BBC shares first clip of Amol Rajan as new University Challenge host

Presenter replaced the outgoing Jeremy Paxman

The BBC has shared the first clip of presenter Amol Rajan as the new host of University Challenge.

Rajan, 39, is replacing Jeremy Paxman, who retired earlier this year, having hosted the popular BBC quiz series for nearly three decades.

Paxman left the series after 29 years in May, having been being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2021.

Rajan, a former editor of The Independent, is the third host in the programme’s 61-year history. University Challenge was first broadcast in 1962, when it was presented by Bamber Gascoigne.

Ahead of Rajan’s full debut on the series, the BBC shared a short clip on social media giving fans a look at what to expect from his tenure as host.

In the video, the presenter is seen sitting in the usual University Challenge chair, saying: “Fingers on buzzers, then, here is your first starter for 10: When does the new series of University Challenge start?”

The camera then pans to an empty chair, prompting Rajan to remark: “Think I might be a bit early?”

When it was first announced that Rajan would be taking over from Paxman, the presenter issued a statement addressing the move.

“Being asked to host my favourite TV programme is dream-come-true territory,” he said. “I have watched University Challenge obsessively for years, addicted to its high standards, glorious title music, and inspirational contestants. It’s the best possible antidote to cynicism about young people, allowing millions of us to test our wits against the best minds of a new generation, and annoy and impress our families by barking answers from the sofa.

“I am very conscious that in the late, great Bamber [Gascogine], and that giant of British culture, Jeremy, I have vast shoes to fill. With his immense intellect, authority, and respect from students and viewers alike, Jeremy hands over a format, and show, as strong as ever.

“I won’t stop thinking today about my late, beloved Dad, whose devotion to education brought him to England, whose love of knowledge I imbibed as a kid, and whose belief in the noble challenge of university so shaped my life. I’ll devote my first Starter for 10 to him – and to the millions of quiz fiends who, like me, love those rare occasions when they know the answer before the students do.”

University Challenge returns with Rajan as host this autumn on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.