0:00:01 > 0:00:03University Challenge has been baffling students
0:00:03 > 0:00:05and delighting audiences for the past 52 years.
0:00:05 > 0:00:06Bleurgh...
0:00:06 > 0:00:07Bu-bu-bu...
0:00:07 > 0:00:11Over 43 series, more than a thousand teams have gone
0:00:11 > 0:00:15head-to-head in a bid top be crowned the brightest scholars in Britain.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19I'm completely swept away by how much they know.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23From the dreaming spires of Oxbridge to the rugged redbricks,
0:00:23 > 0:00:24this quiz has real prestige
0:00:24 > 0:00:27and has coined a few catchphrases along the way.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29Here's the first starter for ten.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Now, for the first time in the show's history,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35we followed the students' journey from the initial team selection
0:00:35 > 0:00:38to the moment they walk out onto the iconic studio floor.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Fingers on the buzzers, here's your first starter for ten.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42So, what's in store for these bright young things?
0:00:42 > 0:00:45You do sort of see your life flashing before your eyes
0:00:45 > 0:00:46in the final of University Challenge.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48How clever do they have to be?
0:00:48 > 0:00:51These are young people who know amazing things.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53Edinburgh, Herbert.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Reticulum fabulosa.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Sounds like something out of Harry Potter.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59..and which institutions have what it takes to make the grade
0:00:59 > 0:01:03and become the University Challenge class of 2014?
0:01:08 > 0:01:10University Challenge Tournament.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Asking the questions - Bamber Gascoigne.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15Hello and welcome again to...
0:01:15 > 0:01:18University Challenge is as popular with viewers
0:01:18 > 0:01:22and students today as it was at its creation in 1962.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Most people don't know most of the answers.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27It is nevertheless great fun to hear strange things
0:01:27 > 0:01:29that you don't actually know about.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31I was never good enough to get onto it,
0:01:31 > 0:01:33but I certainly used to watch it.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36People increasingly wanted their children to watch it on the -
0:01:36 > 0:01:37I think - wrong assumption
0:01:37 > 0:01:40that they're going to improve their intelligence.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44I don't think the show has changed a great deal since 1962 at all.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47The format remains the same - you buzz in, answer a starter
0:01:47 > 0:01:52question correctly, so your team can try some bonus questions.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54That's really the only rule we've got.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56- Here's your starter for ten. - St Hilda's, Evans.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59- Picasso. - Picasso, ten points St Hilda's.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01OK, the rules are constant as the northern star,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03so fingers on the buzzers.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05If you don't know the rules by now you never will,
0:02:05 > 0:02:07so fingers on the buzzers, here's your starter for ten.
0:02:07 > 0:02:08Somerville, Beer.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Richard Lionheart.
0:02:10 > 0:02:12It is indeed Richard I, yes.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14We've got two distinguishing characteristics.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17That rule, and the oldest special effect in television,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21in which one team appears to be sitting on top of the other.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24Every year sees hundreds of universities apply,
0:02:24 > 0:02:25hoping to be represented on screen
0:02:25 > 0:02:28and become part of the show's illustrious history.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30- BELL - Trinity, Ridley.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31- A million. - One million is correct, yes.
0:02:31 > 0:02:35I've heard universities say that winning University Challenge
0:02:35 > 0:02:37gave them more positive publicity than
0:02:37 > 0:02:40when one of their faculty won a Nobel prize.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44I've been told, later on, that, apparently, the year after the win,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47the rate of applications to the college went up.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49It was even more fun, you know, pressing the buzzer
0:02:49 > 0:02:52and answering the questions, and getting it all right
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and impressing Jeremy Paxman, than it is to watch.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58So it's definitely something I would recommend.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01For the first time ever,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04we followed the selection process every step of the way.
0:03:05 > 0:03:06We'll also take a closer look
0:03:06 > 0:03:09at how some institutions pick their teams...
0:03:09 > 0:03:13And the captain of our team is James Gheerbrant.
0:03:13 > 0:03:14..hear the students' hopes
0:03:14 > 0:03:17and fears as they face the tough audition process...
0:03:17 > 0:03:19I think, like, university students put themselves
0:03:19 > 0:03:22forward as England's best and brightest.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24We'll examine the institutions
0:03:24 > 0:03:26that have a formidable history with the show...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28We're the first ever to have won it three times,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31and we actually got to keep the trophy.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34..and reveal the final line-up of the 28 teams
0:03:34 > 0:03:37that will make up the University Challenge class of 2014.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40It's going to be a pretty damn good series.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Hello, last time we saw Somerville College, Oxford,
0:03:44 > 0:03:45win the first place...
0:03:45 > 0:03:47But before the students even get a sniff of Paxo
0:03:47 > 0:03:51there are hurdles to overcome, and the first is selecting
0:03:51 > 0:03:54the perfect team to put forward for the auditions.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56This process is a minefield,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00so first we thought we'd ask the experts how they did it.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02Everyone turned up, they asked a set of questions - of course,
0:04:02 > 0:04:05in those days there was no confiscating iPads and iPhones
0:04:05 > 0:04:08to check the answers with a quick google.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10We did some tests in the beer cellar,
0:04:10 > 0:04:12but then we just talked together and got a team together.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14I picked a bunch of people that I knew
0:04:14 > 0:04:16who I thought were good at quizzes.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20Mainly from the people who used to waste money
0:04:20 > 0:04:22standing at the quiz machine in the college bar.
0:04:22 > 0:04:24They did a very light-hearted quiz
0:04:24 > 0:04:28with a book that they'd bought from the shop next door for a pound.
0:04:28 > 0:04:29I think...
0:04:29 > 0:04:31They've never actually admitted this,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34so you'd have to actually ask them, but I think the reason
0:04:34 > 0:04:37they made me captain is that I was a mate of theirs.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Now they tend to be much more organised about how
0:04:40 > 0:04:42they choose their teams,
0:04:42 > 0:04:45and you don't know whether they've chosen their team
0:04:45 > 0:04:49because they all know each other, or whether because they've had,
0:04:49 > 0:04:51as generally happens,
0:04:51 > 0:04:56quizzes to choose who'll be the best four to represent the institution.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Any seat of learning can apply to be on the show,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02as long is it has university status,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05and each institution has its own method
0:05:05 > 0:05:07of picking their best line-up.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11And on a cold December day at City University in London,
0:05:11 > 0:05:16the students are gearing up to pick their team to try out for 2014.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17I'm a journalism student,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I'm here not take part in University Challenge, hopefully get selected.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24I'm Justin Wong and I'm a law student at City University.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26I'm Susie Clarke, I'm a nursing student.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Well, I'm becoming a speech and language therapist.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31My name's Aidan McDonald,
0:05:31 > 0:05:33I'm the general manager of the students' union.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Sometimes we get onto the televised rounds,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38and once we got as far as the quarterfinals.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41With no shortage of eager students to choose from,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44what is the magic formula for the perfect team?
0:05:44 > 0:05:51On team selection, it's important to have people
0:05:51 > 0:05:53with different strengths.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56I'm OK on English, history, music,
0:05:56 > 0:05:58art, geography,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01biology, pathology...
0:06:01 > 0:06:03I'm probably not too good at maths.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05These days in particular,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09somebody who's more on the maths and science side.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10Let's leave aside the maths questions,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13which I don't frankly understand!
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Well, every good team needs a historian.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Hopefully I'll be strong in geography, history...
0:06:19 > 0:06:23You're a bit nutty not to have at least one scientist on the team.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25My speciality, when I go to the pub quiz,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28is the science questions - I love the science questions.
0:06:28 > 0:06:29And one time we were in the quiz
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and we got to a draw with the other team that always wins every week,
0:06:33 > 0:06:35and we always come second, and the subject was science,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and he said one person, and I went to be the one person for science.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39The question was,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42"In which year was insulin first used for medical purposes?"
0:06:42 > 0:06:45And that was 1922, but I said 1921.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48The other one was a doctor, she said 1923.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51Went to the second science head-to-head question.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Oh, my goodness. And it was,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57"How many muscles in a cat's ear control its directional movement?"
0:06:57 > 0:07:01The answer's 32. I said 16. She said 8.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04So it's science. I'm going to win at science.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13The perfect University Challenge team is a team that is made up
0:07:13 > 0:07:17of people who are massive fans of the show.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20I think that helps enormously, because they know how the show works.
