News

Durham students make University Challenge debut

(13 October 2005)

Four students take to the screens on University Challenge next week, hoping to bring the quiz title back to Durham.

The first round is to be shown on Monday 17 October, 8.30pm BBC2 with Durham facing St Hilda's, Oxford for a place in the second round. Durham’s team includes: Andrew Lomas (Team Captain), 21, Chemistry, University College – who is from Coventry Alan Evans, 20, Classics, St Cuthbert’s Society – from near Colchester Philip Lawton, 19, Classics, Hatfield College– from Highworth, Swindon Rob Taylor, 21, Law, St Hild & St Bede – from Solihull For Andrew, this will not be his television debut. He asked the first question for BBC Question Time when it was broadcast from Durham earlier this year. The team has been chosen from a pool of Durham students who took part in an intercollegiate challenge, with previous experience of school or pub quizzes, and one team member saying it was simply on his University ‘to do’ list. The Durham team boasts a vast specialist subject area including an absurd biographical knowledge of almost every politician/public figure for the past 150 years, Indie music, Noel Coward, general geography, “theatre stuff” and cricket. One fanatical specialist subject acquired by Philip originates from a popular cult television show: “Ask me anything about the Simpsons, go on, anything!” he says, with Rob claiming: “I don't think that I have any unusual specialist subjects, being more of a generalist.” Durham has taken the title twice in the television show’s history- in 1977 when Bamber Gascoigne was in the chair and more recently in 2000 in the new series under current presenter Jeremy Paxman, one of Britain’s most distinguished television journalists, who is known for his hard hitting interview style.