Editing University Challenge (section)

==History==
===Format continuity===
Despite periodic changes to the sets, studio layout, and presentation, ''University Challenge'' has preserved a high level of continuity from 1962 to the present. Some commentators have cited this as an essential element of its success.<ref name=mount>See [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10748721/Dont-ever-change-University-Challenge.html Don't ever change, University Challenge] by Harry Mount, the Daily Telegraph, 7 April 2014.</ref> Elements of this continuity include:
*The longevity of its quizmasters, with only three presenters in the programme's history;
*The split-screen presentation during the starter question phase, which appears to place one team physically above the other. In the final years of the original Bamber Gascoigne era, the studio set genuinely was two-tiered, although the split-screen effect returned for the revived series and has been used ever since;
*Long serving voiceover announcers, with only three in the programme's history – Don Murray-Henderson from 1962 until his death in 1971, then [[Jim Pope]] until his death in 2001, then [[Roger Tilling]]. Tilling's delivery typically becomes increasingly high-pitched as the episode progresses;<ref>{{youTube|HjFENtIZCjM|Roger Tilling Interview BBC Breakfast April 2017}}</ref>
*The theme tune "College Boy" by Derek New, which has been with the series since the 1960s (although the first series used "Ting A Ling" by [[Duke Ellington]]).<ref name=mount/><ref name="ting">{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3wF_vf1JDI|title=University Challenge Intros – 1962–2022 (UK, NZ & Aus)|publisher=University Challenge|date=26 Jan 2022|accessdate=21 August 2023}}</ref> "College Boy" was originally scored for an ensemble of [[tubular bells]], [[flugelhorn]], [[harpsichord]], brushed [[hi-hat]], [[bass drum]] and [[double bass]]. The original theme returned for the early Paxman-era episodes and was later replaced by a [[string quartet]] arrangement of the theme recorded by the [[Balanescu Quartet]].

===ITV (1962 to 1987)===
[[File:Bamber Gascoigne.JPG|thumb|right|[[Bamber Gascoigne]] hosted the original series of ''University Challenge'' from 1962 to 1987 and the 1992 Granadaland special.]]
The programme had its beginnings in an American television quiz show called ''[[College Bowl]]''. Cecil Bernstein, brother of [[Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein|Sidney Bernstein]] who founded [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]] in 1954, had seen the programme in the United States and liked the format. It was decided that Granada would produce a similar programme with competing teams from universities across the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Made in Manchester: University Challenge celebrates 50 years on our screens |last=Taylor |first=Paul |url=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/tv_and_showbiz/s/1588567_made-in-manchester-university-challenge-celebrates-50-years-on-our-screens |newspaper=Manchester Evening News |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=12 September 2012 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019041342/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/tv_and_showbiz/s/1588567_made-in-manchester-university-challenge-celebrates-50-years-on-our-screens |url-status=dead }}</ref> From its inception in 1962, ''University Challenge'' was hosted by [[Bamber Gascoigne]], who died in 2022. The programme's first match was a match between the [[University of Leeds]] (featuring a pre-famed Ian Channell, better known as [[The Wizard of New Zealand]]) and the [[University of Reading]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=University Challenge – 1963 |url=https://blanchflower.org/uc/uc63.html |access-date=2023-05-29 |website=blanchflower.org}}</ref> The show was a cult favourite with a small but loyal core audience, and was one of a select few ITV programmes that was transmitted without any advertising breaks. Originally, the series started off in many areas, being broadcast at peak times or just after the nightly news around 22:30; by the early 1970s, the series was relegated to irregular timeslots by the various ITV regional companies, with some broadcasting the show during daytime, at weekends or late at night. In the absence of a regular networked slot, audience figures would often fall, leading the producers to make changes to the long-standing format of the programme. [[London Weekend Television|LWT]] stopped broadcasting the show in October 1983, with [[Thames Television|Thames]] following suit shortly afterwards.<ref>The Times (London, England), Wednesday, 12 Oct 1983; pg. 14;</ref> Thames resumed screening the series in 1984 however they only screened the Quarter-finals To the final in December 1984, when it was networked for the first time. 

