University Challenge Quiz

University Challenge: A Summary

• University Challenge is a British television quiz programme that first aired in 1962.

• It was hosted by Bamber Gascoigne on ITV from 1962 to 1987 and then revived by the BBC in 1994, hosted by Jeremy Paxman.

• The current title holders are Imperial College London, who won the 51st series in 2022.

• The show is produced by the same company, originally named Granada Television, now Lifted Entertainment, under license from Richard Reid Productions and the College Bowl Company.

• The show has always maintained a high level of continuity despite changes to sets, studio layout, and presentation.

• The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge could each enter up to five of their constituent colleges as separate teams.

• Postgraduate and mature students have been criticized for their participation in the show.

• In 2009, a team was disqualified for having an ineligible contestant who was no longer a student.

• The show's format consists of four-member teams representing a single university.

• The tournament structure is a direct knockout tournament starting with 28 teams.

• The show's question format consists of starter questions, bonus questions, picture rounds, and music rounds.

• Notable contestants in the regular student competition include entertainers, authors, politicians, and journalists.Key Facts about University Challenge

• The lowest score officially achieved against eligible opponents under quizmaster Jeremy Paxman was by Lincoln College, Oxford, who totalled 30 in a semi-final against the University of Manchester, in an episode televised on 9 February 2009.

• The lowest score during the Professionals series was achieved by the House of Commons team, who scored 25 in 2003.

• An all-time record low score for the series was achieved in the final of the 2017 Christmas series, when Keble College, Oxford, beat the University of Reading 240–0.

• University College, Oxford, scored 520 points in the final ITV season in 1987.

• The team from Open University scored the highest score, 415, in the semi-final in 1997 against Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School.

• University Challenge Reunited (2002) brought former teams back together, while University Challenge: The Professionals (from 2003) matched occupational groups such as civil servants, architects and doctors against each other.

• The show has seen numerous specials, including those for specific professions and celebrity editions.

• Sixth Form Challenge, hosted by Chris Kelly, appeared briefly between 1965 and 1967.

• Challenging Times was a quiz show for teams representing higher education institutes in Ireland, televised by RTÉ from 1991 to 2001.

• University Challenge ran in New Zealand for 14 seasons, from 1976 until 1989.

• University Challenge, hosted by Magnus Clarke, ran in Australia on the ABC from 1987 until 1989.

• University Challenge India started in summer 2003.