First-ever University Challenge champs aim to bring trophy back to Leicester

A team of University of Leicester students will be bidding to bring the BBC University Challenge trophy back to the East Midlands for the first time since 1963.

Viewers will get to see George Gowland, Noah Lister, Greg Beeden and Edward Owen-Beckwith take on a team from London School of Economics in their first round match of the popular television quiz show, which will be broadcast on BBC2 on Monday 4 November, at 8.30pm.

They will be hoping to match the achievements of Leicester’s 1963 team, which won the first-ever series when they saw off Oxford’s Balliol College, Oxford.

The appearance is particularly poignant for team member Greg, who would watch the show with his late father.

“When at home I always watch it with all my family,” said the Physics undergraduate (21), who is originally from Bedford. “I sadly lost my dad a couple of years ago and it was always a show we would watch together, so competing in the show was extra special for me but also sad that he wasn’t able to see it.”

Greg and his team-mates have had to keep the outcome of their appearance secret for eight months, after travelling to Manchester for the filming way back in March. 

“It was an amazing experience, said Greg. “On the train journey there we continued to do more revision. 

“When we got there, we were told about how the day would run. We were also given some food but I was so nervous that I didn’t eat very much. 

“We were then taken to the wardrobe and makeup department who had to approve what we were wearing. When it was time for our episode, we were taken down by a lift and past some of the other studios. 

“When we actually got into the studio it was quite surreal seeing it in real life. When we sat down, the voice of University Challenge, Roger Tilling, spoke to us to make sure he pronounced our names right, and we also spoke to the presenter, Amol Rajan, who was very nice. It was then time for the show to begin. The episode was incredibly stressful but also very exciting at the same time.”

Leicester made it through to the first round after a tough qualifier in Birmingham, which whittled down the final 28 teams from around 130 entrants. 

Greg said: “It involved a quiz and then some questions, so the producers can get a feel of what we are like as a team. About a week after that we received an email which said we had made it onto the series. I was so excited I immediately phoned my mum and my grandparents, who were all so happy.”

Then the real work started for the team, who had to combine their course studies with swotting up for University Challenge.

“The revision started even before I had made it onto the team, as we had a competition here in Leicester which decided who would make it,” said Greg. “But, as the process continued, the more and more revision I did. This involved lots of online quizzes but also meeting as a team to go through other questions either on a computer or using a University Challenge quizbook. 

“We also all continued to be regular viewers of the series that was going on at that time. We all did a variety of subjects so it was quite easy to divide topics of interest to focus on. As a physics student I did try to focus on sciences, however I would say it’s not my strongest subject so I did lots of other things as well.”

While Greg has been careful to not give anything away about the first-round result, he promises it will be a great watch.

“Viewers can expect a thrilling match with everyone giving it a really good go,” he said. “There are some especially interesting rounds, which weren’t always to our strengths but also some that were not as bad.”

Captaining Leicester’s side is George, who is studying for an English PGCE. Noah is an Economics study and Edward is undertaking a History degree. Reserve team member, Rabiya Gangrekar, who is studying Cardiovascular Science, also made the trip to Manchester, but didn’t appear in the show.

As well as providing the 1963-winning team, the University of Leicester has also seen another first: in 1974, Sandya Narayansami became the first Indian woman to compete on the show, her team beating St John’s College, Oxford.

“We made the quarter or semi-final, so did well. I received a lot of fan mail, including three proposals,” said Sandya.

“Bamber Gascoigne said I had ‘exceptionally broad general knowledge for a science major’. I replied: ‘That’s because I spent all my time in the library. I read extensively and retained what I read.

“At Leicester, I was treated like an intelligent human being and graduated with a first-class degree at the top of my year.”

In 2021, a team of famous faces represented the University in a Christmas series hosted by former presenter Jeremy Paxman.

The Leicester team comprised of author and TV presenter Dallas Campbell, law graduate and newsreader Sian Lloyd, Earth observation scientist Andrew Shepherd, and author Jeffrey Boakye. They fell at the first hurdle, losing to Edinburgh 160-125.