Amol Rajan's 'smug' swipe at former University Challenge host Jeremy Paxman

29 April 2023 , 18:09

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Amol Rajan is the new University Challenge presenter (Image: PA)

New University Challenge presenter Amol Rajan once branded the show’s long-time host Jeremy Paxman “smug” and “sneering”.

Pictures released earlier this month showed Rajan, 39, in the hot seat for the first time ahead of him taking the helm at the TV quiz this summer.

When his appointment was announced, the BBC Radio 4 Today presenter praised Paxman, 72, as a “giant of British culture” who has “immense intellect and authority”.

But Rajan hasn’t always been so gushing about Paxman, who has presented the hit BBC Two quiz show for almost three decades.

In a 2007 story for The Independent – a newspaper Rajan later went on to edit – he kicked off an article with the scathing line: “Your starter for 10: which overly smug quiz show host renowned for sneering at students who give wrong answers is developing a habit of fluffing his lines?”

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Paxman on University Challenge (Daily Record)

Rajan, then 24, went on to highlight a number of errors he had spotted on the programme.

At the time, he reported the BBC had been “quick to defend its star interrogator”.

Representatives for Rajan and Paxman were both contacted for comment.

Simon Murphy