0:07:20 > 0:07:25I think the people who read widely have a massive advantage -
0:07:25 > 0:07:28whether they're the kind of people who take atlases to bed
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and read them with a torch under the covers,
0:07:31 > 0:07:34or people who actually take the time to read dictionaries from A to Z -
0:07:34 > 0:07:37really, the people you'll see on screen are the people who do that,
0:07:37 > 0:07:39and have always done that.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40I was on the University Challenge team
0:07:40 > 0:07:42my first year and my second year.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44I've actually applied before, at my last university.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Unfortunately we didn't get to the televised stages.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48I think it's a fantastic opportunity
0:07:48 > 0:07:50for students to show what they can do,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53to really show the breadth of their knowledge.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56City University's bespoke selection process asks their hopefuls
0:07:56 > 0:07:58to answer six rounds of questions -
0:07:58 > 0:08:01four on general knowledge and two on science.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04It's the five highest scorers who will be selected
0:08:04 > 0:08:06as the University Challenge rules state that each team
0:08:06 > 0:08:10must consist of four players and a reserve.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Hydrogen has three isotopes, has three isotopes -
0:08:14 > 0:08:17protium, tritium and which other?
0:08:17 > 0:08:19I would love to be the team captain, but who knows?
0:08:19 > 0:08:20It's stiff competition here,
0:08:20 > 0:08:22lots of intellectuals surrounding me here today.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25I'm as curious as anyone as to what makes the perfect team,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29and what sort of combination they're looking for.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Our captain will be the person who gets the highest score.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35Tonight, I think you know, we could have our quarterfinalists,
0:08:35 > 0:08:36and maybe even the winners.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Three institutions, the universities of London, Oxford and Cambridge,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49enter the competition from their individual colleges,
0:08:49 > 0:08:52which provide the students' teaching.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54Today, at Churchill College, Cambridge,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57student and avid fan of the show Kyle Lam
0:08:57 > 0:09:00has taken it upon himself to create his own team.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04I'm Kyle Lam and I'm a third-year medical student.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06Today we're basically running the trials
0:09:06 > 0:09:08for our University Challenge team.
0:09:08 > 0:09:12Since I was a little kid, I've always been really keen on quizzing.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15Hoping for around 20 people to turn up.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18I'm definitely a big fan of the show - I always watch it.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Big fan of Jeremy Paxman! Ha-ha!
0:09:20 > 0:09:23Jeremy Paxman, you know - who doesn't like Paxo?
0:09:23 > 0:09:26So, I've looked at the questions and I picked up ones I kind of know,
0:09:26 > 0:09:28but I've also picked up ones I don't know
0:09:28 > 0:09:33so otherwise it'll be really kind of a biased selection of questions.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37Hopefully we'll get a good mix of people.
0:09:37 > 0:09:38People who like quizzes
0:09:38 > 0:09:41are definitely a different species, really.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Yeah, they tend to be very competitive.
0:09:43 > 0:09:44I'm Teddy. I do medicine.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I'm Roland and I'm doing natural sciences.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50I'm Alice and I'm doing astrophysics.
0:09:50 > 0:09:54Hopefully the top scorers will get to be on the team.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56Churchill have won University Challenge before.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58We're keen to do that again.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Personally, I'd like to be the captain.
0:10:00 > 0:10:01Thanks for turning up, everyone.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Good luck. You can start.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06Kyle has compiled a written test of 25 questions,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09and the top scorers will make it onto his team.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15Meanwhile, City University's test is nearly over.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Which city in Northern England was the birthplace or became the home
0:10:19 > 0:10:23of the poets Andrew Marvell, Stevie Smith and Philip Larkin?
0:10:23 > 0:10:26I didn't do very well on the science round. At all.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30I think I got one right. The general knowledge was OK.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Oh, it was so much harder than I thought it would be.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34I was surprised by the science round,
0:10:34 > 0:10:36cos I'm not actually studying science. I think it was mostly luck.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Or was it superior oblique?
0:10:38 > 0:10:41I know that, cos I learnt it in a song about the cranial nerves.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44And I always say, I know all the anatomy from the neck up,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46and then I put tongue - I know it's not the tongue.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48If there's one organ I know about, it's the bloody tongue.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50- It was pretty tough.- Yeah. - Quite difficult.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53There's going to be trouble if only one of us gets through.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54It would be the end of our friendship.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56We won't speak to each other again.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58The quiz papers are marked,
0:10:58 > 0:11:00so it's time to reveal the chosen five
0:11:00 > 0:11:03who will be representing City University's application.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05We're just looking now.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07We think we've got a team, we're just about to announce it.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12OK, we have an initial winner, which is the winner of the science round.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Could Owen Kennedy please stand up and come up to the front?
0:11:18 > 0:11:21The top scorer, and the captain of our team,
0:11:21 > 0:11:22is James Gheerbrant.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29The next member of the team is Jonathan Williams.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37And the fourth member of the team is Kathryn Drumm.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43And the reserve member of the team is Ali Nihat.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50None of us have met before, but I think that's good -
0:11:50 > 0:11:53it obviously means that we're representing
0:11:53 > 0:11:55quite a wide range of subjects, I guess.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58So hopefully we can galvanise ourselves into a really good team.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Back at Churchill College, Cambridge,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Kyle has marked his papers, and the results are in.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10Two students have scored highly, and are offered an immediate place
0:12:10 > 0:12:13to represent the Churchill College application.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Quite a few of you got 11, but the top two -
0:12:17 > 0:12:20so, in second place was Roland with 12, which is very good.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24And also David, in first place, with 17 out of 25,
0:12:24 > 0:12:26which is very impressive.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Kyle is now left to deliberate
0:12:28 > 0:12:30on who else will make up his dream team.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34City have their team in place.
0:12:34 > 0:12:39The next stage is to apply to the TV show via an application form.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41Each year around 130 teams apply,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44but only 28 will be selected for the programme.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48We're filling in all our application forms
0:12:48 > 0:12:50and answering the big University Challenge test.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53"In words such as chrysanthemum and chrysalis,
0:12:53 > 0:12:55"the Greek 'chrys' refers to which metal?"
0:12:55 > 0:12:58It's great to be representing City University, which is a university
0:12:58 > 0:13:01that actually doesn't get on University Challenge all that often.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Here's to, hopefully, further success in the competition.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06- Hey!- Cheers!
0:13:07 > 0:13:10One team that does make it onto screen regularly
0:13:10 > 0:13:12are reigning University Challenge champions
0:13:12 > 0:13:13Trinity College, Cambridge.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15Trinity, you're the champions. Well done.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18To win the 2014 University Challenge series was amazing.
0:13:18 > 0:13:19I felt absolutely was amazing.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21I mean, I felt absolutely ecstatic, it was...
0:13:21 > 0:13:24It was so good that you couldn't really believe it was happening.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26I think it takes a while to sink in, that kind of thing,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28because you don't see it coming.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30And suddenly it's actually been done,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32and that's just always going to be true.
0:13:32 > 0:13:33It's a title they're used to,
0:13:33 > 0:13:35having won the series three times.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37The first, in 1974.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Trinity, Cambridge.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40APPLAUSE
0:13:40 > 0:13:42And, Trinity, can I now invite you to join me
0:13:42 > 0:13:44for the presentation of the award?
0:13:44 > 0:13:47And, notably, it was Trinity who won on Jeremy Paxman's first run out
0:13:47 > 0:13:50as quizmaster in 1995.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53When we were given the trophy,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56I think it's all a bit of a blur in my mind.
0:13:56 > 0:13:57It's only the day after
0:13:57 > 0:13:59that you realise the enormity of what you've done.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09Trinity College, Cambridge, was founded in 1546 by Henry VIII.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13Its motto of "Virtus Vera Nobilitas"
0:14:13 > 0:14:15meaning "virtue is true nobility."
0:14:16 > 0:14:18With over a thousand students,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20Trinity is the largest of Cambridge's colleges.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26But will this year's team make it into the class of 2014?
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Here to defend their title and try
0:14:29 > 0:14:32and secure a place on this year's show are...
0:14:32 > 0:14:34third-year physicist Matthew Willetts...
0:14:34 > 0:14:36What makes it really goods television, in my mind,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40is the fact that it is so intellectually honest.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42..mathematician Michael Dunn Goekjian...
0:14:42 > 0:14:45It's a real privilege to get the opportunity to spend time
0:14:45 > 0:14:50with such interesting and interested people, my colleagues on the team.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52..their captain, chemistry student Hugh Bennett...
0:14:52 > 0:14:56I was reserved for the team last year, which was really good fun.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Going through the whole process with them,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01and obviously enjoying their success.
0:15:01 > 0:15:02..fourth-year classicist Clare Hall...
0:15:02 > 0:15:05I think it's going to be quite a different experience,
0:15:05 > 0:15:07being on it from watching it.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10I don't think I'm ever going to shout impatiently at the TV again.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12..and mathematics student Aled Walker.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15It tests your cultural awareness -
0:15:15 > 0:15:18and your cultural inculcation, in some sense.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22And so it's a little more than JUST a quiz show, as it were.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24For this year's team,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27what is it about Trinity College that makes it so special?