The programme was not broadcast in 1985 and returned in April 1986, when it continued to networked by ITV and broadcast at 15:00 on weekdays. The gameplay was revised, initial games were staged over two legs; the first in the classic format and the second played as a relay, where contestants selected questions from specific categories such as sport, literature and science, passing a baton between players whenever a "lap" of two correct answers was scored. The final series was also networked, but broadcast around 11:00 during the summer holiday period. Even so, the new networked time did little to save the series from the axe. The last ITV series was broadcast in 1987.

The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge could each enter up to five of their constituent colleges as separate teams, which are not themselves universities: they have far fewer students – numbering in the hundreds rather than thousands – than most universities. This was one ostensible inspiration for a 1975 protest, in which a team from the [[Victoria University of Manchester|University of Manchester]] (which included [[David Aaronovitch]]) came second to [[Downing College, Cambridge]], when they started a round by answering every question "[[Che Guevara]]", "[[Karl Marx|Marx]]", "[[Leon Trotsky|Trotsky]]" or "[[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin]]", in the hope of making the resulting show unbroadcastable.<ref name=UNperMD>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01m49vh|title=Your Starter for Ten: 50 Years of University Challenge|author1=[[Mark Damazer]] (presenter)|author2=Jo Meek (producer)|publisher=BBC ("Radio 4 Extra")|access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=BBC tightens University Challenge rules in response to fiasco |last=Gallagher |first=Paul |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jun/21/university-challenge-rules-television |newspaper=The Guardian |date=21 June 2009 |access-date=6 January 2012}}</ref>
It was, however, broadcast, although only portions of the episode still exist in the Granada Television archives. Granada subsequently banned the University of Manchester for several years.<ref>{{Cite news |title='University Challenge' Won By Manchester Team for Third Time |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/03/19/university-challenge-won-manchester_n_1364276.html |work=[[HuffPost]]|date=19 March 2012 |access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref>

===BBC===
[[File:Jeremy Paxman at the Forward Prizes judging meeting 2014 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Jeremy Paxman]] hosted ''University Challenge'' from 1994 to 2023 and ''[[Christmas University Challenge|its Christmas spin-off]]'' from 2011 to 2022.]]
[[File:Angus Deayton.jpg|thumb|right|[[Angus Deayton]] hosted the 2003 and 2005 ''[[Comic Relief]]'' editions of ''University Challenge''.]]
[[File:Secret Comedy Podcast - 3 August 2013 - 11 (9430466386) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[David Baddiel]] hosted the 2019 ''Comic Relief'' edition of ''University Challenge''.]]
[[File:Kirsty_wark_podium.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kirsty Wark]] hosted the 2020 and 2021 ''[[Children in Need]]'' editions of ''University Challenge''.]]
''University Challenge'' was revived by the [[BBC]] in 1994, although still produced by Granada Television (branded since 2009 as ITV Studios), using the original format, with minor differences, and presented by [[Jeremy Paxman]].

During the show's hiatus, a special edition of the show was made by the BBC, as part of a themed evening of programmes dedicated to Granada Television. It was presented by Bamber Gascoigne and broadcast on [[BBC Two|BBC2]] on 28 December 1992. The teams included one of students from [[Keble College, Oxford]], which had fielded the winning team in the final 1987 season, and a graduates team of celebrity alumni who had previously appeared on the programme as students, including journalist [[John Simpson (journalist)|John Simpson]] and actor [[Stephen Fry]]. This show was preceded by a short documentary about the show's history. Bamber Gascoigne's final appearance as host was in ''Universe Challenge'' in 1998 (see below).

