An iconic BBC trivia show will look radically different when it returns to screens in two weeks.
The new season of University Challenge will begin airing on Monday, July 17 and will welcome 28 new student teams.
After hosting the show for 29 years, seasoned broadcaster Jeremy Paxman, 73, quit in May after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
Amol Rajan, who previously worked as BBC News media editor, will replace him as the test master.
Along with the new host, the hit show, which has been on the air since 1962, will also get a new stage.
An iconic BBC trivia show, which has been on since 1962, will look radically different when it returns to screens in two weeks.
Earlier this year, the BBC recently published the first images of the modernized University Challenge set, which features blue lights around the team desks.
To mark the new chapter in the show’s history, there will also be a new title sequence, featuring Michelangelo’s David.
However, the ‘College Boy’ theme song, which has been used since 1963, is said to have remained unchanged and Roger Tilling’s incomparable voice will remain.
Amol, 40, is the third announcer to lead the series. Before Jeremy, Bamber Gascoigne hosted the show from 1962 to 1987.
Before the show’s return, the new host said: ‘We’re back! I am very excited to see together with the public and relive this wonderful series.
“And what a wonderful series it is, with exciting finales and standards as high as ever.”
During his time in the test master’s chair, Paxman became famous for his disapproving stare and combative style, which saw him clash with several contestants during his 29 years in charge.
In May 2023, Jeremy shut down the show for the last time, telling fans that he was “can’t wait to see it” along with the fans back home.
Pictured: Jeremy Clarkson presented University Challenge from 1994 to 2023, before stepping down earlier this year.
Amol Rajan, who previously worked as BBC News media editor, will replace him as test master.
Pictured: The setup of the old University Challenge that has hardly been updated in the last 29 years Jeremy was presenting
Carrying out his usual farewell, the presenter said: ‘So that’s a good night from me. Good night.’
Among the many fans who took to Twitter to mark the final episode of the host’s show, one wrote: “Goodbye Jeremy Paxman, legend.”
Another added: ‘And it’s a goodbye from him… his last with the inimitable Jeremy Paxman. I have loved every minute and must say thank you Jeremy ……xxx.’
A third took to social media to add: “Loved today’s college challenge grand finale, thanks for being a great host and quizmaster.”
Paxman received his diagnosis while in the hospital after collapsing during a dog walk. He said he suffered regular falls, including one that left him with “black eyes” and admitted it was “very hard to know you’re not going to get better.”
University Challenge is set to return this summer, featuring a new batch of devilishly difficult questions and eager students hoping to claim the grand prize. The producers have created a new title sequence that will be shown when the new series begins (pictured)
An image released by the BBC shows a screenshot of the credits of the new University Challenge title.
Jeremy Paxman ended his reign as the longest-serving current quizmaster on British television. The quizmaster is depicted in the late 90s.
His medical team claimed he was less “exuberant” on the questionnaire and one of the doctors said he had noticed that Mr Paxman’s face had taken on a “Parkinson’s mask”.
Parkinson’s disease is a condition in which parts of the brain become progressively damaged over many years, according to the NHS website.
The three main symptoms of the condition are involuntary jerking of particular parts of the body, known as tremors, slow movements, and stiff, inflexible muscles.
In 2020, Mr Rajan himself appeared as a contestant on a University Challenge celebrity Christmas special, however his team from Downing College, Cambridge failed to make it past the first round, losing to Durham.
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Source: tit.edu.vn