0:15:27 > 0:15:28Two things.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30So, first, I'm studying mathematics
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and Trinity has a reputation in mathematics as being pre-eminent.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35The second thing is, when I came to visit
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I was just overwhelmed by what a beautiful place this is.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39So I came.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41That moment when you first step into Trinity,
0:15:41 > 0:15:43it's just such an oasis of calm.
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Just outside the front are these busy streets.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50It just feels wonderful to be able to walk out of my room, you know,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52walk down the stairs and be in this huge space.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54I set myself a challenge in my second year
0:15:54 > 0:15:58to try to learn to juggle five balls.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00I specialise in the interface
0:16:00 > 0:16:03between something called combinatorics and number theory,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08so, combinatorics - well, in some sense, it's clever counting.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12Mathematics can sometimes be a bit serious, so...
0:16:12 > 0:16:14I do quite a lot of Gilbert and Sullivan operetta.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16I usually get up quite early in the morning.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18I like to, you know, start off nice and fresh,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20and in the morning I usually do a little bit of debate practice.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23I just take a random topic, think about it for 15 minutes
0:16:23 > 0:16:25and then stand up and give a seven-minute speech saying
0:16:25 > 0:16:27why it would be a good idea.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31It's a great way to get the brain going after a rather long night.
0:16:31 > 0:16:35A lot of my extracurricular stuff is actually academic stuff in disguise.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37I learn Icelandic.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39I go to history of maths lectures
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and generally hang out with mathematicians a lot.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46At the moment I'm doing quite a lot on the history of late antiquity.
0:16:46 > 0:16:47And then I'm doing a thing on palaeography,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50so, learning to read manuscripts -
0:16:50 > 0:16:53which is a lot more fun than it sounds.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57Living in Trinity is simply wonderful.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59And nobody takes it for granted.
0:16:59 > 0:17:00ORGAN PLAYS
0:17:00 > 0:17:04This chapel is surprisingly secular, in many ways,
0:17:04 > 0:17:08in that we've got huge statues of the famous people of the college
0:17:08 > 0:17:10out in the antechapel.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Newton.- Have to start with Newton. - Have to start with Newton.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15We've also got Tennyson.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Somehow ended up as president of the Cambridge Union,
0:17:18 > 0:17:22and, you know, being in that position at quite a young age - I'm 19.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25A lot to do while being a student, but...
0:17:25 > 0:17:27You know, if I'd wanted an easy life, I'd have gone to Oxford.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30People come through it over the years,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32a lot of people that I've really looked up to.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Isaac Newton's an obvious one.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37This is the north cloister of Neville's Court in Trinity.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41And this is where Isaac Newton first determined the speed of sound.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43To study in the same place where all of them
0:17:43 > 0:17:45came is just really incredible.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47Michael, would you like to demonstrate?
0:17:47 > 0:17:48CLAPS ECHO
0:17:48 > 0:17:52Hearing the echo, you can work out what the speed is very simply.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59This is a really nice room, where you can play the piano
0:17:59 > 0:18:01when you want to do something a bit different.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06When I'm not in lectures and supervisions, I'm in the lab.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I'm working on synthesising a natural product,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and it's a molecule that could have some really strong
0:18:14 > 0:18:17anti-cancer properties and applications.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19We are all friends, we do all know each other.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Can we please get his phone case on film?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24It's a Justin Bieber phone case.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27That's nice, it's not like we're some sort of 1990s boy band.
0:18:27 > 0:18:28Though, I mean,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31perhaps that might be a career that Hugh might consider in the future.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- Well, why not? - He's just got so many great songs.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Er...
0:18:36 > 0:18:38Baby, Baby...
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- Wrecking Ball.- What a lyricist!
0:18:40 > 0:18:41Justin Bieber, Wrecking Ball...
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Wrecking Ball, I thought that was Miley Cyrus.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46I thought they were the same.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Were are friends, and that does make it a lot easier.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52So, this is Trinity's chosen team.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55But the next stage in the process will be crucial - the audition.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58MUSIC: "Baba O'Riley" by The Who
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It's January, and the University Challenge production team
0:19:01 > 0:19:03set out to meet the students.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06Every team that applies is invited to interview.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08Much like a university application -
0:19:08 > 0:19:12the producers are looking for a combination of academic excellence
0:19:12 > 0:19:14and great personality.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18And, from over 130 teams, just 28 will be selected.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22On the road are assistant producer Clare
0:19:22 > 0:19:24and researchers Paddy and Olivia.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27Today they're in Cambridge, where they'll see 27 teams
0:19:27 > 0:19:31representing a variety of local colleges and institutions.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36This is our first day in Cambridge, in the lovely Corpus Christi campus.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38It doesn't really get much more Hogwarty than this.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42We don't travel light. This is all the stuff we have to bring with us.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44This is all the highly sensitive, confidential information
0:19:44 > 0:19:47that we have to keep on our person at all times.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Also the super hi tech CD player,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52which we use to play our interview quiz.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Our box, which is entirely full of pens.
0:19:55 > 0:19:56And this is our paperwork.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59I'm not sure that it really amps up our street cred in any way,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02but we try and shift it to one side before we meet the students.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10It seems that for the nervous students,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12the test begins before they enter the room.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Yeah, that's pretty self-explanatory.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17We always have to put signposts up
0:20:17 > 0:20:19cos these colleges can be a bit labyrinthine.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Although, to be honest, I always think it should be part of the test.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25If they can't find the room from three signposts,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27then maybe they shouldn't be on the show.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Having found their way first to audition,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Trinity College are here to defend their title.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36- I mean, I was thinking that could be a faux pas.- Yeah...
0:20:36 > 0:20:38Would you like to shove it behind this curtain,
0:20:38 > 0:20:39so no-one can see our shame?
0:20:39 > 0:20:41But before the interviews can begin,
0:20:41 > 0:20:43there's one serious matter to attend to...
0:20:43 > 0:20:45No-one need ever know.
0:20:45 > 0:20:46..the trolley.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49Like some sort of Agatha Christie sort of thing.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54We're about to interview. I'm feeling caffeinated.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55THEY LAUGH
0:20:55 > 0:20:57It's only a game, right?
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Down the road, it seems that Kyle has finalised his line-up
0:21:01 > 0:21:03for the Churchill College team,
0:21:03 > 0:21:06and before the interview, they stop off for a pep talk.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07Well, I'm feeling pretty confident,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10and I think the rest of the team are keen for this as well.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13- Yeah.- Just, like, be yourself, basically.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16We're all perfectly normal people, so there'll be no worries there.
0:21:16 > 0:21:17Try and answer every question.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21Churchill last won in 1970, so all hopes are pinned on these five.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Good luck, everyone.
0:21:23 > 0:21:26- Good luck!- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28For two days, all across Cambridge,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31students will make their way to Corpus Christi College to audition.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33We're the team from Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
0:21:33 > 0:21:35We're from Robinson College, Cambridge.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39St Catharine's. We consider ourselves the friendliest college in Cambridge.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41We figure there's two ways to get on the show.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43You can either be good or you can telegenic.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45- Well...- Now, we have one of the two.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51Some teams will go the extra mile to impress the producers.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54This is my outfit today.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56These are my Witch-king of Angmar leggings,
0:21:56 > 0:21:58based on Lord Of The Rings...
0:21:58 > 0:22:00this is my cool corset...
0:22:00 > 0:22:03this is my bag with an Irish script called ogham on it...
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and altogether this is the stuff left in my wardrobe
0:22:06 > 0:22:08after I didn't do any washing last week.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13The students will sit a tough 40-question quiz.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16They answer individually, but the score is calculated
0:22:16 > 0:22:20as a five-person team - four main players and the reserve.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22So, every answer counts.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24This is the bottom line -
0:22:24 > 0:22:27you have to have a certain baseline of knowledge.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Which is quite high, I have to say.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Good luck, everybody.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34RECORDING: What given name links four kings of Scotland,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38the US civil rights leader murdered in 1965
0:22:38 > 0:22:43and the authors of Under the Volcano and The History Man?
0:22:44 > 0:22:48The Sand Reckoner and On Floating Bodies
0:22:48 > 0:22:50are works by which mathematician?
0:22:50 > 0:22:55Which orchestral instrument links Emma Johnson, Andrew Marriner
0:22:55 > 0:22:57and Julian Bliss?
0:22:57 > 0:23:02Who was Prime Minister at the time of the Abolition of Slavery Act?
0:23:02 > 0:23:07Lok Sabha is the lower house of parliament of which country?
0:23:07 > 0:23:11Add the smallest perfect number to the second-smallest prime.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15How is this number expressed in binary?
0:23:15 > 0:23:18Question 40 - implying the untying of a knot,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22which term from French denotes the final unravelling of a plot
0:23:22 > 0:23:24and the conclusion of a narrative?