Paxman relinquished his role as host following the conclusion of the [[University Challenge 2022–23|52nd series]] in 2023, after which he was succeeded by [[Amol Rajan]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Minelle |first=Bethany |date=18 August 2022 |title=Amol Rajan replaces Jeremy Paxman as University Challenge host |url=https://news.sky.com/story/amol-rajan-replaces-jeremy-paxman-as-university-challenge-host-12675786 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818122123/https://news.sky.com/story/amol-rajan-replaces-jeremy-paxman-as-university-challenge-host-12675786 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |access-date=18 August 2022 |website=Sky News}}</ref> In October 2022, an ITV documentary, ''Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's'', explored how [[Parkinson's disease]] has impacted him<ref>{{Cite web |last=MD |first=Peter Grinspoon |date=2018-08-24 |title=Cannabidiol (CBD): What we know and what we don't |url=https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/cannabidiol-cbd-what-we-know-and-what-we-dont-2018082414476 |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Harvard Health |language=en}}</ref> and revealed that Paxman recorded his last episode of ''University Challenge'' on 15 October 2022, which aired on 29 May 2023.<ref>{{Citation |title=Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's – Paxman: Putting Up With Parkinson's |url=https://www.itv.com/hub/paxman-putting-up-with-parkinsons/10a2082a0001 |language=en |access-date=2022-10-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-04 |title=TV tonight: Jeremy Paxman on Parkinson's, dissecting brains and quitting University Challenge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/oct/04/tv-tonight-jeremy-paxman-on-parkinsons-dissecting-brains-and-quitting-university-challenge |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

On 21 April 2023, the BBC unveiled a new set and title card, which debuted on Rajan's first episode, which aired on 17 July 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=First look images of new University Challenge set and host Amol Rajan |url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2023/university-challenge-first-look-new-set-amol-rajan |access-date=2023-05-31 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=BBC Two – University Challenge, 2023/24, Trinity College, Cambridge v Manchester |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001nxvc |website=[[BBC Online]] |access-date=5 July 2023}}</ref>

====Postgraduates====
Since its revival in 1994, the programme has featured a number of teams of [[postgraduate]] and [[mature students]], whose participation has been criticised.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Nicole Martin|title=University Challenge 'needs upper age limit' &#91;print version: Your starter for 10: how old are these students?&#93;|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/14/nstudents114.xml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071214211352/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2007%2F12%2F14%2Fnstudents114.xml|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 December 2007|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=17 December 2007|orig-year=14 December 2007|page=14|location=London|access-date=12 October 2021}}</ref> The [[Open University]] won the 1999 series with a team with an average age of 46. In the quarter-final, they narrowly beat a slightly younger team from part-time and mature student specialist [[Birkbeck, University of London]]. Birkbeck won the competition in 2003, also with a substantially mature team. Host [[Jeremy Paxman]] said that the Open University team was "not in the spirit" of the competition.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Paxman Slams 'Quiz Professionals'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/361491.stm|publisher=BBC News|date=5 June 1999}}</ref> The team publicly replied by challenging him to specify in what way this was "contrary to the spirit of the quiz – or of the university".<ref>"How Lance Left Paxman at a Loss for Words" – Mensa Magazine, August, 1999</ref>

====Ineligible contestants====
In 2009, [[Sam Kay]], part of the team from [[Corpus Christi College, Oxford]], was accused of not being a student when the show was filmed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/university-challenge-winners-dethroned/2000957.article|title= University Challenge winners dethroned|publisher=Broadcast|author=Michael Rosser|date=2009-03-02}}</ref> Kay, who had completed a [[chemistry]] degree the previous summer, had been planning to go on to study for a [[Doctor of Philosophy]], but dropped out as he did not have sufficient funding. He then became an [[accountant]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7917481.stm|title= BBC in University Challenge probe|publisher=BBC|date=1 March 2009|access-date=1 March 2009}}</ref> The team, whose captain [[Gail Trimble]] was dubbed the "human [[Google]]",<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/University-Challenge-winners--stripped.5030768.jp|title=University Challenge winners stripped of title – for having zero common sense|newspaper=[[The Scotsman]]|author=Brian Ferguson|date=3 March 2009|access-date=3 March 2009}}</ref> won the competition but was subsequently disqualified and the trophy awarded to the runners-up, the University of Manchester.<ref name=BBC-Disqualification>{{cite press release | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/03_march/02/challenge.shtml | title = University Challenge: a joint statement from the BBC and Granada | date = 2 March 2009 | access-date = 2 March 2009 | work = BBC Press Office | publisher = BBC}}</ref>

