The University of Bristol was defeated in its first ever University Challenge final last night (May 29) in what was a historic episode. Last night, Bristol took on Durham University in the student quiz show final, as Jeremy Paxman presented his last episode.
After 29 years of serving as University Challenge's quizmaster, Paxman stepped down last night and told fans that he was "looking forward" to watching the show with them at home. His departure from the long-running BBC show came as Durham narrowly secured victory over the University of Bristol, 155-120.
The stainless steel book trophy was presented to Bristol's successful competitors by Jung Chang, author of "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China", who told contestants and the audience that she was "really pleased" to be invited onto University Challenge, which she thought was "the most prestigious programme" when she arrived in Britain in the late 1970s.
The University of Bristol's team, composed of Sam Kehler (Medicine), Jacob McLaughlin (BSc Economics and Mathematics), captain Tess Richardson (BSc Chemistry) and Alejandro Ortega (MSci Physics and Philosophy), is believed to be the first to make it to the University Challenge finals in the show's 60-year history. Although, some records and episodes from the 1970s are lost.
Captain Tess Richardson applied to compete in the quiz show after watching each episode three times with her flatmates during lockdown. Following on from last night's final, Jacob said that it was "an honour" to be part of Jeremy Paxman's final scenes.
He wrote on Twitter: "I'm not very active on social media but just wanted to do a short thread to mark the end of University Challenge. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed this season and said kind things about Bristol (and other teams).
"Congratulations to Durham, who are well-deserved winners. They're all such lovely people and we couldn't have wished to lose to a nicer bunch.
"UC really is a brilliant show, all the teams and people behind the scenes we interacted with were lovely, and it was an honour to be part of Jeremy Paxman's final season and final episodes. But above all I wanted to pay tribute to my teammates Tess, Sam, Alejandro, and our reserve Ted.
"They're not just brilliant quizzers but are brilliant people and great friends, and the thing I'm most grateful for is the opportunity to share this weird experience with them."
Paxman is stepping down from University Challenge after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2021. Later this year, broadcaster Amol Rajan will become the show's third host.
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