University Challenge to return on the 29th... and it'll be Paxo's final series

So, yesterday, after weeks of speculation, we finally learned what we'd all come to assume anyway: that UC will indeed be back on the 29th. Plus, there'll be a special documentary afterwards to mark the show's 60th anniversary and the film adaptation of Starter for 10 after that.

But, of course, the big news yesterday was that Jeremy Paxman will be stepping down as host after this series.

Sad news, but not entirely unexpected, given how much he was visibly struggling with his illness during the last series. As Dave C said on LAM last year, the man deserves respect and admiration for wanting to carry on doing the show as long as he can in spite of his illness. And he's done the show for so long now that he deserves to be able to stop doing it in his own time.

In a rather nice bit of timing, yesterday's (repeat of) Pointless featured a question about his hosting of the show, and Messrs Armstrong and Osman remarked how odd it is that he's still thought of as 'the new host' of the show when he's been doing it over a quarter of a century now. Indeed, my grandparents, and various others on Twitter, often say how odd it is to them when they watch the show and Bamber, God rest his soul, isn't there.

 

On the other hand, there is now a whole younger generation, myself included, who have only ever known him as host of the show, so seeing someone else do it next year will feel very odd indeed.

Nonetheless, I wish the man all the best for his retirement and hopefully this new series will be a good one for him to go out on!

And we won't have to wait long to find out who's next, as the BBC article stated that the new presenter will be announced 'later this week'.

 

So, for now, I'll avoid all the speculation that has erupted over the past day and wait until the official announcement is made before airing my views. But I will say that, after getting the Mastermind appointment spot on with Clive Myrie, I have every confidence that the BBC will get the right person for the job.

 

Back to the new series itself, and we now know that the first match of the series on the 29th will be Bristol vs Durham (two of whom I have already encountered on Twitter). Also, if the BBC website is to be believed, the series will be 37 episodes again. Which means, of my two theories as to the late start this year, the correct one appears to be we're simply starting later and not having the very first matches in the dead of summer when fewer will be watching. Assuming the usual two week break for the Xmas series and no other unforeseen stoppages (mind you, the World Cup?), we should be getting the final in late May.

Anyway, I'll be back when the new host is announced with my initial thoughts on the appointment, whoever it may be; so, see you then...