Viewers of University Challenge were left in shock by a contestant’s response during the latest episode of the brainy quiz show.
Amol Rajan returned to host as he introduced a fresh batch of students eager to snatch the crown from last year’s champions, Imperial College London. Monday’s showdown featured UCL facing off against Cambridge’s Darwin College.
The UCL team was made up of Calum Jack, Josh Mandel, Olivia Holtermann Entwistle, and Sanjay Prabhakar, while Rebecca McClelland, Sophie Willis, Harrison Whitaker, and Rowan Stewart battled it out for Darwin.
In a particularly memorable moment from Monday’s episode, Amol posed a question: “Born in 1843, which German scientist gives his name to a set of four postulates, sometimes also named for Jakob Henle, that may be applied to determine whether a disease is caused by a..”
Before he could finish, Sophie from Darwin College buzzed in with the guess: “Koch?” Amol confirmed: “It is Robert Koch, well done.”
Amol Rajan kept his composure throughout the exchange (Image: BBC)
But the exchange quickly became a talking point on Twitter, with viewers finding humour in the answer.
One viewer tweeted, “I think the question setter for #UniversityChallenge gets someone to shout c**k to boost the twitter algorithm,” while another commented: “It’s not a coincidence is it, when the question setters give someone the opportunity to say things such as c**k and t*t at Amol as answers to questions.”
The awkward moment sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, with one viewer joking: “Somebody has just won a bet in the question writing department on #UniversityChallenge #C**k,” while another added: “If I appeared on #UniversityChallenge and my only contribution was shouting c**k (Koch) at Amol Rajan, I’d be happy.”
Despite the initial stumble, both teams regained their composure and delivered a thrilling performance. Darwin took the lead during the music round with a score of 135-35 and maintained their momentum, securing eight buzzers in the starters.
UCL’s Josh also performed well, securing five starters, but both teams incurred one penalty each.
In a previous episode, Imperial College London’s Jaime Salamanca Camacho stole the show with his outstanding performance, leading his team to victory against Wadham College, Oxford. The MSc student in Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces impressed audiences with his knowledge, securing a massive lead of 290 points to Wadham’s zero with just minutes to spare.
Although Wadham managed to score 25 points, Imperial’s final score of 345 points sealed their victory.
Presenter Amol Rajan was left speechless, remarking: “Well, what can I say? (Wadham) you were up against an absolutely ludicrous team. I mean, they are absolutely phenomenal.”
He praised both teams, saying, “No one could be in any doubt watching you what a bunch of enormously brilliant and clever young people you are, so thank you so much for playing so well. Imperial, that’s a big score and it’s going to scare the other people. Well done.”