0:23:26 > 0:23:30And, on that fitting note, if you'd like to put your pens down,
0:23:30 > 0:23:31that's the end of the test.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33If you just want to pass them in.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Thanks very much.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41As well as scoring highly in the quiz,
0:23:41 > 0:23:42the teams also face an interview,
0:23:42 > 0:23:46as the producers are looking to cast strong characters
0:23:46 > 0:23:48to represent the national student population.
0:23:48 > 0:23:53We're looking for teams who have got a certain amount of personality.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55It's an entertainment show.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57I do have some nice jumpers.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59I'm demonstrating that now.
0:23:59 > 0:24:00Describe to me what it is.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Yep, it is Scumbag College,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05which is a reference to the University Challenge episode
0:24:05 > 0:24:06of The Young Ones.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09We want our audience to be entertained by the teams,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12stand up to Jeremy, who aren't going to bottle it.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15They call me the fudge fairy, because I give everyone food.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18So I suppose, in the team, I am the bringer of the food.
0:24:18 > 0:24:19We want memorable teams.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21I specialise in medieval animalium,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24because I quite like images of monsters and that kind of thing.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27With the chats over, all that's left is to take a team snapshot.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29And the production have their own way
0:24:29 > 0:24:30of getting the students to smile.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33After three, if you could all just say, "Jeremy!"
0:24:33 > 0:24:35- One, two, three... ALL:- Jeremy!
0:24:37 > 0:24:39- ALL:- Jeremy!
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Time for the all-important comparing of notes.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45It could've gone better.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47It could've gone a lot worse, I guess.
0:24:47 > 0:24:48After the questions, I think -
0:24:48 > 0:24:50I hope we've still got a good chance. Fingers crossed.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52The test was hard, but I think that we all made
0:24:52 > 0:24:54quite intellectual guesses about it - I hope!
0:24:54 > 0:24:56I'm not a betting man, so I'd say 50/50.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I think we've definitely done the college proud.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02I felt so bad, I didn't get the chemistry question on the element.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04I couldn't remember my periodic table.
0:25:04 > 0:25:05Is x = sine, is it parabola?
0:25:05 > 0:25:07- The helix.- Oh...- Oh, I got that!
0:25:09 > 0:25:11One team has certainly made an impression -
0:25:11 > 0:25:14though not necessarily for the right reasons.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17So, we've just seen the most impressively entertaining team
0:25:17 > 0:25:18of the day.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22- It was fun.- There were so many questions, and they were so fast.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Easier general knowledge quizzes.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And I'm just marking their results.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31One of them really stood out for me - Catherine, the reserve.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34She apparently thinks that On Floating Bodies
0:25:34 > 0:25:35was written by Rick Astley.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Who is also an element on the periodic table.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I reckon there's a good 11 Ricks.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43Is that the ones you had no idea?
0:25:43 > 0:25:46- On the Rickter scale. - The Rickter scale! Brilliant.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48She also thinks that a galaxy, in the maths function,
0:25:48 > 0:25:50is called "a penis-like structure."
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Which - a helix is the answer, but, you know, close enough.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56And then, also, number eight, for the FTP question,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59- she wrote - this is my personal favourite -- "BLEEP- the police."
0:26:02 > 0:26:03With the Cambridge auditions complete,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05the students have given their all.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08But is it enough to compete with the best?
0:26:08 > 0:26:11Over the years, the show has witnessed some legendary teams,
0:26:11 > 0:26:12and it's a redbrick university
0:26:12 > 0:26:15that has one of the most prestigious pedigrees of all.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19The University of Manchester are four-times series champions,
0:26:19 > 0:26:24a title they currently share with Magdalen College, Oxford.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26Their first success came in 2006,
0:26:26 > 0:26:32and since then they've gone on to enter seriously formidable teams.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33It was an incredible feeling.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35It was just pure euphoria,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37something was pumping through my veins
0:26:37 > 0:26:40that just - my heart was going, it was...
0:26:40 > 0:26:43It was half horrible, half amazing.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46At the gong, University College London have 140
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and Manchester University are on 190.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52I was very proud to represent the university.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57I am quite proud to have been sort of adopted by Manchester.
0:26:57 > 0:27:03You do feel a little bit jingoistic for Manchester.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06There is a sort of a support network of previous teams,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and it's very friendly.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11Manchester are the team everybody wants to beat.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Notably winning in 2012, during the show's 50th anniversary year,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17the team collected their trophy
0:27:17 > 0:27:19from none other than her royal highness the Duchess of Cornwall
0:27:19 > 0:27:21at Clarence House.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29The University of Manchester was established in 1834,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33and is now the largest single-site university in the United Kingdom.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36With over 40,000 students to choose from,
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Manchester have selected what they hope will be the perfect team
0:27:39 > 0:27:43to impress the producers and win a place in this year's final 28.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48Here they are enjoying the fine Mancunian weather.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50First up is team captain John Radcliffe,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52studying chemical engineering.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Some of the other redbrick universities,
0:27:55 > 0:27:57we feel a bit of a camaraderie with them,
0:27:57 > 0:28:00and maybe a bit more rivalry with some of the Oxbridge colleges.
0:28:00 > 0:28:02..Charlie Rowlands, a first-year genetics
0:28:02 > 0:28:03and Chinese language student...
0:28:03 > 0:28:08There's so much to live up to, you've got a huge legacy to uphold,
0:28:08 > 0:28:10as it were.
0:28:10 > 0:28:13..Edmund Chapman, currently reading a PhD in literature...
0:28:13 > 0:28:18A polite way of putting it would be that I was a precocious child.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20You could say I was a little...
0:28:20 > 0:28:21smarty-pants, I guess.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24..Mhairi Hindle, a third-year chemistry student...
0:28:24 > 0:28:26The University of Manchester was put on my radar
0:28:26 > 0:28:28because of University Challenge!
0:28:28 > 0:28:32..and Matt Stallard, a PhD student reading American studies.
0:28:32 > 0:28:37I had a history encyclopaedia, and, like the world atlas,
0:28:37 > 0:28:39and I did used to read them in bed.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43When other people were probably watching the telly.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48We can't do anything in this place
0:28:48 > 0:28:49without wearing some safety equipment.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51We'll be able to go into the lab...
0:28:51 > 0:28:52Safety glasses.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54I'm studying chemical engineering.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56The labs are more what you'd actually do
0:28:56 > 0:28:59in a chemical engineering type role in industry, for example.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01So, you're not mixing beakers and things -
0:29:01 > 0:29:03it's mainly turning knobs and reading a computer display
0:29:03 > 0:29:04and things like that.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08I never know quite what to say when people say, "Well, it's fine
0:29:08 > 0:29:10"that you're doing a PhD in literature,
0:29:10 > 0:29:12"but what are actually doing?"
0:29:12 > 0:29:14It's about literature and translation,
0:29:14 > 0:29:16so once a book has been written and published,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19how is it that it's still being read 150 years later?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22I'd only been to Manchester for an Oasis concert -
0:29:22 > 0:29:25that's the only time I'd ever been to Manchester before I applied to go.
0:29:25 > 0:29:26I wanted to go to a big city,
0:29:26 > 0:29:30and I think Manchester was always my number one choice.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Every time you walk into the main library,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36the University Challenge trophy underneath the escalator -
0:29:36 > 0:29:37it's a constant reminder, I guess.
0:29:37 > 0:29:39It's got pride of place here in our library,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and we see it every time we walk in. It's a real kind of inspiration.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45I'm a first-year genetics and Chinese student.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47It's a dual honours course, which means that
0:29:47 > 0:29:51I will be doing a genetics portion and a Chinese portion.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54Not genetics in Chinese, which would probably be an overload, I think!
0:29:56 > 0:29:59My day-to-day life is mostly trying to...
0:29:59 > 0:30:02Like, doing my work, and trying to forget about the existence
0:30:02 > 0:30:04of my degree, and do something else.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07My main extracurricular thing is debating,
0:30:07 > 0:30:11which is not really relaxing, as such, but it's quite fun.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14I like chemistry because of all the colours that you get
0:30:14 > 0:30:15when you do reactions.
0:30:15 > 0:30:19Because it's really boring to make white solids all the time.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22The previous Manchester teams are one big happy family,
0:30:22 > 0:30:26and spend time together enjoying the show and helping out the newcomers.
0:30:26 > 0:30:29We often watch the shows together - us and some of the former years.
0:30:29 > 0:30:30The Manchester team are all here
0:30:30 > 0:30:33to watch their second quarterfinal being broadcast.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35We've got the previous teams here as well - next year's team.
0:30:35 > 0:30:38So we just all come here for a couple of pints and watch it.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40'..your first starter for ten...'
0:30:40 > 0:30:42They're always getting lots of questions right,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45and I suddenly realised, you know, these guys do know their stuff.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47It's quite interesting to think what it's going to be like
0:30:47 > 0:30:50when we'll be the ones on the screen, there, next year.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53I'm more nervous now than I was before about being on the show.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Yeah.
