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.
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. As in the first episode of the 53rd series, a draw leads to a single tie-breaker question on the buzzer. 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.[3] Teams often bring mascots.
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. The series had a new set and opening sequence, but maintained its theme tune and announcements by Roger Tilling.[4] Rajan adopted a more relaxed and enthusiastic persona than Paxman, praising impressive answers while sometimes mocking poor answers. He maintained a number of traditional phrases, such as "Fingers on buzzers – here's your first starter for 10".[5] Rajan had appeared as a contestant in the Christmas series in 2020 and reported having watched the series for years.[6]
The 53rd series began on 17 July 2023 and aired on BBC Two in the Monday 8:30p.m. timeslot,[7] following the quiz shows Mastermind and Only Connect.[8] It was produced by Lifted Entertainment, a division of ITV Studios.[9] Episodes were filmed in MediaCityUK, Salford, without a studio audience.[10]
Northeastern University – London debuted in the competition, losing to York.[11]
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.[3] [12] Tom Stoppard joined for a ceremony in the final to mark the winners.[12]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity College, Cambridge | 175 | 185 | University of Manchester | 360 | 17 July 2023 | |
| University of Aberdeen | 190 | University of Birmingham | 315 | 24 July 2023 | ||
| Birkbeck, University of London | 220 | 205 | Oxford Brookes University | 425 | 31 July 2023 | |
| University of Southampton | 155 | 180 | Christ Church, Oxford | 335 | 7 August 2023 | |
| Emmanuel College, Cambridge | 240 | Jesus College, Oxford | 300 | 14 August 2023 | ||
| King's College, Cambridge | 190 | University College London | 335 | 21 August 2023 | ||
| University of East Anglia | 235 | University of Strathclyde | 360 | 28 August 2023 | ||
| The Open University | 155 | 230 | Hertford College, Oxford | 385 | 4 September 2023 | |
| Balliol College, Oxford | 285 | Imperial College London | 430 | 11 September 2023 | ||
| University of Sheffield | 290 | Loughborough University | 405 | 18 September 2023 | ||
| University of Warwick | 265 | Wolfson College, Cambridge | 405 | 25 September 2023 | ||
| Bangor University | 320 | University of Edinburgh | 470 | 2 October 2023 | ||
| Lincoln College, Oxford | 225 | King's College London | 290 | 9 October 2023 | ||
| University of York | 190 | Northeastern University – London | 310 | 16 October 2023 | ||
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity College, Cambridge | 245 | 365 | 23 October 2023 | |||
| Oxford Brookes University | 255 | The Open University | 410 | 30 October 2023 | ||
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Warwick | 205 | Trinity College, Cambridge | 390 | 6 November 2023 | ||
| The Open University | 265 | University of East Anglia | 395 | 13 November 2023 | ||
| Emmanuel College, Cambridge | 155 | Christ Church, Oxford | 285 | 20 November 2023 | ||
| Hertford College, Oxford | 225 | University College London | 365 | 27 November 2023 | ||
| University of Manchester | 215 | University of Edinburgh | 320 | 4 December 2023 | ||
| University of York | 165 | Birkbeck, University of London | 320 | 11 December 2023 | ||
| University of Sheffield | 130 | University of Aberdeen | 235 | 1 January 2024 | ||
| Lincoln College, Oxford | 250 | Imperial College London | 370 | 8 January 2024 | ||
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Manchester | 160 | 95 | Birkbeck, University of London | 255 | 15 January 2024 | |
| University of Sheffield | 160 | 195 | Imperial College London | 355 | 22 January 2024 | |
| Trinity College, Cambridge | 190 | 170 | The Open University | 360 | 29 January 2024 | |
| University College London | 200 | 130 | Christ Church, Oxford | 330 | 5 February 2024 | |
| University of Manchester | 120 | 205 | Imperial College London | 325 | 12 February 2024 | |
| Birkbeck, University of London | 200 | University of Sheffield | 360 | 19 February 2024 | ||
| Trinity College, Cambridge | 150 | 165 | University College London | 315 | 26 February 2024 | |
| The Open University | 170 | Christ Church, Oxford | 245 | 4 March 2024 | ||
| University of Manchester | 145 | Christ Church, Oxford | 275 | 11 March 2024 | ||
| Birkbeck, University of London | 165 | Trinity College, Cambridge | 265 | 18 March 2024 | ||
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial College London | 240 | Trinity College, Cambridge | 350 | 25 March 2024 | ||
| University College London | 210 | University of Manchester | 375 | 1 April 2024 | ||
Since 2011, a spin-off Christmas series is aired, featuring distinguished alumni.[13] It began on 18 December 2023, in the 8:30p.m. timeslot on BBC Two.[14] The competition featured only one team from Oxford or Cambridge, fewer than previous Christmas series.[15]
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.[16] The UK National Federation of the Blind encouraged the series to be withdrawn and re-recorded.[17]
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King's College London | City, University of London | 275 | 18 December 2023 | |||
| Royal Holloway, University of London | 170 | University of East Anglia | 265 | 19 December 2023 | ||
| University of Dundee | 185 | Bangor University | 260 | 20 December 2023 | ||
| Corpus Christi College, Oxford | 265 | University of Edinburgh | 345 | 21 December 2023 | ||
| Imperial College London | University of Liverpool | 190 | 22 December 2023 | |||
| Middlesex University | 175 | University of Leeds | 290 | 26 December 2023 | ||
| Rank | Team | Team captain(s) | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corpus Christi College, Oxford | Alex Bellos | 265 |
| 2 | Bangor University | David Neal | 185 |
| 3 | Middlesex University | Dan Renton Skinner / Heather Phillipson | 175 |
| 4 | Royal Holloway, University of London | Liz Sayce | 170 |
| 5 | King's College London | Ayshah Tull | 155 |
| 6 | Imperial College London | Anjana Ahuja | 110 |
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Total | Broadcast date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Holloway, University of London | 180 | Corpus Christi College, Oxford | 340 | 27 December 2023 | ||
| Bangor University | 195 | Middlesex University | 280 | 28 December 2023 | ||
The winning Middlesex University team consisted of David Heathcote, David Hepworth, Heather Phillipson, Dan Renton Skinner and Lola Young, who beat Corpus Christi College, Oxford and their team of Francesca Happé, Michael Cockerell, Alex Bellos and Steve Waters.
Rajan's first episode outperformed the BBC One programme in the same timeslot, with 1.9million viewers.[18] 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.[19] Carol Midgley rated it four stars for The Times, remarking on Rajan's "less daunting" personality and the quiz's toughness;[20] in another four-star review, Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph praised that Rajan had a "brasher presence" but "didn't over-egg it".[21] The Heralds Alison Rowat gave it three stars, describing it as a "fine debut".[22] 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".[23] In contrast, James Delingpole of The Spectator criticised the subject matter of questions, including climate change, supranational unions and "gender and diversity" artists.[24]
After the first episode, viewers criticised that Rajan was positioned low down relative to his desk.[25] Rajan said this would be changed for the following series.[26] 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.[27] By the end of the series, according to is Nick Hilton, Rajan had become popular among fans and successfully established a new style for the programme.[28]
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". The clip went viral and was remixed by numerous social media users.[29] 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.[31]
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.[32] [26] 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.[33] [34] [35]