A few days later, it was also revealed that Charles Markland, a member of the [[University Challenge 2008|2008 winning team]] from [[Christ Church, Oxford]], had transferred his studies to [[Balliol College, Oxford|Balliol College]] halfway through the series. He said that his team captain had contacted a researcher concerning the situation, and had been told that this was not a problem and that the same team should be maintained for continuity purposes.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7922672.stm|title= University quiz hit by new claims|publisher=BBC|date=4 March 2009|access-date=4 March 2009}}</ref> It was also revealed that Freya McClements, captain of the 2004 winning team from [[Magdalen College, Oxford]], was at the time studying at [[Trinity College, Dublin]]. Although it was mentioned in a BBC news story at the time, no action was taken because the BBC stated that the facts had not been brought to their attention.<ref>{{cite news|last=Holmwood|first=Leigh|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/03/university-challenge-winners-break-rules|title=Previous University Challenge winners appear to break rules|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=3 March 2009|access-date=4 March 2009 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/3622739.stm|title=Scholar tops university quiz|publisher=BBC|date=13 April 2004|access-date=4 March 2009}}</ref>

====Editing====
In 2016, at the [[Henley on Thames|Henley Literary Festival]], Jeremy Paxman said that, when students were unable to answer several consecutive starter questions, those questions were often deleted before the show is broadcast.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2016/oct/05/your-starter-for-10-is-university-challenge-cheating-us |title=Your starter for 10 – is University Challenge cheating us? |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=5 October 2016 |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125212620/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2016/oct/05/your-starter-for-10-is-university-challenge-cheating-us |url-status=live |archive-date=25 January 2021 |access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
*In an episode of the BBC comedy series ''[[Not the Nine O'Clock News]]'', first broadcast on 15 December 1980, [[Griff Rhys Jones]] plays Bamber Gascoigne in a sketch that pitches two teams of criminals representing prisoners from [[HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs|Wormwood Scrubs]] and [[HM Prison Parkhurst|Parkhurst]]. The teams score "points" (remission of sentence) by "[[grassing]]" on possible suspects involved in a crime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00cys6q|title=BBC Two – Not the Nine O'Clock News, Series 3, Episode 8|website=BBC|access-date=13 February 2019}}</ref>
*In 1984 an episode of ''[[The Young Ones (TV series)|The Young Ones]]'', entitled "[[Bambi (Young Ones episode)|Bambi]]" (a play on Bamber Gascoigne's name), centred on a parody of ''University Challenge'' with a match between the fictitious teams of Scumbag College and [[List of fictional Oxbridge colleges|Footlights College, Oxbridge]]. The cast included Stephen Fry, who participated in the real competition in 1980 while at Cambridge, and fellow alumni and [[Footlights]] members [[Emma Thompson]] and [[Hugh Laurie]] as part of the "Footlights College" team, and Griff Rhys Jones as the host. The teams are arranged physically one above the other, in a parody of the show's split-screen format.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jess Denham |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/comedy/features/rik-mayall-dead-actor-and-comedians-funniest-moments-9515759.html |title=Rik Mayall death anniversary: Funniest moments from Blackadder to The Young Ones &#124; Features &#124; Culture |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=18 April 2016}}</ref>
*A quiz themed around BBC science fiction situation comedy ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', broadcast in 1998, is entitled ''Universe Challenge''. It opens as if it were a regular episode, but with [[Chris Barrie]] impersonating Jeremy Paxman. Gascoigne comes from behind with a [[Blaster (Star Wars)|blaster gun]] and blows him out of the chair to take over as host. This was Gascoigne's last appearance as host.<ref>{{IMDb title|469215|Universe Challenge (1998)}}</ref>
