Congratulations to our Durham University alumni team on retaining their BBC University Challenge title from last year and winning the alumni series over the festive period.
Host Amol Rajan described them as 'Champion of Champions' for winning back-to-back competitions after they outscored Keble College, Oxford, in the final. The winning score was 165 points to 115.
University Challenge is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962, pitting teams representing British Universities against each other on specialist general knowledge. The show has been hosted by Amol Rajan since 2023. He is the third host, following Bamber Gascoigne and Jeremy Paxman.
The alumni version of the competition has been aired over the festive period since 2011. The series this year was a celebration of the 14 year history, featuring 14 of the notable teams from the period.
The journey to the final
In the final, they faced worthy opponents Keble College, Oxford, who had beaten University College, London in their semi-final. The Keble College team was captained by technologist and social entrepreneur Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, who also has a connection with Durham as she sits on Durham University's Computer Science Advisory Board, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science in Durham Cathedral in 2024.
One of 14 teams to feature in seven heats, the Durham team remained unchanged from last year's victory. In his introduction of the team ahead of the final, Amol Rajan described their journey:
They began their campaign with a hard-fought victory over Manchester before seeing off Trinity College, Cambridge in the semi-final thanks to their impressive knowledge of the Ruskin art collection, the philosophy of Sartre and the performance artist Leigh Bowery, as well as some inspired guesses regarding the feeding habits of whales!
The questions tested the team's knowledge on a range of topics as broad as the music of the late Ozzy Osborne, the composition of noble gases and the geography of Russia. The team commented:
We were proud to represent Durham again, and even prouder to be back-to-back winners, the first in University Challenge history. We played against some really tough opponents, all of whom had distinguished themselves in previous tournaments. But our super-power was our teamwork, and the friendship we forged along the way.
The team
Carla Denyer MP
Team captain Carla Denyer (Mechanical Engineering, St Chad's College, 2005-2009) has been Member of Parliament for Bristol Central since 2024 and was previously co-leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and a Bristol city councillor from 2015 to 2024. Carla played a key role in Bristol City Council's 2018 climate emergency declaration, the first in Europe. Born in Hampshire, Denyer studied mechanical engineering at Durham and worked in the wind energy sector before transitioning to politics. Her shift was driven by a desire to address systemic barriers to achieving net zero.
Liz James
Carla is joined by Professor Liz James (Ancient History and Archaeology, Van Mildert College, 1982-1985), an art historian specialising in Byzantine art. After Durham she completed a Masters in Byzantine Studies at the University of Birmingham and then a doctorate at the Courtauld Institute. Liz is interested in all things Byzantine and is working on a book, A History of Byzantium in 10 Mosaics. In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.
Tracey MacLeod
Also joining the team is Tracey MacLeod (English Literature, St Aidan's College, 1979-1982), an English journalist and broadcaster known for presenting arts and music programmes like The Late Show and the Mercury Music Prize. She began her career as a BBC researcher and debuted on Channel 4's Network 7 in 1987. She has appeared on various TV shows and was a team captain on Radio 4's All the Way from Memphis. As a restaurant critic for The Independent from 1997 to 2016, she won several awards. She has also been the literary editor of Marie Claire and a radio critic for The Mail on Sunday. Currently, she is a director at KBJ Management, managing TV presenters, and is a regular guest critic on MasterChef.
Sophia Smith Galer
Sophia Smith Galer (Modern Languages, St Mary's College, 2012-2016) completes the team. She is an author, journalist, and content creator who has pioneered journalism on TikTok in the UK. Her investigative reporting for the BBC and VICE News has earned her global recognition, and her videos have over 160 million views. Named one of the 25 most influential women in the UK by British Vogue in 2022, she also won the Georgina Henry Prize in 2024. Her second book will be released later this year.
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