Christmas University Challenge

Christmas University Challenge is a British quiz programme which has aired on BBC Two since 2011. It is a spin-off from University Challenge that airs daily over the Christmas period, and features teams of noteworthy alumni from British universities competing in the same format as the parent show.

Christmas University Challenge
Genre	Quiz show
Presented by	Jeremy Paxman
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	6
Production
Production location(s)	Granada Studios (2011–2012) MediaCityUK (2013–)
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Granada Television
Distributor	ITV Studios
Release
Original network	BBC Two
Picture format	16:9
Audio format	Stereo
Original release	2011 – present
Chronology
Related shows	University Challenge

The current holders are the University of Leeds, who won the 2019/20 series.

Series

2011

The 2011 series was won by Trinity College, Cambridge whose team of Robin Bhattacharyya, Daisy Goodwin, John Lloyd, and Edward Stourton beat the University of Warwick's team of Vadim Jean, Daisy Christodoulou, Christian Wolmar and Carla Mendonça.

2012

The 2012 series was won by New College, Oxford whose team of Rachel Johnson, Patrick Gale, Kate Mosse and Yan Wong beat the University of East Anglia's team of John Boyne, Razia Iqbal, David Grossman and Charlie Higson.

2013

The 2013 series was won by Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge whose team of Quentin Stafford-Fraser, Helen Castor, Mark Damazer and Lars Tharp beat Emmanuel College, Cambridge and their team of Hugo Rifkind, Mary-Ann Ochota, Simon Singh and Rory McGrath.

2014

Results

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with orange scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First Round

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford	195	45	University of Warwick	240	20 December 2014
University of Hull	205	25	University of Newcastle	230	23 December 2014
King's College, Cambridge	160	150	Royal Holloway, University of London	310	24 December 2014
University of Edinburgh	235	45	University of Leeds	280	25 December 2014
Trinity Hall, Cambridge	195	120	Balliol College, Oxford	315	26 December 2014
University of York	135	110	University of Surrey	245	29 December 2014
Manchester Metropolitan University	145	75	Goldsmiths, University of London	220	30 December 2014

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford	145	175	University of Hull	320	31 December 2014
University of Edinburgh	135	165	Trinity Hall, Cambridge	300	1 January 2015

Final

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Hull	65	215	Trinity Hall, Cambridge	280	2 January 2015

The 2014 series was won by Trinity Hall, Cambridge whose team of Tom James, Emma Pooley, Adam Mars-Jones and Dan Starkey beat the University of Hull and their team of Rosie Millard, Malcolm Sinclair, Jenni Murray and Stan Cullimore.

2015

Results

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with orange scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First Round

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University College London	155	80	University of Birmingham	235	20 December 2015
Oriel College, Oxford	135	140	Trinity College, Cambridge	275	21 December 2015
University of Manchester	195	35	University of East Anglia	230	22 December 2015
Christ's College, Cambridge	90	140	University of Essex	230	23 December 2015
University of Exeter	130	220	Magdalen College, Oxford	350	24 December 2015
University of Aberdeen	90	185	University of Sheffield	275	28 December 2015
University of Durham	140	130	London School of Economics	270	29 December 2015

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Manchester	105	160	University of Sheffield	265	30 December 2015
University College, London	100	195	Magdalen College, Oxford	295	31 December 2015

Final

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Sheffield	60	230	Magdalen College, Oxford	290	1 January 2016

The 2015 series was won by Magdalen College, Oxford whose team of Robin Lane Fox, Heather Berlin, Louis Theroux and Matt Ridley beat the University of Sheffield and their team of Sid Lowe, Nicci Gerrard, Adam Hart and Ruth Reed.

