University Challenge elitism row: BBC defends quiz’s format and ‘Oxbridge bias’ ahead of Christmas specials

University Challenge has once again been accused of elitism over its apparent favouring of Oxbridge because of the show’s format which sees Oxford and Cambridge represented more often than other universities.

Frank Coffield, an emeritus professor of education, claims that the system, which allows Oxbridge to compete at a collegiate level, is unfair to the UK’s other universities, and called on BBC bosses to defend the show’s format in a public debate.

Why was University Challenge accused of elitism?

Frank Coffield has called for the entry rules for University Challenge to be changed to allow Oxford and Cambridge to submit only one team each to the tournament, as all other universities must do.

Oxford and Cambridge universities, known collectively as Oxbridge, are the two most elite universities in the UK, and have a collegiate system, with Oxford having 39 colleges and Cambridge 31. 

Oxbridge are able to submit teams from any of their colleges to take part in University Challenge even though the smallest colleges at each university have around 300 undergraduate students, whereas most universities have more than 10,000. The series therefore regularly features multiple Oxbridge colleges competing against each other rather than one of the hundreds of other universities across the country.

Durham University, which also has a collegiate system, is confined to only one team for the quiz show, so the for Oxbridge exceptionalism has often been called elitist by critics. Through this system Oxbridge colleges have won the series 27 times (Oxford 16, Cambridge 11) in the show’s 61-year history, dominating the tables.

Coffield added that the Christmas specials, which sees alumni represent their former universities in the quiz, are even more elitist. He found that after looking into the entrants of every Christmas special since they launched in 2011, one in four of the teams to take part have been Oxbridge colleges, and Oxbridge teams have won nine of the 12 specials so far.

What happened in the University Challenge Christmas special 2023?

The elitism furore comes just weeks after University Challenge was caught up in accusations of ableism, causing it to scrap one of the Christmas episodes this year. 

A blind contestant had asked for an audio description of images used in certain questions, and was told just before filming began that this would not be available and that their team captain would have to describe the images, which included a pie chart and maps, instead.

Another contestant, who is neurodivergent, required subtitles in advance, and was told this wasn’t possible. They found the experience to be overwhelming. Following the recording the BBC made the decision to pull the episode when they were made aware of the complaints.

Which teams are on the University Challenge Christmas specials 2023?

This year, only one Oxbridge college will compete in the alumni Christmas specials - Corpus Christi, Oxford - however, the axed episode featured two Oxbridge colleges competing against each other. This is the full Christmas lineup:

• King’s College London Vs City, University of London
• Royal Holloway, University of London Vs UEA
• Dundee University Vs Bangor University
• Corpus Christi, Oxford Vs University of Edinburgh
• Imperial College London Vs University of Liverpool
• Middlesex University Vs University of Leeds

When are the University Challenge Christmas episodes on TV?

The first Christmas episode will air on Monday December 18 at 8.30pm on BBC Two, with episodes airing at the same time nightly excluding Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The final will air at 7.30pm on Friday December 29.