It's fingers on buzzers for a team of four students from Lancaster University who are all set to compete in University Challenge, one of the toughest, high-profile quiz team challenges on TV.
Facing a team from Lincoln University in the first round will be team captain Lex Wiggins, who has just graduated from Lancaster in Mathematics, History student Talhah Hussain, Josie Hyland, who studies Philosophy, Politics and Economics and Eoin Neale, who studies Physics. Waiting in the wings as team reserve is Medicine student Fatima Al Sharef.
The Lancaster team will compete in the pre-recorded, first-round match of the new season, which started in July, to be broadcast on BBC2 on Monday, September 1 at 8.30pm.
Asking the questions will be presenter Amol Rajan.
Team captain Lex Wiggins said it was a great honour to be part of Lancaster University's first University Challenge team since 2019 but that taking part in the pre-recorded contest was proving to be a tricky secret to keep.
"At the start of the last academic year I'd only dreamed of being on the show and, when I signed up for the intercollege quiz trials, I thought the University Challenge bit was a fun bonus," said Lex, who was a Lancaster University student at the time of the first round.
"It still doesn't feel real!
"Even though most of us only met each other for the first time at the selection competition in November, we really got on. Before the audition I think we were all pretty nervous and had no idea what the competition would be like.
"But after we found out we made it to the TV rounds we were a lot less nervous because we'd already done something great."
The team practised every week at Lancaster University's QuizSoc, did pub quizzes together, and sent teams to QuizBowl events around the country with the other QuizSoc members.
"Lincoln were really good opponents, and it was lovely chatting to them before we filmed the match in Salford," added Lex.
"I also have to say that we couldn't have done it without QuizSoc, which was only formed in late 2023 and has made our quizzing culture at Lancaster bigger than ever, and Lancaster University Students' Union (LUSU), who put a really thorough selection process in place and went the extra mile this year."
Series Producer Clare Parody, of Media City-based Lifted Entertainment who produce the show, said: "We hope very much that the team will enjoy the broadcast of their first-round match. We greatly enjoyed working with them and think they should be extremely proud of their achievements in the competition."
University Challenge first aired in 1962 and was hosted by Bamber Gascoigne.
Tune in to the Lancaster v Lincoln University Challenge on BBC2 on Monday, September 1 at 8.30pm.