2016

Teams

University	Team	Degree
University of Manchester	Sir Philip Craven	BA (Hons.) Geography (graduated 1972)
	Sarfraz Manzoor	Economics (graduated 1992)
	Simon Armitage (c)	MA Social Policy (graduated 1988)
	Erica McAlister	Environmental Policy (graduated 1996)
St Anne's College, Oxford	Rebecca Morelle	Chemistry (graduated 2001)
	Dr Janina Ramirez	English Language and Literature (graduated 2001)
	Mary Archer (c)	Chemistry (graduated 1966)
	Jacky Rowland	Modern Languages (graduated 1986)
University of Kent	Jeremy Wade	Postgraduate Certificate in Education (graduated 1979)
	Shiulie Ghosh	Law (graduated 1989)
	Paul Ross (c)	BA (Hons.) English and American Literature (graduated 1978)
	Jamie Angus	Electronics (graduated 1977), PhD (1984)
University of Sussex	Tim O'Shea	Mathematics and Experimental Psychology (graduated 1970)
	Hattie Hayridge	International Relations (graduated 1983)
	Dermot Murnaghan (c)	MA History (graduated 1980)
	Alex Bailin	Law
City, University of London	Ramita Navai	Postgraduate Diploma, Broadcast Journalism (graduated 2003)
	Brendan Barber	Social Science (graduated 1973)
	Samira Ahmed (c)	Postgraduate Diploma, Newspaper Journalism (graduated 1990)
	Tiff Needell	Civil Engineering (graduated 1974)
Newcastle University	Charlie Webster	English Language and Linguistics (graduated 2004)
	Wilko Johnson	English (graduated 1970)
	Helen Scales (c)	MA Tropical Coastal Management (graduated 2000)
	Neil Astley	English Language and Literature (graduated 1978)
SOAS, University of London	David Warren	Japanese (graduated 1977)
	Gus Casely-Hayford	PhD (graduated 1992)
	Dom Joly (c)	BA Politics
	Minna Salami	MA (graduated 2012)
University of Leeds	Louise Doughty	English Literature (graduated 1984)
	Gus Unger-Hamilton	English (graduated 2010)
	Kamal Ahmed (c)	Political Studies (graduated 1990)
	Steve Bell	Fine Art (graduated 1974)
University of Edinburgh	Steve Jones	Zoology (graduated 1966)
	Hermione Cockburn	BSc Geography (graduated 1993), PhD in Geomorphology (1998)
	Rachael Stirling (c)	MA History of Art (graduated 1999)
	Helen Pidd	German (graduated 2004)
St Catharine's College, Cambridge	Peter Wothers	Chemistry (graduated 1991)
	Joanne Harris	Modern and Medieval Languages (graduated 1985)
	Matthew Price (c)	Geography (graduated 1994)
	Ivana Gavrić	Music
Magdalene College, Cambridge	Stefan Wolff	MPhil Political Thought and Intellectual History
	Clemency Burton-Hill	English (graduated 2003)
	Chris Lintott (c)	Natural Sciences
	Mike Newell	English (graduated 1963)
St Hilda's College, Oxford	Dame Fiona Caldicott	Medicine (graduated 1966)
	Daisy Dunn	Classics (graduated 2009)
	Val McDermid (c)	English (graduated 1975)
	Adele Geras	Modern Languages (graduated 1966)
University of Bristol	Miranda Krestovnikoff	Zoology (graduated 1994)
	Kate Quilton	History (graduated 2006)
	Will Hutton (c)	Economics and Sociology (graduated 1971)
	Julie Myerson	English (graduated 1982)
University of Nottingham	David Florence	Mathematical Physics (graduated 2005)
	Nick Miller	History and Politics (graduated 1992)
	Chris Hawkins (c)	American Studies (graduated 1997)
	Frances Spalding	PhD (graduated 1972)

Results

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with orange scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First Round

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Manchester	55	185	St Anne's College, Oxford	240	19 December 2016
University of Kent	245	35	University of Sussex	280	20 December 2016
City, University of London	145	35	Newcastle University	180	21 December 2016
SOAS, University of London	85	175	University of Leeds	260	22 December 2016
University of Edinburgh	115	60	St Catharine's College, Cambridge	175	23 December 2016
Magdalene College, Cambridge	65	225	St Hilda's College, Oxford	290	25 December 2016
University of Bristol	70	75	University of Nottingham	265	26 December 2016

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Kent	130	140	University of Leeds	270	27 December 2016
St Anne's College, Oxford	75	165	St Hilda's College, Oxford	240	28 December 2016

Final

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Leeds	55	160	St Hilda's College, Oxford	215	29 December 2016

2017

Results

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with orange scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First Round

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Durham University	35	220	Keble College, Oxford	255	24 December 2017
Selwyn College, Cambridge	145	90	University of St Andrews	235	26 December 2017
York University	70	150	University of Southampton	220	27 December 2017
University of Leicester	45	175	University College London	220	28 December 2017
St John's College, Cambridge	155	40	St Edmund Hall, Oxford	195	29 December 2017
Queen Mary University of London	110	60	Cardiff University	170	1 January 2018
Brunel University London	45	155	University of Reading	200	2 January 2018

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Keble College, Oxford	160	105	St John's College, Cambridge	265	3 January 2018
University College London	125	130	University of Reading	255	4 January 2018

Final

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Keble College, Oxford	240	0	University of Reading	240	5 January 2018

2018

Results

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with orange scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First Round

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Brasenose College, Oxford	100	150	University of Bristol	250	24 December 2018
Westminster University	130	100	University of East Anglia	230	25 December 2018
Pembroke College, Cambridge	85	150	King's College London	235	26 December 2018
St Catherine's College, Oxford	130	135	Peterhouse, Cambridge	265	27 December 2018
University of Exeter	110	85	University of Birmingham	195	28 December 2018
University of Sheffield	90	115	University of Manchester	205	31 December 2018
University of Edinburgh	120	160	London School of Economics	280	1 January 2019

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Bristol	205	100	King's College London	305	2 January 2019
Peterhouse, Cambridge	215	60	London School of Economics	275	3 January 2019

Final

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Bristol	125	190	Peterhouse, Cambridge	315	4 January 2019

2019

Results

• Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
• Teams with green scores (winners) returned in the next round, while those with red scores (losers) were eliminated.
• Teams with orange scores won their match but did not achieve a high enough score to proceed to the next round.
• A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

First Round

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
University of Leeds	205	55	Clare College, Cambridge	260	23 December 2019
Birmingham City University	75	160	Wadham College, Oxford	235	24 December 2019
Guildhall School of Music and Drama	120	165	University College London	285	25 December 2019
University of Liverpool	75	150	University of Hull	225	26 December 2019
Royal Holloway, University of London	70	130	University of Sussex	200	27 December 2019
Trinity Hall, Cambridge	180	85	St Peter's College, Oxford	265	30 December 2019
University of Warwick	80	115	Imperial College London	195	31 December 2019

Semi-finals

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Trinity Hall, Cambridge	25	215	Wadham College, Oxford	240	1 January 2020
University of Leeds	205	45	University College London	250	2 January 2020

Final

Team 1	Score		Team 2	Total	Broadcast date
Wadham College, Oxford	130	235	University of Leeds	365	3 January 2020

External links

• University Challenge, Christmas 2018
• University Challenge, Christmas 2019