University Challenge: Alumni Specials Forever

By Waseem Mohamed

The BBC have announced a radical new format to University Challenge in a move which many anticipate will greatly increase Durham University’s chances of winning the coveted trophy for years to come. After the success of Durham alumni in the Christmas special, many feel that the change is unfair. The announcement has shocked the Higher Education sector, and has confirmed that the usual format of student-led competitions would be scrapped, all in favour of repeating the alumni-led seasonal special tournaments. 

The decision has been welcomed by Durham, who were crowned the most recent alumni champions during the 2024 Christmas Special series. A formidable team consisting of Carla Denyer, Sophia Smith Galer, Tracey MacLeod and Liz James scored the highest points total of any team in the group stages, before seeing off Queen’s College Cambridge in the final by just five points. 

It may have helped that host Amol Rajan generously awarded Durham 10 points for a starter question despite the wrong contestant answering the question on the buzzer, but Durham University and the BBC insist that this ultimately did not impact the final result. 

In consultation with the unusually high viewing figures for the 2024 Special, the BBC have decided (in consultation with universities) to shake up the University Challenge format. The year-long competition between current students will be replaced with two-week long tournaments between various teams of university alumni, with each Special series taking on a unique theme. 

It is rumoured the first Special series will consist of alumni from the world of comedy. Durham are expected to field another strong team for this series, with graduates including Ed Gamble, Nish Kumar and Nick Mohammed all being considered for the team. Other Specials will include teams from the realms of politics, hedge fund managers and actors, all fields where Durham should be able to field knowledgeable alumni. 

Speaking ahead of the first Special series next week, host Amol Rajan said: “I really hope the new format will excite viewers. I think people enjoy University Challenge more when they see faces they recognise, and it should help inspire current students to work hard enough to represent their alma maters in what is one of the country’s finest competitions”. 

In addition to the format changes, it is believed Durham and other universities asked the BBC to consider allowing non-Oxbridge institutions to enter teams by college, instead of entering as one university. This request was, rather predictably, firmly rejected by the BBC, with a spokesperson saying that “whilst the new format changes will help universities like Durham keep up with their Oxbridge rivals, we cannot allow colleges from other institutions to enter in order to protect the historical integrity of the competition”. 

Illustration: Victoria Cheng