0:30:55 > 0:30:56- Cheers.- Cheers. - Here's to us. Good luck, eh?
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Cheers.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Each institution has its own approach to the audition process,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06and given its successful track record,
0:31:06 > 0:31:11it's no surprise that Manchester's involves a rigorous training regime.
0:31:11 > 0:31:13I'm Stephen Pearson, I'm the organiser -
0:31:13 > 0:31:15commonly referred to as the coach -
0:31:15 > 0:31:18of the University of Manchester teams.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21For the past 16 years Stephen has been the driving force
0:31:21 > 0:31:24behind the Manchester University Challenge squad.
0:31:24 > 0:31:27I run the selection process, which involves a written test,
0:31:27 > 0:31:29and the test of speed on the buzzer,
0:31:29 > 0:31:32and then from people's performance on that, I try to choose what I think is
0:31:32 > 0:31:33the best team of four students,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36whose breadth of knowledge complements each other.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39All I do is hold a University Challenge style
0:31:39 > 0:31:41friendly practice session about once every week
0:31:41 > 0:31:45against people from past Manchester University teams.
0:31:45 > 0:31:48I'm Richard. I was captain last year.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Stephen asked me to come down and help out with these mini matches.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I think there's four generations of University Challenge teams here.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57Cos there's this one, then there's Liz's team, me
0:31:57 > 0:32:00and David's team, and Mike's team before that.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04Manchester are seen by lots of the other teams as the team to beat.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07I've been referred to as the Alex Ferguson of the quiz world,
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and I suppose in that sense, Manchester University,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14perhaps appropriately, is the Manchester United of the quiz world.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Stephen's fab, and he has a passion for quizzing
0:32:18 > 0:32:20and getting people into it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23I've been doing this since 1997.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26I was the captain of the Manchester team
0:32:26 > 0:32:28as a postgraduate student in 1996.
0:32:28 > 0:32:29Manchester, Pearson.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31- The Grampians. - The Grampians is correct.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35I wanted to carry on getting involved.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel A Farewell To Arms has been
0:32:38 > 0:32:41credited with introducing with introducing into the English language
0:32:41 > 0:32:44which Italian expression used both as a greeting and a form of goodbye?
0:32:44 > 0:32:45Opposition, Gilbert.
0:32:45 > 0:32:46- Ciao.- Ciao is right.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48Bang!
0:32:48 > 0:32:52I don't think Stephen fully channels Jeremy Paxman.
0:32:52 > 0:32:56Puddleglum, who appears in the Narnia story The Silver Chair,
0:32:56 > 0:32:59is a member of which race of pessimistic, froglike humanoids?
0:33:03 > 0:33:05No? It's marsh-wiggles.
0:33:05 > 0:33:07Another starter.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10- I can't imagine anyone less like Paxman.- Yes!
0:33:10 > 0:33:13Just, really, to get the team used to competing alongside each other,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16and to get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses,
0:33:16 > 0:33:18and get to know each other's characters generally.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21It's not just knowing about the right answers,
0:33:21 > 0:33:25it's perhaps even more the sort of ability to relax in the studio
0:33:25 > 0:33:28rather than be intimidated by Jeremy Paxman in particular,
0:33:28 > 0:33:32or just by the experience of being in the television studio.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34Opposition, Hindle.
0:33:34 > 0:33:35Electra.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37It was indeed Electra, yes, for ten points.
0:33:37 > 0:33:40And the score's standing at 180 to Manchester,
0:33:40 > 0:33:41110 to the opposition team.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47Can we have, like, a ceremonial baton to pass?
0:33:49 > 0:33:52It would be nice to get a fifth victory,
0:33:52 > 0:33:56but I'm not going to be too disappointed if it doesn't happen.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01So, has all the hard work paid off?
0:34:01 > 0:34:03Time for the moment of truth.
0:34:03 > 0:34:06The Manchester team are about to sit their audition at the new home
0:34:06 > 0:34:09of University Challenge, Salford's MediaCity.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12The next voice you hear will be our questions editor, Tom.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Good luck.
0:34:14 > 0:34:18RECORDING: Which type of radiation consists of high energy photons
0:34:18 > 0:34:22emitted in the decay of an atomic nucleus?
0:34:22 > 0:34:28Go back in time 100 million years. In which geological period are you?
0:34:32 > 0:34:34One, two, three, Jeremy.
0:34:35 > 0:34:37Teams from previous years have said to us,
0:34:37 > 0:34:38"Oh, don't worry, it'll be fine.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41"It's just to prove you're not a complete idiot."
0:34:41 > 0:34:44I think the difficulty's been kind of notched up!
0:34:44 > 0:34:45Or we're idiots.
0:34:45 > 0:34:47- Or we're idiots.- Maybe it's that.
0:34:47 > 0:34:48It could be that.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Manchester's chance to impress the producers is over,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54and just like the teams that have gone before them,
0:34:54 > 0:34:57they are keen to qualify and compete with the best.
0:34:59 > 0:35:01Competition between institutions is fierce.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06Over the year's 52-year history, age-old rivalries have emerged.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09On one hand, there are the Oxbridge colleges that some may
0:35:09 > 0:35:11consider the home of the elite.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15And on the other are the redbricks, the ancient Scottish universities,
0:35:15 > 0:35:18the plate-glass institutions of the '60s
0:35:18 > 0:35:20and the former polytechnics.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23- St John's, Bennett-Spragg.- Cybil.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Cybil is right, yes.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28The common perception is that Oxbridge always win but in reality,
0:35:28 > 0:35:34the split over the 52-year history of the show is pretty much even.
0:35:34 > 0:35:36It's a televisual David versus Goliath, where the
0:35:36 > 0:35:39viewers often find themselves rooting for the perceived underdog.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43- Edinburgh, Foster.- Millican.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46Oxbridge colleges do have a reputation for winning it and it was
0:35:46 > 0:35:50funny, even now, if it comes up in conversation or someone mentions
0:35:50 > 0:35:53it, people assume if you've won University Challenge,
0:35:53 > 0:35:55which Oxbridge college were you at?
0:35:55 > 0:35:57- Warwick, Christodoulou.- Zip.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59And then I say, "No, actually, I wasn't at Oxford or Cambridge,
0:35:59 > 0:36:01"I was at Warwick."
0:36:01 > 0:36:02Warwick, Christodoulou.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05- Best mate.- Best mate is right, yes.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08One of the wonderful things about Leicester winning was
0:36:08 > 0:36:10we were rank outsiders.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Nobody thought that, you know, a little,
0:36:15 > 0:36:19newly-founded redbrick university with about 2,000 students were
0:36:19 > 0:36:23going to beat Balliol, Oxford in the final,
0:36:23 > 0:36:28and were going to pull down the Oxbridge edifice.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32And it was just so wonderful and not only the university
0:36:32 > 0:36:36but the whole town was proud of us.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40My name's Aubrey Lawrence, representing Keele University,
0:36:40 > 0:36:44which then was almost entirely unknown.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46AUDIENCE CHEERS
0:36:46 > 0:36:50In spite of the fact that we were a new university, I think it was the
0:36:50 > 0:36:53first time that a Cambridge college had got through to the final as well.
0:36:53 > 0:36:54Keele, 255...
0:36:54 > 0:36:57DROWNED OUT BY CHEERING
0:36:57 > 0:37:00That means Keele are the winners of the whole year.
0:37:00 > 0:37:03The team I always sort of look out for facing is
0:37:03 > 0:37:05Magdalen College, Oxford.
0:37:05 > 0:37:06Manchester, Pearson.
0:37:06 > 0:37:09- The phlogiston theory. - Absolutely correct.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12When I was the captain of the Manchester team in 1997,
0:37:12 > 0:37:16we faced Magdalen College, Oxford in the semifinal and,
0:37:16 > 0:37:18with 20 seconds to go, Jeremy Paxman asked the last starter.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21There's only about 20 seconds to go but you might do it.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23Just wasn't quite quick enough on the buzzer.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26- How would a cheiromantist tell your fortune?- Magdalen, Andress.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29- He'd read your palm. - By reading your palm is correct.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31They went on to win the semifinal by 15 points
0:37:31 > 0:37:32and they went on to win the final.
0:37:32 > 0:37:36That's always been a rivalry since then for me, personally.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38But although some may consider Oxbridge to be
0:37:38 > 0:37:41the preserve of the privileged few, in actuality,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44the modern-day make-up of its students is ever-changing.
0:37:44 > 0:37:45- Kansas.- Correct.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48What is the home state of the Yankee in King Arthur's court
0:37:48 > 0:37:51according to the title of Mark Twain's satirical essay?
