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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Robert Dex

University Challenge host Bamber Gascoigne dies, aged 87

University Challenge host Bamber Gascoigne has died aged 87.

The broadcaster and author, famous as the original host of the high-brow quiz, died at home in Richmond after a short illness.

His polite but firm style – honed during 25 years as quizmaster on the show - made him a household name with catchphrases including “Your starter for 10” making him a popular target for parodies.

(PA)

The quiz was so popular it was famously lampooned on cult sitcom The Young Ones and inspired the book Starter for Ten which was made into a film starring James McAvoy as student appearing on the show.

Gascoigne, who was descended from a family of prominent politicians and aristocrats, was married to his wife Christina for 55 years.

(Getty Images)

He was instrumental in providing a home for Grange Park Opera after inheriting West Horsley Place, a country estate in Surrey, from his aunt the Duchess of Roxburghe in 2014.

He gifted the estate to a trust and agreed to a proposal that Grange Park could build an opera house on the land – providing a venue which has since welcomed hundreds of thousands of music lovers.

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