University Challenge 2023–24

The 53rd series of the quiz show University Challenge began on 17 July 2023 on BBC Two,^[1] and ended with the final on 8 April 2024,^[2] when Imperial College London triumphed for a record-breaking fifth time. This was the first series to be hosted by Amol Rajan, who succeeded Jeremy Paxman. Rajan's presenting style, more energetic and less austere than his predecessor, garnered positive reception from critics and viewers.

Background[edit]

In the quiz show, two teams of four compete on the buzzer to answer a "starter" question, earning ten points for a correct answer and losing five points if interrupting with a wrong answer before the question is finished. Three "bonus" questions are given to the winning team, on which they can confer. Question writers are on hand to rule on the correctness of answers.^[3] As in the first episode of the 53rd series, a draw leads to a single tie-breaker question on the buzzer.^[4] The competition is open to all universities and university colleges in the UK, of which 120 applied and 28 made the televised rounds this series.^[5] Teams often bring mascots.^[6][3][7]

The 53rd series was the first to be presented by the BBC journalist and presenter Amol Rajan, the third host in the programme's 60-year tenure. He succeeded Jeremy Paxman, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, after 29 years as host.^[8] The series had a new set and opening sequence, but maintained its theme tune and announcements by Roger Tilling.^[9] Rajan adopted a more relaxed and enthusiastic persona than Paxman,^[7][10] praising impressive answers while sometimes mocking poor answers.^[11][10] He maintained a number of traditional phrases, such as "Fingers on buzzers – here's your first starter for 10".^[12] Rajan had appeared as a contestant in the Christmas series in 2020 and reported having watched the series for years.^[8][13]

The 53rd series began on 17 July 2023 and aired on BBC Two in the Monday 8:30 p.m. timeslot,^[8][4] following the quiz shows Mastermind and Only Connect.^[3] It was produced by Lifted Entertainment, a division of ITV Studios.^[14] Episodes were filmed in MediaCityUK, Salford, without a studio audience.^[15]

Results[edit]

Northeastern University – London debuted in the competition, losing to York.^[16]

The final matched up two undefeated teams, from Imperial College London and University College London (UCL). With their win, Imperial became the institution with the highest number of series wins: five.^[5][7] Tom Stoppard joined for a ceremony in the final to mark the winners.^[7]

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated (as they were not one of the highest scoring losers).
• Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round.
• Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won (teams that lost their first quarter-final match).
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First round[edit]

Highest scoring losers play-offs[edit]

Second round[edit]

Quarter-finals[edit]

Semi-finals[edit]

Final[edit]

• The winning Imperial team consisted of Justin Lee, Adam Jones, Suraiya Haddad, and Sourajit Debnath, who beat the UCL team of James Hall, Ali Izzatdust, Tayana Sawh, and Jacob Finlay.
• The trophy was presented in the studio by Amol Rajan, with Sir Tom Stoppard featuring in a separate ceremony filmed on location at Imperial College London to commemorate the university's fifth series win.

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2023[edit]

Since 2011, a spin-off Christmas series is aired, featuring distinguished alumni.^[17] It began on 18 December 2023, in the 8:30 p.m. timeslot on BBC Two.^[18] The competition featured only one team from Oxford or Cambridge, fewer than previous Christmas series.^[19]

First round[edit]

Out of seven first-round winners, only the top four highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals.

One first-round episode, filmed in November, was not aired due to complaints from two contestants over accessibility requirements. The BBC said the rest of the series was not affected by the withdrawal of the episode, which involved an Oxford and Cambridge team. One neurodivergent contestant reported being denied subtitles and only partially receiving accommodations for sensory needs. Another said they were told on the day that previously agreed on audio description would not be provided. The BBC apologised to the participants.^[20] The UK National Federation of the Blind encouraged the series to be withdrawn and re-recorded.^[21]

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with grey scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Standings for the winners[edit]

Semi-finals[edit]

Final[edit]

The winning Middlesex University team consisted of David Heathcote, David Hepworth, Heather Phillipson, Dan Renton Skinner and Lola Young,^[a] who beat Corpus Christi College, Oxford and their team of Francesca Happé, Michael Cockerell, Alex Bellos and Steve Waters.

Reception[edit]

Rajan's first episode outperformed the BBC One programme in the same timeslot, with 1.9 million viewers.^[22] In a five-star review, Sean O'Grady of The Independent praised that Rajan appeared to enjoy presenting and to be knowledgeable but not arrogant. O'Grady found the questions difficult and wide-ranging.^[23] Carol Midgley rated it four stars for The Times, remarking on Rajan's "less daunting" personality and the quiz's toughness;^[24] in another four-star review, Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph praised that Rajan had a "brasher presence" but "didn't over-egg it".^[25] The Herald's Alison Rowat gave it three stars, describing it as a "fine debut".^[11] Mark Lawson of The Guardian also gave it three stars, saying that Rajan "has shown how seriously he takes the role by significantly adapting his presenting style to this new challenge".^[4] In contrast, James Delingpole of The Spectator criticised the subject matter of questions, including climate change, supranational unions and "gender and diversity" artists.^[26]

After the first episode, viewers criticised that Rajan was positioned low down relative to his desk.^[27] Rajan said this would be changed for the following series.^[28] Melanie McDonagh of The Spectator praised Rajan's outfit but believed the slate screen from which he read prompts was inferior to question cards, reducing eye contact with contestants.^[29] By the end of the series, according to i's Nick Hilton, Rajan had become popular among fans and successfully established a new style for the programme.^[10]

In January 2024, Rajan rejected an answer about dance music genres with the words: "I can't accept drum'n'bass – we need jungle, I'm afraid".^[30] The clip went viral and was remixed by numerous social media users.^[31] Rajan was offered festival sets by DJs after the event.^[30] Joe Muggs of The Quietus argued that drum'n'bass should have been accepted as correct.^[32]

Misinformation on social media alleged that one team's octopus mascot and one contestant's coloured jacket were antisemitic or pro-Palestinian references to the Israel–Hamas war that began in October 2023. The episode in question was filmed in March 2023.^[33][28] The politician Jacqueline Foster paid damages and issued an apology to one contestant after asking for them to be expelled and arrested after their appearance. However, a complaint to the House of Lords commissioner was not upheld.^[6][34][35]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• University Challenge homepage at bbc.co.uk
• Blanchflower Results Table
• University Challenge, Christmas 2023