to want to know if any MNer has been on University Challenge?

[PyongyangKipperbang]

Just catching up and thinking how I would have loved to have been on there, seriously thinking of signing up with OU to have a crack!

Oh if anyone responds positively I would love to them to do an AMA thread. Being a contestant,and doing brilliantly, is my second favourite daydream.

Oh yes!

My first day dream is NAILING Mastermind!

I tried to take part when at university. The test questions to get on the team were harder than those on TV! I didn't make it! My DD (11) is obsessed with Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge - she might get there where I failed.

I tried to take part when at university. The test questions to get on the team were harder than those on TV! I didn't make it!

Same here. Pages and pages of questions, I knew the answers to about 2. There were a lot of people trying as well - like an exam hall full

I got through to the audition where UC come and see if they want you on the show. They didn't.

My friend was on it in the days of Bamber Gascogne

I had the most soul crushing conversation with a new friend when I was at Cambridge:

Me: "Hey so do you watch university challenge?"

Her "Oh yeah I won that"

The off handedness was absolutely sickening. I spent the next several years in quiet envied awe.

One of my childhood dreams was to go to Cambridge, the other was to be on University Challenge.

I achieved the former but not the latter; my uni years coincided with a hiatus for UC, it restarted some years after I'd graduated. I like to think that if our college had got on, I had a reasonable chance at making the team as token female - there were comparatively few of us, and although I was certainly not the most intelligent, I've always been a mine of useless information general knowledge

No, but I was on Top of the Form on the radio when I was 13 if that counts?! 🤣
We lost in the semi finals sadly.

My first boyfriend at school was later on University Challenge.

I’ve been on Counterpoint on the radio twice, it was nerve-shredding.

I know the production assistant for Mastermind who has pestered me on and off to go on for a couple of years. No ta.

I was a reserve for my college team but wasn’t needed, though I think we did quite well that year.

Mastermind’s questions are far easier, though — I think that would be fun.

In the early rounds, the scores are often very, very low from the losing side. I usually beat the worst team on my own until around the quarter /semi finals. But I'm a lot older now and general knowledge and ability to guess does improve as you get older. At 18/19, I no way would have been able to compete, even from my sofa.

DD13 and DH watch each week and DD keeps a spreadsheet of their scores.
I have every confidence that she'd make it if she wanted to one day.
If I get one question right a week I feel like a winner!

My first boyfriend at uni was on it, he was super pompous about it, though he was very very bright.
Me and my two youngest watch it religiously every week, we love it.

We won Ask The Family with Robert Robinson.

I love UC - I get more questions right now I'm older because I've amassed more knowledge and read more (apart from the fucking physics questions, they can get in the sea). But the general knowledge of these 21 year olds amazes me - this week one bloke had the answers to everything, no matter what topic. How can you know so much, so young?

I hate it when they buzz in with the answer before Jeremy's even finished the question - give us mortals at home a chance.

We won Ask The Family with Robert Robinson.
Oooh, well done. We didn't even get past the audition stage.

I love Uni Challenge , DH and I watch every week.

Yes, I was.

I've also had two boyfriends who were. Although neither on my team, and one who was at a different university when he did it.

My mum was on it! I got onto my college team but not the whole-university team that was on the show (Durham so individual colleges not allowed to compete separately, unlike Oxbridge)

Isn’t it just mainly about having amazingly good general knowledge, rather then being extraordinarily ‘bright’?

If I get one question right a week I feel like a winner!

Same... me and DH “compete” against each other and the final score usually resembles 2-1

I honestly don’t understand how people have such a depth of knowledge at such a young age.

@TartanTexan

Isn’t it just mainly about having amazingly good general knowledge, rather then being extraordinarily ‘bright’?

That really helps — it's why the OU often does very well.

You often answer questions not at all related to your degree, just things you've picked up. The OU students have generally had longer to pick things up!

It would be interesting to plot average age of a team against results.

DH was on UC, many years ago though. They got through to the quarter-finals. He's still never forgiven one of his fellow team-members for getting a crucial question wrong.