University Challenge
BBC2, 8.30pm
STRATHCLYDE are down one match but not out of University Challenge following defeat to Durham tonight.
While the Scots team had a late rally to score 115 points, it was not enough to beat Durham’s 155 at the gong.
READ MORE: Glasgow v King's College, London
Representing Strathclyde, the last remaining Scottish team in the competition, were: Cameron Welsh from Glasgow, graduated with Masters in applied statistics; David Curran, Glasgow, civil engineering; James Whittle, Glasgow, PhD in power systems (captain); and Tom Starr-Marshall, who introduced himself as “a Sassenach from Colindale in London”, studying speech and language therapy.
On Durham’s team were: Harry Regan, Kent, liberal arts; Tom Banbury, Warwickshire, history; Holly Parkinson (captain and only woman on panels) from near Brighton, physics; and Thomas Wilkening from Kent, biology.
Host Jeremy Paxman began by congratulating both teams on demonstrating “the ability to solve the intractable problem of getting themselves from A to B while adhering to lockdown restrictions”. Compared to that, he added, the questions that followed would be a doddle. “Or not.”
Strathclyde came to the match having scored a grand total of 325 points in the competition so far. Durham had 345.
READ MORE: Strathclyde beats Manchester
First blood went to Durham, plus the next two starters. Due to Covid rules, the contestants were separated by plastic screens. This may have been an issue when Durham came to answer a question on Ellen Wilkinson MP. Team captain Parkinson heard Regan’s answer of “the Jarrow march” as “the January march” and lost the point.
By seven minutes in, Durham had 50 points while Strathclyde was yet to get on the scoreboard.
The slow start was to prove significant. Durham took time conferring on each question, so much so that when Strathclyde eventually made a comeback at the 20 minute mark it was too late. Each team earned one “C’mon” from Paxman to hurry them along.
In a previous round, Strathclyde was praised by Paxman for “a terrific barnstorming performance - once you got going”.
Tonight, he said: “You were coming back well there, Strathclyde, you didn’t do it in time.”
READ MORE: St Andrews v Imperial, London
But he reminded them that they had another chance to reach the semi-final. A team needs two victories to get through. So far, Magdalene College, Cambridge, Balliol College, Oxford, and now Durham, have the first of two required wins in the bag. To stay in the competition, Strathclyde must win their next two matches.
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