University Challenge: Jeremy Paxman quits as host after 28 years

Replacement has already been decided and will be announced this week

Jeremy Paxman is quitting University Challenge after 28 years, ending his reign as the longest-serving current quizmaster on British television.

The broadcaster, 72, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease last year, has presented the show since it was revived by the BBC in 1994.

He will film his last episode this autumn and his final series will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 29 August through to summer next year.

“I’ve had a blast hosting this wonderful series for nearly 29 years,” he said on Tuesday. “I’ve been lucky enough to work with an amazing team and to meet some of the swottier brains in the country. It gives me hope for the future.”

His replacement has already been decided and will be announced later this week.

University Challenge is Britain’s longest-running game show, having been on the air for 60 years.

Kate Phillips, the BBC’s director of Unscripted, said: “Since the BBC revived University Challenge in 1994, Jeremy has been at the front and centre of the show’s success and is without doubt one of the world’s finest, and most formidable quizmasters.

“We are hugely grateful to Jeremy for his dedication to the programme for an incredible 28 years, he will be much missed by us all and the show’s millions of viewers.”

In 2021, Paxman revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, saying his symptoms were “currently mild” and that he is “receiving excellent treatment”.

He will discuss his diagnosis in a new ITV documentary set to air later this year

Paxman: Putting Up with Parkinson’s will see the journalist reflect on how the brain disorder has affected him.

The quiz master with contestants (PA)

He will also speak to leading experts on the illness, witness a brain dissection and meet other high-profile people living with Parkinson’s.

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Former University Challenge contestant Bobby Seagull, who shot to fame thanks to his fierce rivalry with Eric Monkman during a semi-final, told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "I'm, like many other fans, sad to see the end of the time of the great and formidable Jeremy Paxman.

"He has just become an institution. Many quiz fans every Monday night we have a routine, the pinnacle of the quiz night is University Challenge, Paxman since 1994 has been the centrepiece of that.

"Jeremy Paxman, he generally really respects the idea of a programme where young people and older students can demonstrate their knowledge, it shows value of knowledge.

"University Challenge is the epitome of that. There are gimmicky game shows that are fun, University Challenge is all about the knowledge and that is something that is really prized in the 21st century."

Mr Seagull, a maths teacher, thinks the former Pointless host Richard Osman or broadcaster and journalist Kirsty Wark could take over from Paxman.

Bamber Gascoigne presented University Challenge on ITV from 1962 to 1987.