From questions about urea to Jeremy Paxman’s lingering legacy, it was a showdown to challenge Oxbridge bias. Alex Radcliffe, captain of Durham’s 2023 winning team, sizes up this year’s final
This series on University Challenge, we have a new intro, a new set, and most importantly a new host. While Jeremy Paxman left some awfully large shoes to fill, Amol Rajan has stepped skilfully into the role, his tone somewhat softer but his great enthusiasm shining through. Possibly most notably in his quote, “I can’t accept drum’n’bass – we need jungle, I’m afraid,” which went viral on X and has been sampled and remixed into an incredible number of jungle tracks.
As ever, the series began with about 120 teams from all across the country auditioning for the chance to show their mettle. The producers whittled this down to just 28 universities. After 36 tightly fought matches, two remained to battle it out: University College London, captained by Tayana Sawh, and Imperial College London, captained by Suraiya Haddad. They’d each made it here undefeated despite fierce competition, and aced questions on topics from Korean mythology to cellular automata, from the plays of Arthur Miller to the music of Kendrick Lamar. The incredible strength of both teams made it impossible to call who would win in advance, and all we could be sure of was that the trophy was on its way to London, one way or the other. The desks of the new set (which are finally free of Covid screens!) were as ever adorned with the teams’ mascots: UCL’s stuffed Jeremy Bentham doll (though they have wisely elected to leave his actual preserved remains at UCL) and Imperial’s stuffed otter (called Carole Otter), which has gained new accessories throughout the season, including bells and a cape.
