18/02/1980 | 08/12/1980 | Merton, Oxford |
| 18 | 15/12/1980 | 07/12/1981 | Queen's, Belfast |
| 19 | 14/12/1981 | 23/01/1983 | St Andrews |
| 20 | 30/01/1983 | 18/12/1983 | Dundee |
| 21 | 20/01/1984 | 21/12/1984 | Open |
| 22 | 07/04/1986 | 30/05/1986 | Jesus, Oxford |
| 23 | 13/07/1987 | 04/09/1987 | Keble, Oxford |
Do email me (if this fails then try smb1001 at gmail) if you can fill in any of the many gaps, although it is inevitable that many of the fixtures and results are now lost as Granada only has a handful of recordings from the series before 1980.
Record low
The ninth game of the quarter finals smashed a record when Emmanuel, Cambridge pipped King's, London by 85 points to 80, beating the lowest ever winning score by a huge 30 points. The previous lowest winning score was 115 achieved in Bristol's quarter-final victory over Darwin, Cambridge in 2019, later equalled by St John's, Oxford in 2020. It didn't take the title of lowest combined points for a show, which is still 155 for Wolfson, Cambridge vs St John's, Oxford (40-115) in the 1st round in 2020.
For comparison, the highest losing score of the Paxman era is Clare, Cambridge's 250 in the 2012 Quarter Final.
Bamber Gascoigne, 24 January 1935 – 8 February 2022
I was incredibly sad to learn of the passing of the man who will forever be associated with University Challenge. His erudition and charm were the reason that the show became the British institution that it now is, and he will be sadly missed by the thousands of contestants who appeared on the show under his care as well as millions more at home who remember his firm but scrupulously fair stewardship.
Children in Need
You can rewatch the Children in Need special on iPlayer.
Record low
Episode five of the 2019-20 series was record-breaking for all the wrong reasons. With St John's, Oxford beating Wolfson, Cambridge by 115 points to 40, it smashed the (Paxman-era) record for the lowest number of points in a game by 55 points. The previous low was 210 points, achieved in both the 2005 and 2018 series. It also tied the record for the lowest winning score.
Record breaker
The 2018-19 series took Jeremy Paxman past Bamber Gascoigne's total of 970 shows as presenter (or 971 if the 1992 Granadaland special is added). The game between Clare, Cambridge and St Edmund Hall, Oxford on 10 December 2018 was the 971st that he has chaired, consisting of (up to then) 802 regular student shows, 61 Professionals, 81 Christmas, 18 Reunited, and 9 Specials.
Retrospectives
I've recently added a page of links to articles by institutions reminiscing on their appearances over the years. If you're compiling one then start by taking a look at the series appearance tables (1962-87, and 1994-).
Team photos
Someone was kind enough to send me a picture of Durham's 1977 winning team. Only two series champions left without pictures!