*In a list of the [[100 Greatest British Television Programmes]] drawn up by the [[British Film Institute]] in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, ''University Challenge'' was placed 34th.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/list/ls000151593/ | title=The BFI TV 100 (2000) – a list | work=IMDb | date=11 April 2011 |orig-year= 12 February 2013 | access-date=9 November 2014 | author=deadmonger}}</ref>
* ''[[Starter for Ten (novel)|Starter For Ten]]'' is the title of a novel, first published in 2003, by British author [[David Nicholls (writer)|David Nicholls]]. The plot is about a first-year student, Brian Jackson, who attempts to join his university team competing in ''University Challenge''. Nicholls also adapted the novel into the film ''[[Starter for 10 (film)|Starter for 10]]'' in 2006, starring [[James McAvoy]] as Jackson, with [[Mark Gatiss]] portraying Gascoigne.
*In 2006 [[Armando Ianucci]]'s ''[[Time Trumpet]]'' presented a parody of ''University Challenge'', set in a future where students are 'too lazy to learn'; this parody was later referenced in an episode of the 2007–08 series of ''University Challenge'' by the team captain of [[SOAS, University of London|SOAS]], Joe Perry, who, not knowing the real answer, simply answered "Venezuela?"{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}
*The quiz was the subject of the hour-long BBC Two documentary ''The Story So Far'', first broadcast in November 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00793tb|title=The Story So Far, University Challenge – BBC Two|publisher=bbc.co.uk|access-date=12 December 2016}}</ref> 
* In 2014, a two part documentary narrated by [[Richard Osman]] called 'Class of 2014' outlined a brief history of the programme and the team selection process both within the universities and by the production staff. The documentary attracted some criticism due to the large emphasis on Oxbridge and Manchester during the programme.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0032741-university-challenge-criticised-for-oxbridge-bias.html|title=University Challenge criticised for Oxbridge bias|date=14 July 2014|access-date=30 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202072448/http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0032741-university-challenge-criticised-for-oxbridge-bias.html|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* In March 2017 semi-finalist team captains [[Bobby Seagull]] of [[Emmanuel College, Cambridge]], and [[Eric Monkman]] of [[Wolfson College, Cambridge]], appeared on BBC One's ''[[The One Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/university-challenge-monkman-seagull_uk_58d8e3a8e4b02a2eaab5703f|title=Monkman Vs Seagull: A Potted History of the University Challenge Captains' Bromance|date=27 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2017-03-29/eric-monkman-belted-out-the-imperial-march-on-the-one-show-because-monkman|title=Eric Monkman belted out the Imperial March on The One Show, because Monkman|work=Radio Times }}</ref> In August 2017 the two were featured on BBC Radio 4's ''[[Today (BBC Radio 4)|Today]]'' programme<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05br52h|title=Monkman and Seagull on 'divine inspiration' for puzzles, Today – BBC Radio 4|website=BBC|date=7 August 2017 }}</ref> ahead of hosting their own show, ''Monkman and Seagull's Polymathic Adventure'', on 21 August.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-40811103|title=University Challenge stars get own show|date=3 August 2017|work=BBC News}}</ref>
*In 2024, Amol Rajan's reply "We need [[Jungle music|jungle]], I’m afraid" was widely sampled by music producers, becoming a [[viral phenomenon]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/jan/13/we-need-jungle-im-afraid-how-university-challenge-went-viral-on-the-rave-scene|title='We need jungle, I'm afraid': how University Challenge went viral on the rave scene|first=James|last=Tapper|newspaper=The Observer |date=13 January 2024|via=The Guardian}}</ref>