Keele's University Challenge champs return with Bamber Gascoigne... 40 years on
University Challenge's 1968 champions from Keele University were beaten by a specially-gathered 2008 team, in a closely-fought charity match pitting former students against current ones last night.
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The show's original host, Bamber Gascoigne, travelled to Keele to reprise the role that made him famous, after 21 years, and help the university celebrate the 40th anniversary of its only win in the long-running TV quiz.
After so long away he could be forgiven for occasionally forgetting the rules, and Bamber kept the mood from becoming too competitive with his witty banter.
With an anagram of "organised BBC game" for a name, Bamber would seem to have been made for the role.
As the game began with the infamous phrase "starter for 10", fingers were poised over authentic buzzers that lit up and announced the name of the competitor. The only difference with watching it on TV was that the tables appeared side by side rather than one on top of the other.
The 2008 team pulled out in front early on, drawing "ooh's" from the crowd with their answers to some of the more difficult questions.
Quiz host Bamber Gascoigne
Questions on popular culture, however, seemed to be a stumbling block for both generations.
"Where is the festival Bestival held?" - the Isle of Wight - received puzzled looks all round and a guess of Helsinki.
Similarly, no-one had any idea who the lead singer of hit Manchester band The Ting Tings was - Katie White - although there were whispers among younger members of the audience in the silence that followed the question.
There were gasps from the crowd as the half-time score revealed the 2008 team were winning by 75 to 55, but with five minutes to go the 1968 team had clawed their way back to lead 145 to 90.
The nail-biting game kept the audience on the edge of their seats to the final second, as the two teams were neck and neck on the penultimate question.
But a question about Resident Evil films gave the advantage to the younger players and Rob Russell (MA International Relations), won the day for team 2008.
Rob said: "I thought we were going to get trounced and just wanted to be able to get one right, but I managed to come up with the decider.
"It was a team effort of course, but I'm quite chuffed to have got the last question that swung it."
Still in shock at the final result, team-mate Ben Hockenhull (Medicine) said: "It was daunting to be competing against a team with such an amazing resume.
"I never expected we would win."
Adam Cook (MA International Relations) dedicated the team's win to his entire generation.
He said: "We did our age group proud. Our aim was not to lose badly but I never dreamt we would do so well."
And Kathryn Ambrose (PhD Humanities) added: "I remember thinking when we were ahead at the start that I was just glad we weren't going to disgrace ourselves.
"In the end our secret weapon and his love of films came through and we're delighted.
"It's even better because no-one expected us to win."
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The 1968 team L-R Paul Brownsey, Bob Crockford, Larry Lawrence, Andy MacMullen.
The 2008 team L-R Robert Russell, Kathryn Ambrose, Ben Hockenhull, Adam Cook
Accepting defeat gracefully, 1968 team member Paul Brownsey, now a philosophy lecturer at Glasgow University, said last night: "I'm sorrier than I expected to have lost, but it's good to see the traditional high standards are being upheld at Keele."
Team captain Larry Lawrence, a Brain of Britain winner and mastermind contender, said: "What a good game. The most embarrassing thing was having to admit I recognised the words to Cliff Richards's Congratulations to answer one of the questions."
Retired lecturer Andy MacMullen who gained notoriety for smoking on the original TV show to calm his nerves, stuck to drinking water at last night's reunion match.
He said: "We had a rehearsal earlier in the day and the 2008 team didn't do very well at all, then they produced the goods when it mattered. Either way, it's been a fantastic reunion and a lovely occasion."
Bob Crockford, a member of the 1964 University Challenge team, was brought in as a substituted for another 1968 team member, Pam Maddison, who couldn't be traced.
He said: "It would have been nice to be on the winning team, but it was great to get my fingers on the buzzer again."
Bamber said the game couldn't have gone better if it had been rigged.
He said: "I thought it was wonderful.
"I'm not surprised at the result, games of this sort are unpredictable.
"They were just the sort of questions we would have had on the programme.
"As a host you always want a close game and that's what we got - if I'd rigged it, it couldn't have gone any better."
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