Journalist and broadcaster Amol Rajan will take over from Jeremy Paxman as host of University Challenge from autumn 2023.
Rajan (39) will take over from Paxman, who is stepping down as the host of the popular TV quiz show after 28 years.
It marks the end of his reign as the longest-serving current quizmaster on UK TV.
Rajan has been the BBC’s media editor since December 2016 as well as a present on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme since May 2021.
He has also presented on BBC Radio 2 and The One Show and previously served as editor of The Independent newspaper.
Rajan said it was a “dream come true” to be asked to host the show having watched it “obsessively for years”.
He added: “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 (Gascoigne), 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.”
Rajan is set to step down as the media editor for BBC News later in the year, and then begin filming the quiz show early next year in preparation for going on screen in autumn 2023.
He will continue to present on the Today programme and continue the Amol Rajan Interviews show.
University Challenge celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.