0:37:51 > 0:37:53- Connecticut.- That is correct.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55One of the things, actually, that I was most proud about was
0:37:55 > 0:37:58the fact that three out of four of us came from state schools.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- Magdalen, Fitzpatrick.- Turner.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02Turner is right.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04The previous year's team, I think
0:38:04 > 0:38:06they were all state school-educated
0:38:06 > 0:38:09so that's seven out of eight Oxford students,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11old institution like Magdalen,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14kind of tradition of lots of people from public schools -
0:38:14 > 0:38:17we were all, seven out of eight us, state school-educated.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19Slide rule.
0:38:19 > 0:38:20You always sound so surprised.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22- Positrons.- Correct.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25- Churchill.- Yes, it was. Don't look so surprised, it's right.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27I was really, really proud of that
0:38:27 > 0:38:31and I think it showed a properly modern face to the university.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36And it's Sarah's old college of Magdalen, Oxford that holds
0:38:36 > 0:38:39the joint claim of University Challenge's highest achievers
0:38:39 > 0:38:43alongside Manchester, having won the series an impressive four times.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45GONG SOUNDS
0:38:45 > 0:38:47And at the gong, it doesn't matter.
0:38:47 > 0:38:53Open have 195, Magdalen have 250.
0:38:53 > 0:38:57We've been amazingly successful at this particular type of activity.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59One of the things that you
0:38:59 > 0:39:03find in common about the students there is that they care a great deal
0:39:03 > 0:39:06about their subjects and they care a great deal about just knowing
0:39:06 > 0:39:09things and that's really helpful in quizzing, really.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11They were also the first institution ever
0:39:11 > 0:39:13to win for two consecutive years.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Magdalen, 225, a great score, you have pulled off a quite
0:39:16 > 0:39:19unprecedented achievement in the history of University Challenge.
0:39:19 > 0:39:22We couldn't believe it. It set up a bit of a tradition for Magdalen.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24This is the first time the same institution
0:39:24 > 0:39:26has won it two years running.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29The college took it quite seriously and were particularly proud of being
0:39:29 > 0:39:32able to say that we had done this two years in a row
0:39:32 > 0:39:35and I think maybe that's part of the reason they've carried on with
0:39:35 > 0:39:38that tradition is because they're so supportive of people taking part.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40And the achievements didn't end there.
0:39:40 > 0:39:43You're the first institution in the history of this programme
0:39:43 > 0:39:45to win the trophy three times.
0:39:45 > 0:39:46It was quite exciting
0:39:46 > 0:39:49because there was this whole thing about who's going to be
0:39:49 > 0:39:52the first to win it three times and, of course, when we won,
0:39:52 > 0:39:55we were the first ever to have won it three times
0:39:55 > 0:39:58and we actually got to keep the trophy when we lifted it
0:39:58 > 0:40:01and I went up to accept it and it was so heavy.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03So, the one you see now, if you look at it carefully,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05you can see it's much thinner.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07It's only like the front of the book,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10it doesn't have the pages behind it which made it so heavy.
0:40:10 > 0:40:11GONG SOUNDS
0:40:11 > 0:40:13And at the gong, York University have 85,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Magdalen College, Oxford have 290.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18I also felt that we needed to keep up the strong
0:40:18 > 0:40:21tradition of winning that had been established in the college.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22It's just a really great feeling.
0:40:22 > 0:40:25It must be something like the feeling of bowling out a Test
0:40:25 > 0:40:29batting side for 50 runs or something - that's how it felt.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34So, have Magdalen found the team that will compound their status
0:40:34 > 0:40:38as one of University Challenge's most successful institutions?
0:40:38 > 0:40:42Magdalen College was founded in 1458 during the reign of Henry VI,
0:40:42 > 0:40:45and named after Mary Magdalene.
0:40:45 > 0:40:48It's also home to a gargoyle with an uncanny resemblance to
0:40:48 > 0:40:49a certain presenter.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54This year's team desperate to secure a place on the show are...
0:40:54 > 0:40:56fourth-year classicist, Harry Gillow...
0:40:56 > 0:41:00University Challenge is the last great hurrah of the generalist,
0:41:00 > 0:41:03the people who know a little bit about everything but not
0:41:03 > 0:41:05enough to ever be useful.
0:41:05 > 0:41:07..captain and chemistry student, Hugh Binnie...
0:41:07 > 0:41:09As part of the University quiz society,
0:41:09 > 0:41:12we meet up and do University-style quizzing.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14..third-year chemist, Chris Savoury...
0:41:14 > 0:41:15It's hard to describe,
0:41:15 > 0:41:21I guess, how you feel after answering a particularly hard question.
0:41:21 > 0:41:22..Tom MacKenzie,
0:41:22 > 0:41:24reading a PhD in classical languages and literature...
0:41:24 > 0:41:26The pressure's on us, as a team,
0:41:26 > 0:41:31to try and beat Manchester now that Manchester has equalled
0:41:31 > 0:41:34Magdalen's number of wins.
0:41:34 > 0:41:37..and French and philosophy student, Cameron Quinn.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40There would never be anything like this on American television,
0:41:40 > 0:41:42it's too...
0:41:42 > 0:41:43It expects too much of the viewer,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46it expects too much of the contestant.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48If they make it onto the series,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52is this the team to bring home the trophy for a fifth time?
0:41:52 > 0:41:54I came to Magdalen and I remember first of all thinking,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57"Wow, this is incredibly beautiful."
0:41:57 > 0:42:00It is just the most amazing place to be.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03It's particularly fitting that I should have chosen Magdalen
0:42:03 > 0:42:05since it was the first Oxford college I ever saw.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11I'm originally from southern California, Pasadena specifically,
0:42:11 > 0:42:14but we just say Los Angeles cos nobody's heard of Pasadena.
0:42:14 > 0:42:15So, this is my room.
0:42:15 > 0:42:16The way that I dress
0:42:16 > 0:42:22and comport myself has something to do with a really ardent embrace
0:42:22 > 0:42:27of this new place where I find myself, to a stereotypical extent.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31Nobody actually, really, my age, dresses like this any more.
0:42:31 > 0:42:35It's a way of saying I prefer this place to my home.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42I'm studying for a PhD in classical languages and literature.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48It involves many, many hours in the library, reading lots of books,
0:42:48 > 0:42:51thinking about them and then writing about them.
0:42:53 > 0:42:57When we're in our fourth year, we especially do a research project.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02My particular project is in what's known as geometrical frustration.
0:43:02 > 0:43:04I'm definitely very proud of Magdalen,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07we've done exceptionally well in the competition so far.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09Until I came to study here,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12I don't think I really knew that Magdalen had won a record
0:43:12 > 0:43:17number of times but I suppose that it does mean that the pressure's on us.
0:43:17 > 0:43:20Magdalen's got an amazing history at University Challenge,
0:43:20 > 0:43:22and, joint with Manchester,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24has won it four times which is more than any other institution.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27This is one of the signs from back in the day
0:43:27 > 0:43:30and it was presented to Magdalen by Antony Beevor.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33This is a constant reminder of the pressure we, as a team,
0:43:33 > 0:43:36face to try to live up to this amazing reputation that
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Magdalen has in University Challenge.
0:43:38 > 0:43:40Now, here we are in Magdalen College's chapel.
0:43:40 > 0:43:45CS Lewis was a fellow here for about 20, 30 years, and that's just
0:43:45 > 0:43:48fantastic that there's this heritage to the college.
0:43:48 > 0:43:51I feel very privileged to be able to have the chance to be
0:43:51 > 0:43:54alongside such talented and knowledgeable people as these,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57and hopefully I won't let them down too badly.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00Well, now's the time to find out.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04The auditions are well under way
0:44:04 > 0:44:07and the production team have arrived in Oxford where
0:44:07 > 0:44:10a variety of colleges and institutions will audition,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13all keen to impress and bag a place on the show.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15We're from Lincoln College, otherwise known as that
0:44:15 > 0:44:18one on Turl Street next to Jesus that nobody knows about.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20We're the team from St Hilda's College.
0:44:20 > 0:44:21We're from Trinity College, Oxford.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Oxford's colleges have been crowned University Challenge
0:44:24 > 0:44:26champions a staggering 15 times
0:44:26 > 0:44:30and one of the many team to audition today is Magdalen College.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33And the roll call doesn't end there.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37- We're the team from Merton College. - We're from Regent's Park College.
0:44:37 > 0:44:38Jesus College, Oxford.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40- Lady Margaret Hall. - Balliol College, Oxford.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43We're the Oxford Brookes University Challenge team
0:44:43 > 0:44:46so we're not a college but they let us in sometimes.
0:44:46 > 0:44:47Until very recently,
0:44:47 > 0:44:52St Hilda's College had the record lowest score of all time.
0:44:52 > 0:44:53Impressive(!)
