Who is University Challenge's new host Amol Rajan - everything you need to know
17.07.2023 - 18:11
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A new era begins on classic TV quiz show University Challenge this week, with new presenter Amol Rajan at the helm. BBC man Amol has taken over the hotseat from long-standing quizmaster Jeremy Paxman who announced his retirement from University Challenge last year.
Amol, 40, is the new host amid a new look for the show, although he says fans can expect the quiz format itself to be exactly the same - and just as tough as ever. He says: "It's an evolution, not revolution".
Changes for the new series include new opening credits and a new style of the studio. And eagle-eyed fans will notice that Amol will be reading all the questions for the new series from a small computer, rather than the old-style cards that Jeremy Paxman used.
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Amol, who lives in London with his wife and three children, travelled up to Salford's MediaCityUK to film the new series. He has described it as "a dream come true" to become quizmaster of the iconic show.
Amol says he has enjoyed building up a "bit of rapport" with the contestants but jokes: "I hope I don't come across as the Archbishop of Banterbury".
He says: "I do like to have a rapport with the students because I do want them to have a nice experience. But you're not their mate - you are the quizmaster, you are the boss.
"And you do sometimes have to say things they don't like, like hurry up or to adjudicate on an answer. But it's nice to have that bit of interaction with them, maybe that will be a slight change from before."
Here's more on Amol and what you can expect from the new-look series.
Amol is a senior journalist who has been a regular on BBC news shows for the past six years, since