Jeremy Paxman ends stint as longest-serving quizmaster on telly after 967 University Challenge episodes
JEREMY Paxman tonight ended his stint as the longest-serving current quizmaster on telly after his 967th edition of University Challenge.
The 73-year-old ex-Newsnight host, who has Parkinson’s disease, started the role 29 years ago.
His final episode saw the University of Durham beat Bristol — with a composed Paxman signing off by saying he “looked forward” to watching the show with its new host, Amol Rajan.
Jeremy said when announcing he was stepping down: “I’ve had a blast hosting this wonderful series.
“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.”
Kate Phillips, BBC’s Director of Unscripted, added: “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.”
Peter Gwyn, Executive Producer of University Challenge, said at the time: “Jeremy has been our presenter, colleague and friend for twenty-eight years, and everyone on the University Challenge production team will miss him greatly.
“He’ll be sorely missed too by both our audience and by the generations of students who’ve relished the chance to pit themselves against him in more than a thousand matches.”