0:44:53 > 0:44:58Over two days, the Oxford wannabes will be quizzed, interviewed, probed
0:44:58 > 0:45:02and photographed, searching for that heady mix of brains and personality.
0:45:02 > 0:45:06University students put themselves forward as sort of England's
0:45:06 > 0:45:07best and brightest
0:45:07 > 0:45:10and this is their chance to put themselves before the public.
0:45:10 > 0:45:16In a long tradition of horrible puns, this is my own challenge.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20For those of you at home who don't need any clues, congratulations.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23For those of you who do need a moment, as you can see,
0:45:23 > 0:45:26we have a red E, then we have a bear, also known as teddy bear,
0:45:26 > 0:45:30and then spelling out ready, steady, go.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36The colleges are prone to some serious rivalry but it
0:45:36 > 0:45:41doesn't end there as siblings and school friends are just as feisty.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43My older brother who's doing a Master's
0:45:43 > 0:45:44at Gonville and Caius, Cambridge,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47is also on their University Challenge team.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50- I have a message for her in that she's going to go down.- Ha-ha!
0:45:50 > 0:45:55There's no chance for her. No possibility of her winning.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Depending on how things transpire, it could just be the biggest
0:45:58 > 0:46:02case of sibling rivalry in a 20-year relationship.
0:46:02 > 0:46:05My twin brother appeared on the show last series
0:46:05 > 0:46:06but he only got to the first round.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09My name is James Burt and I'm from Colchester in Essex
0:46:09 > 0:46:11and I'm reading law.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14This would be the crowning achievement of my life to date if I
0:46:14 > 0:46:19could get through, pass where he got and improve on the family record.
0:46:19 > 0:46:23I've got a bet on with my mate back home which I made in year nine,
0:46:23 > 0:46:25and he bet me that I couldn't get on University Challenge
0:46:25 > 0:46:27in my three years at university.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30The students have one common goal - to shine - and show
0:46:30 > 0:46:34the producers, and hopefully viewers, just how clever they are.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37I'm Paddy and I'll introduce you to the rest of the team now
0:46:37 > 0:46:39if you'll follow me.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53The team sit the dreaded 40-question audition test.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55Pens down if you will.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58Then it's time to get to know them a little better.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Did anybody watch Uni Challenge last night?
0:47:01 > 0:47:03I was doing a shift in the college bar
0:47:03 > 0:47:06and they had it on on the TV that's opposite the bar so I was
0:47:06 > 0:47:09watching it, like, "God, I better get some of these questions right."
0:47:09 > 0:47:11What would be your game plan if you got on?
0:47:11 > 0:47:13There are certain subjects where I'm always there.
0:47:13 > 0:47:14If I had a buzzer, I'd be on it.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17You know the ones where, in the first four words, like I've got it.
0:47:17 > 0:47:20I think it's really important that the broader public sees
0:47:20 > 0:47:23people in this institution as normal people.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26I mean, I know we're not that normal but at least say approachable.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28Are you guys happy with Emma as the captain?
0:47:28 > 0:47:30She's done a good job so far?
0:47:30 > 0:47:33If you weren't then this is the first I've heard of it.
0:47:34 > 0:47:36How do you think you guys are going to be remembered
0:47:36 > 0:47:38if you get through to the televised stage?
0:47:38 > 0:47:40What do you think will stand out to people?
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Probably Harry's accent and my dress sense will be special.
0:47:44 > 0:47:46THEY CHUCKLE
0:47:49 > 0:47:52The production team can now mark the test papers
0:47:52 > 0:47:55and reflect on the teams they've seen today.
0:47:57 > 0:47:59There's going to be a lot of arguing, I think,
0:47:59 > 0:48:01cos there's just so little between them
0:48:01 > 0:48:04and they're all brilliant in very different ways.
0:48:04 > 0:48:06- One, two, three. ALL:- Jeremy.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10- One, two, three. ALL:- Jeremy.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12It's going to be a bit heartbreaking to be honest,
0:48:12 > 0:48:15cos we've seen some lovely teams that are right on the border
0:48:15 > 0:48:18of the kind of score that would get them through.
0:48:18 > 0:48:21Competition is fierce to be one of only 28 teams who will make
0:48:21 > 0:48:23it onto the show.
0:48:23 > 0:48:24Our interview was pretty tough.
0:48:24 > 0:48:27We know we've got a few but we'll just have to see how it goes.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Well, I thought it went quite well.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31- It seemed all right. - We were described as cavalier.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34The odds are stacked against getting through
0:48:34 > 0:48:37because everybody wants to be on University Challenge.
0:48:41 > 0:48:42Just like the colleges in Oxford,
0:48:42 > 0:48:45every institution fields their strongest team and over the
0:48:45 > 0:48:48years, we've enjoyed players whose knowledge and performance has
0:48:48 > 0:48:52become legendary and an inspiration to up-and-coming contestants.
0:48:52 > 0:48:54- Warwick, Christodoulou.- Hadley.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57I think the first series of University Challenge that
0:48:57 > 0:48:59I really watched properly was around 2007.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03It was the series that Warwick won when they were captained by Daisy Christodoulou.
0:49:03 > 0:49:04- France and the Netherlands.- Correct.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07There were moments where the question would be asked
0:49:07 > 0:49:09and the number of thoughts that'd be going through your head and
0:49:09 > 0:49:12the number of things that you'd be thinking and you watch it back
0:49:12 > 0:49:15and you think, "It was all so quick, how did that all happen?"
0:49:15 > 0:49:18- Warwick, Christodoulou. - Re-use, recycle.- Correct.
0:49:18 > 0:49:20Daisy's individual efforts were just really outstanding
0:49:20 > 0:49:23and after that point, I really wanted to see if I could get
0:49:23 > 0:49:26anywhere near that level and maybe one day be on the show myself.
0:49:26 > 0:49:28CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:49:28 > 0:49:30Emmanuel College won...
0:49:30 > 0:49:34Back in 2009 with Alex Guttenplan as their team captain.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37I arrived at Emmanuel College and began my degree right after
0:49:37 > 0:49:40they'd just won and I nearly fainted when I first saw him.
0:49:40 > 0:49:45What initial three letters link a variety of hops associated
0:49:45 > 0:49:47with pilsner beer, the largest island of Estonia,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49a small German state on the French border,
0:49:49 > 0:49:54the man who became president of Georgia in 2008, and a Swedish...?
0:49:54 > 0:49:57- S-A-A.- Correct.
0:49:58 > 0:50:00He was a fantastic contestant.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03Captained the team that was the first Cambridge college to win
0:50:03 > 0:50:05- since we had.- Ten points for this.
0:50:05 > 0:50:09What single letter links the symbol for the CGS unit of magnetic
0:50:09 > 0:50:13flux density, the metric prefix for 10 to the power of 9...?
0:50:14 > 0:50:16- G.- G is correct.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18I heard people regarding me
0:50:18 > 0:50:21as some kind of legend of University Challenge.
0:50:21 > 0:50:23In meteorology, from the Greek for turning,
0:50:23 > 0:50:26what name is given to the lowest layer of the atmosphere?
0:50:27 > 0:50:29- Troposphere.- Correct.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33Being a team captain, you get more credit than you deserve.
0:50:33 > 0:50:38It was a great team, not just one great player that won it.
0:50:38 > 0:50:42Gail Trimble, of course, was hugely memorable.
0:50:42 > 0:50:43Ten points for this.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46"The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold..."
0:50:47 > 0:50:51- Destruction of Sennacherib by Byron. - Yep, I can accept that.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54I was only looking for Byron's name but you gave me the whole thing.
0:50:54 > 0:50:57It was absolutely astounding when the kind of people who add up
0:50:57 > 0:50:59statistics had noticed that I'd done
0:50:59 > 0:51:01so well compared to other people in the past.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05I found myself being celebrated, I suppose, on websites
0:51:05 > 0:51:09and then people sort of calling me the "Human Google"
0:51:09 > 0:51:14and all these other nice things just about how good I was at it.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16You're quite a sort of modest person and you look at it all
0:51:16 > 0:51:20and you say, "Well, I see that I did do really well, didn't I?
0:51:20 > 0:51:22"Fair enough."
0:51:22 > 0:51:23Some players are legendary
0:51:23 > 0:51:26because of their historical link to the show.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29Madalane Moore was on Leicester's team of 1963,
0:51:29 > 0:51:33the winners of University Challenge's first ever series.
0:51:33 > 0:51:42We were all presented with a shorter Oxford dictionary and inside,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44there is a...
0:51:44 > 0:51:48"Presented to Madalane Hall as a member of the winning team
0:51:48 > 0:51:52"in Granada's University Challenge tournament, 1963."
0:51:52 > 0:51:54Even though footage of the show no longer exists,
0:51:54 > 0:51:59Madalane still has her treasures from the inaugural series.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03These are among my most treasured possessions.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07I've had them for 52 years now.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11Memory lane becomes a very important place as you get older.
