University Challenge

[Carole]

I very nearly though Gail Trimble wasn't going to win the final last night until the last 5 minutes.

They've been discussing her on the radio this morning - I didn't know but apparently she's been taking flack for being too bright, too middle class and for speaking too nicely. I don't want to sound like a disgusted retired Colonel from Tunbridge Wells, but it's become a strange and sad country when people attack someone like her while Jade Goody seems to have become a national heroine :(

[Soupie]

I very nearly though Gail Trimble wasn't going to win the final last night until the last 5 minutes.

They've been discussing her on the radio this morning - I didn't know but apparently she's been taking flack for being too bright, too middle class and for speaking too nicely. I don't want to sound like a disgusted retired Colonel from Tunbridge Wells, but it's become a strange and sad country when people attack someone like her while Jade Goody seems to have become a national heroine :(


Skewed priorities - I've lost count of the number of times I have received derogatory comments about my education and background.....

[Princess Leia]

She was interviewed on BBC Breakfast this morning and came over really well. Apparently she has been asked to pose for Nuts - a mens magazine :lol: (turned them down)

[jeni]

i got three answers last night ! :)

I thought she seemed lovely, i think she is very pretty but she didn't seem to dress her age.. i know i would have worn something slightly more colourful if i was on telly but that's probably why i'd never get on university challenge ;)

I can't believe people now use being "middle Class" as a derogative term.
when i'm talking to clients my colleagues take the mickey because i have a nice accent/voice. I dumb down accent wise when talking generally to my colleagues ... which is terrible really..

I can admire her for not doing the Nuts posing..

[Leah]

Heavens! An intelligent, articulate, intelligent woman?!
Burn her at the stake !

[magwitch]

I very nearly though Gail Trimble wasn't going to win the final last night until the last 5 minutes.

They've been discussing her on the radio this morning - I didn't know but apparently she's been taking flack for being too bright, too middle class and for speaking too nicely. I don't want to sound like a disgusted retired Colonel from Tunbridge Wells, but it's become a strange and sad country when people attack someone like her while Jade Goody seems to have become a national heroine :(

Though to be fair, the hair flicking is quite irritating. Noticed she wasn't doing it as much last night so maybe someone has mentioned it to her .......

[capricciosababs]

carole can understand what you say - and agree ! its such a shame when someone clever gets it in the neck becaues societys supposed to dumb down these days - its got to the point when the only time you can use you bbbc accents for doing business or via telephone - ie to tick a utlity firms callcentre off ! - also if you dare dress up in a local small town centre some people stare - spec those teengirls with size twenty bare bums sticking outside their rear jean ends - I know since this moorning was out on some errands in a posh jacket and skirt - felt self concious being smart when needs be ! anyway she did deserve her win in the series so did the team ... well done !!

[Lucia]

Most of the criticism I've read elsewhere has focused on her smugness, Paxman's favouritism toward her and the fact that she, like her team colleagues is a postgraduate D.Phil 'student' .
I like University Challenge, but I do feel that teams should be made up of undegraduates - earlier in the series, some of the 'students' were old enough to be moonlighting lecturers - 'students' only in terms that they were pursuing a higher degree part-time.

[jeni]

hehe ... i did think she looked smug..

[magwitch]

Touch of the 'Please, Sir, Sir - Me, Sir!' I thought. To be fair, though, her level of knowledge was really impressive.

[Lucia]

Touch of the 'Please, Sir, Sir - Me, Sir!' I thought. To be fair, though, her level of knowledge was really impressive.

She reminds me forcefully of a woman I did nurse training with who was exactly as you describe, Mags - the rest of us couldn't stand her! :catwink:
Don't you find that having taken part in all the FunTrivia quizzes we do, you can answer questions on all kinds of stuff?

[Banana]

I didnt watch the programme itself but I did see an interview on the BBC website and whilst clearly quite 'posh' she did say it wasnt so much her being 'clever' more an ability to recall facts...

She seemed quite overwhelmed by it all :clubb:

[jeni]

i thought the guy chairing the other team was actually very quick too, he answered some stonkers.. ... but i don't think he's been in the papers?
mind you i didn't read why she was in the papers specifically.. so i'm notsure if it's because their team won or because peeps thought she was clever.

[nose leather]

Hot news tonight, they have awarded the title to the runner up team as apparently Mr Kay was no longer a student at the time of the final. I think that is a fair interpretation of the rules by the BBC in the circumstances.

[Lucia]

To be fair to Mr. Kay, I often wonder how many members of the other participating teams could be truly regarded as 'students'?
Matthew Yeo, speaking on behalf of the Manchester team has been very gracious:-
""We have no intention of playing a rematch," said their captain, Matthew Yeo. "The last thing we want would be to give the idea that we didn't have fun. We thoroughly enjoyed the game against fantastic opponents."

He added: "Reuben, Simon, Henry and I are firmly of the opinion that the best team won on the day. Any decision about eligibility is a matter for the BBC, but we hope any decision does not detract from what was a thrilling final won by a truly tremendous team."

As I said earlier in the thread, this sort of thing could be avoided if the rules stated simply that the competition was only open to undergraduates.

It's always seemed ludicrous that if I simply registered for a PhD I could appear as a 'student' for my university despite already having a Bachelors and a Masters degree, nursing and teaching qualifications and a lifetime of work and life experience - in the last series a contestant from Durham University was at least as old as I am.

The hubba and I love the programme, but we often have a wry laugh when the more mature students are introducing themselves, suspecting that many of them are lecturers who are 'reading' for a higher degree on a part-time basis.

I think the rules should be scrutinised and overhauled - with any luck, we'd get a 'sister-series' featuring teams of postgrads! :D

[Carole]

I have to agree with Chris - I think if they applied such strict rules to all the teams there wouldn't be much of a competition!

Another slap for poor Gail - that'll teach her !!!

It's a bit like the Oxford/Cambridge boat race where half the rowers seem to be Swedes in their late 20s who have rowed for Harvard, Yale and if they are now rowing for Oxford have rowed for Cambridge before that and also have taken part in the Olympics .....

[Princess Leia]

Also, apparently the BBC filmed the series across 2 academic years, so the guy in question was officially a student to start with - no info on whether filming was delayed, which caused this issue. I'd suggest we also need a rule that says you have a calendar year or more of study ahead when commencing the competition

[capricciosababs]

I was in the local high schools radio schools quiz team - we all had to be at that school at the time we did the progs on local bbc radio stoke - if anyone was off sick or left school then the standby stood in straight away no probs !