University challenge

lemsip

*Amol Rajan to be new host of University Challenge*

oh dear, I don't like him!

He gabbles too fast to be a quizmaster

It was always going to be a bbc man.

Shame they couldn’t appoint a woman for a change.
Still it did take till the 1870s for women to get to Oxbridge. We’ll have to wait a few more decades till they host University Challenge.

Richard Osman has ended his appearance on Pointless to have more time to write his books so he probably wouldn't want to do it, although he would be a good intelligent choice. Definitely not Vanessa Feltz, she would spend too much time talking over everyone else! Dan Snow would be a good choice.

J52 You cannot have everything, At least Amal Rajan is not a white Anglo-saxon male.

M0nica

J52 You cannot have everything, At least Amal Rajan is not a white Anglo-saxon male.

All we need is someone who speaks clearly and distinctly, is pleasant but firm and can chivvy without harassing.

Someone who doesn't make it all about themselves as some of the other celebrities already mentioned tend to do.

I think Amol will be a credible host for this iconic long-running competition.

Callistemon21

lemsip

Amol Rajan to be new host of University Challenge

oh dear, I don't like him!

He gabbles too fast to be a quizmaster

I must find a sample of his speech. It matters more than anything.

Callistemon All that seemed to bother J52 was the fact that the next pesneter is not female. My reply was limited to that.

My personal concern was that whoever replaced Jeremy Paxman would be someone whose own intelletual attainments were up to those of the contestants. With both Paxman and Gascoigne one had the feeling that if University challenge had been around in their university days, they would probably been good enough to be in their university's team.

The job needs gravitas and authority, and the majority of those suggested on this thread had neither gravitas, authority, nor presented as people of great erudition.

I saw the bookies bets on replacements for Paxman. It met all diversity requirements, including men and women, all of whom, met the three requirements that I thought necessary and included Amal Rajan. Very few were mentioned on GN, even though all were well known broadcasters.

OK, I’ve heard him speak. Oh dear, oh dear. I’m going to find that really hard to listen to, but I love University Challenge so perhaps I can mute him and just read the subtitles.

Somebody needs to tell him to slow down, before he says "your starter for ten"

I like Amol Rajan, enjoy his radio work and the in-depth interviews he has done on TV - Billie Jean King recently. I really hope he makes a go of this.

I don't think he'll be caustic as Paxman has been and will encourage the students to do their very best. It'll be interesting to watch.

Amol Rajan was a topic on Gransnet when he started on the Today Programne. Some of us were struggling to like him but some were obvious admirers.

Sadly I can't warm to him at all. I'm sure he's fine in real life to sit and chat with but he's very "matey" for Today and speaks very quickly in a way that is often rambling.

I also wish he would stop his mock self-effacing anecdotes. It seems to me that he's pretending to be the ordinary person on the street whilst somehow pointing out his superiority at the same time. I'm not sure how he does it but it feels very fake.

However, if he can stick to the job in hand and can enunciate... ?‍♀️

He'll Rajan need some elocution lessons before the autumn.
After all it worked for Thatcher. She lowered her voice and sounded more important.

Poor Jeremy. His speech is quite slurred now

I said to DH yesterday ‘they can gave anyone except Amol’ and who do we get Amol ☹️

Let’s hope he doesn’t ask any questions relating to royalty as he has a hatred of royalty. And I thought the BBC was supposed to be impartial.

I hoped for the brilliant Emma Barnett.

I don't mind Amol Rajan but I do have a problem with his enunciation.

Amol Rajon was on Richard Osman's House of Games show and he couldn't get anything right, just didn't seem to understand the show

Gosh yes - I remember that!

Perhaps he came at the right price for the cash-strapped BBC.

lemsip

Amol Rajon was on Richard Osman's House of Games show and he couldn't get anything right, just didn't seem to understand the show

I've just rewatched some of those, he really was useless. But good-natured with it. Hope he manages to figure out the rules of UC in time.

Current salary £300.000; expected to rise further.

Surely it’s an insult to the contestants if the quizmaster is a bit academically challenged?

Anne Hegerty would have been my first choice but then she’s not a BBC rising star.

I don't think being less of an academic matters . A presenter who attracts the masses is more important. Remember this is the BBC who are constantly dumbing down.

He gets paid that much they have to find him something to do.
He is as thick as 2 short planks

Less than two years ago he appeared on a celebrity series of University Challenge.

He failed to name the artist Francis Bacon, incorrectly pinpointed an American city and opted for tuna when asked to identify types of goldfish.

The more I read about him the less I like him. I reckon he will be jettisoned after one season.