0:52:13 > 0:52:17A final stop on the University Challenge audition tour is
0:52:17 > 0:52:20also the home of the one institution that has single-handedly made
0:52:20 > 0:52:22more appearances than any other.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Edinburgh, King.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27Edinburgh University has taken part more than 20 times but,
0:52:27 > 0:52:31frustratingly, the trophy has always eluded them.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Bad luck, Edinburgh, you got off to a terrific start.
0:52:33 > 0:52:38Even Conservative MP Sir Malcolm Rifkind couldn't win in 1967.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44Edinburgh University has dominated the old town since 1583.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46It has over 30,000 students
0:52:46 > 0:52:50and is the sixth oldest university in the English-speaking world.
0:52:50 > 0:52:52Keen to make it through the auditions
0:52:52 > 0:52:55and earn a place on the show are this year's hopefuls.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00First up, there's chemistry PhD student Thomas Suslak...
0:53:00 > 0:53:02For me, it is that competitive streak in me.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06I play against my dad, I play against my wife.
0:53:06 > 0:53:10..team captain Alex Gapood, a PhD student in social anthropology...
0:53:10 > 0:53:11It's a game and in any game,
0:53:11 > 0:53:15there's that psychological mental aspect,
0:53:15 > 0:53:18which is incredibly complex and incredibly messy sometimes.
0:53:18 > 0:53:21..third-year chemistry undergraduate, Innis Carson.
0:53:21 > 0:53:23Being there in the studio seeing University Challenge being made
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and being part of the thing, it's just an honour for me.
0:53:26 > 0:53:30..Joe Curran, reading for a PhD in economic and social history...
0:53:30 > 0:53:33I do really like the competitive nature of quizzing,
0:53:33 > 0:53:36I do feel very satisfied that I know things.
0:53:36 > 0:53:40..and Nico Ovenden, reading for a Master's in cultural studies.
0:53:40 > 0:53:41Between us, we've got
0:53:41 > 0:53:44a great spread of knowledge and I think this year is as good as any.
0:53:44 > 0:53:49Could this be the team to finally bring the trophy to Edinburgh?
0:53:49 > 0:53:50Here's what makes them tick.
0:53:50 > 0:53:53The project I'm actually working on is looking at what I'm calling
0:53:53 > 0:53:57imperial memory and imperial amnesia in contemporary England.
0:53:57 > 0:53:58I love English people.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02I love Darjeeling and I also smoke a tobacco pipe from time to time
0:54:02 > 0:54:05and I was doing some reading outside in George Square and it just dawned
0:54:05 > 0:54:07on me and the sentence just popped into my head
0:54:07 > 0:54:10and the sentence is, I'm very proud of this,
0:54:10 > 0:54:11"And yet, as I smoked my tobacco pipe
0:54:11 > 0:54:14"while drinking Darjeeling from a famous London tea merchant
0:54:14 > 0:54:15"this afternoon,
0:54:15 > 0:54:18"something seemed strangely amiss about the pervasive notion
0:54:18 > 0:54:20"that empire is a distant thing of the past,
0:54:20 > 0:54:22"both temporally and spatially."
0:54:22 > 0:54:26I think it fits part of my personality so that
0:54:26 > 0:54:27and I just enjoy it.
0:54:29 > 0:54:32I'm particularly proud of the project I'm doing this
0:54:32 > 0:54:35year as my Master's project which involves platinum
0:54:35 > 0:54:38and other rare metals, stuff like that.
0:54:39 > 0:54:43I'm finding out things that no-one else has found out before.
0:54:43 > 0:54:44This is where it all happens.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48You've got your brightly-coloured things,
0:54:48 > 0:54:50brightly-coloured chemicals, fancy machinery -
0:54:50 > 0:54:53it's always just kind of captured my imagination as a child.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01I'm studying a PhD in economic and social history and, specifically,
0:55:01 > 0:55:05my topic is philanthropic networks in early 19th-century Dublin.
0:55:05 > 0:55:08University Challenge has a little extra edge to
0:55:08 > 0:55:13it in that the questions are often, you know, that little bit cleverer,
0:55:13 > 0:55:17they combine a few kind of obscure things, I find them very satisfying.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19I used to watch University Challenge with my dad as a kid
0:55:19 > 0:55:22and I'd just sit there kind of going...
0:55:22 > 0:55:24I'm doing a Master's in cultural studies.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27It's fishing with dynamite finding culture in this city.
0:55:27 > 0:55:29So I'm doing my PhD in neuroinformatics
0:55:29 > 0:55:30and neural computation.
0:55:30 > 0:55:33Everyone looks at me and says, "What on Earth is that?" I think
0:55:33 > 0:55:36this could be the year Edinburgh wins it, I don't mind saying that.
0:55:36 > 0:55:37I think we have a lot to prove
0:55:37 > 0:55:41and I think as Scottish universities go, we're the team to prove it.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43But before they can take home the trophy,
0:55:43 > 0:55:45they must first impress the producers.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50After almost two weeks travelling all over the country,
0:55:50 > 0:55:52we are finishing the tour up here in Scotland in the very
0:55:52 > 0:55:54beautiful surroundings of Edinburgh University.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58I don't want to be arrogant or cocky but I feel good about this.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00- Good luck, everyone.- Thank you.
0:56:00 > 0:56:04- RECORDING:- Which country gained independence from France...?
0:56:04 > 0:56:06I think it was rather challenging. What was it?
0:56:06 > 0:56:10- 28 spots for over 140 so... - You've got to be good.- Yeah.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12- Got to be the best.- Yeah.
0:56:12 > 0:56:13- ALL:- Jeremy.
0:56:15 > 0:56:16And that's it -
0:56:16 > 0:56:21the University Challenge auditions for 2014 are finally over.
0:56:21 > 0:56:22All across the land,
0:56:22 > 0:56:25over 130 hopeful teams have racked their brains
0:56:25 > 0:56:27and pitted their wits hoping to bag an impressive score,
0:56:27 > 0:56:31win over the producers and finally make the grade.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34- OK, so after three, one, two, three. - ALL:- Jeremy.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38- Jeremy.- ALL:- Jeremy.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43Now all they can do is wait to hear if they're one of the 28 teams
0:56:43 > 0:56:46chosen to appear on this year's series.
0:56:46 > 0:56:50If they are successful, they'll join an exclusive group of people,
0:56:50 > 0:56:54taking their place in the University Challenge hall of fame.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58My appearance on University Challenge not only gives me
0:56:58 > 0:57:01great satisfaction, it changed my life.
0:57:01 > 0:57:06Before I went on University Challenge, I was a nerd.
0:57:06 > 0:57:11I became a very outgoing person from having been exactly the opposite
0:57:11 > 0:57:13and University Challenge did that for me.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17Some of my friends still introduce me at parties as someone who
0:57:17 > 0:57:20won University Challenge as if it's the only thing I'll ever do.
0:57:20 > 0:57:22When you start a new job, people will Google you
0:57:22 > 0:57:24and they'll find out that that's what you did
0:57:24 > 0:57:26and they'll want to talk about it,
0:57:26 > 0:57:29they want to find out what it was like being on the programme.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31When we were presented with the trophy, you know,
0:57:31 > 0:57:33you're sort of lifting it up and my mum and dad were in the audience
0:57:33 > 0:57:34and I looked up at them,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37and they were cheering and that's a really nice moment,
0:57:37 > 0:57:39that's not something I'm going to forget in a hurry.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41It's a wonderful thing that, I think, you don't
0:57:41 > 0:57:43fully appreciate when you win it, just afterwards,
0:57:43 > 0:57:45quite how much it's going to sit with you
0:57:45 > 0:57:50for the rest of your life as being almost the defining
0:57:50 > 0:57:53instance no matter what else you're going to do later.
0:57:54 > 0:57:58Coming up next time, it's decision day back at base...
0:57:58 > 0:58:00There we go. This is our final 28, guys.
0:58:00 > 0:58:05..as the producers select the 28 teams that will appear on the show.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07It's going to be a pretty damn good series.
0:58:07 > 0:58:10- And a nation of students... - Hello?
0:58:10 > 0:58:12..waits anxiously by the phone.
0:58:12 > 0:58:15- Hi, hello.- I just want to say...
0:58:15 > 0:58:17I'm very pleased to be able to tell you...
0:58:17 > 0:58:19..and we find out what it's like to come face-to-face
0:58:19 > 0:58:21with the formidable Jeremy Paxman.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23Well, I seem to remember him
0:58:23 > 0:58:26being quite grumpy at the time, definitely quite challenging.
0:58:26 > 0:58:31I wouldn't say I was aware of my reputation for good or bad
0:58:31 > 0:58:33and, frankly, I'd rather keep it that way.