BBC University Challenge fans baffled as contestants fail to answer ‘easy’ question
BBC University Challenge viewers were left in stitches when the brainboxes failed to answer the easiest question of the show.
While some of the best minds in the country step-up to tackle some of the toughest questions on BBC University Challenge, one topic left contestants stumped during Monday’s episode.
Students from Bath University and the University of Southampton went head-to-head as they battled through the first round of the iconic gameshow.
Hosted by Amol Rajan, questions were fired out to the contestants, including science, literature, and maths topics, with the students taking the tricky trivia in their stride.
However one category left them defeated.
The music round consists of short snippets of songs being played, leaving the players to quickly rack their brains and name the artist, before being given cryptic clues to help them.
Rajan provided the first clue, hinting it reflected the singer’s friendship with British record producer, Nellee Hooper. A quick snippet of music was played to the Southampton team as they deliberated over it’s origin.
The team managed to correctly guess “Bjork” in the nick of time.
“This singer sang this song in honour of her collaboration with Marvin Gaye” was the next clue, however the hint and short extract left contestants utterly clueless, with one player admitting: “I don’t know.”
The team decided to pass on the question before the host revealed it was the queen of Motown Records, Diana Ross.
While the brainboxes seemed to struggle, the failed answer left viewers at home laughing at the snub.
“Geeks you might know all sorts of elements but if you don’t know The Boss Miss Ross, I can’t help you #UniversityChallenge.” one user said.
“P*** easy music round #UniversityChallenge,” one user barked on X, while another added: “This is a boring match #UniversityChallenge”
A fourth doubled down on the team’s lack of music knowledge, saying: “#UniversityChallenge ‘And then the music round is all sort of Pop Music, and bugger me, I got three right! Boom! I is on fire, isn’t it?'” (sic)
University Challenge viewers have previously criticised the host for what they claim is an “unfair” habit of speeding up his question delivery towards the end of matches.
Rajan, who succeeded Jeremy Paxman as the show’s host in 2023, has often been accused of increasing his pace during the crucial final moments of the quiz programme.
The allegations peaked in an episode earlier this year during a quarter-final between Queen’s University Belfast and Imperial College London, which ended in a dramatic tie-breaker.
Fans suggested the 42-year-old presenter’s rapid-fire questioning style gave an unfair advantage to teams trailing behind, as they had more opportunities to answer questions in a bid to get ahead.
“Don’t like it how Amol Rajan massively speeds up the question asking towards the end of University Challenge. Not fair on the team in front. Should be the same speed all the way through,” one user penned.
Another joked: “Exciting match, though I’ve only ever heard horse racing commentators go as fast as Amol towards the end!”
One simply stated: “Amol’s speeding through questions. Not good.”
The game show has been running since 1962, with over 53 seasons aired.
Newcastle University takes on Edinburgh University next Monday at 8.30pm on BBC2.