Matthew Byrne with Jeremy Paxman (presenter)
I and four others were chosen to represent the University of Nottingham in the 2011-12 series of University Challenge. We took part in selection organised by the Students' Union ESJ officer, and the five of us applied to the producers, and were interviewed in Birmingham in early February. We made it onto the show and started filming in Manchester in late February. Our first round was against the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, whom we beat 215-155. In the second round, filmed in March, we played Pembroke College, Cambridge, where we quickly found ourselves behind. We couldn't catch up with the college, but we mustered a late effort and cleared the century mark, eventually losing 125-280. I never really got too excited by being involved in the programme, despite it being something I've wanted to do ever since I was a kid. It was certainly nerve-racking being tested in front of the cameras like that, but I wouldn't swap the experience for anything! As for Paxman, well, he was a bit aloof, but he did take a pause during the filming of one episode to talk to his producer about cricket.
The team was as follows:
-
Harry Dalton, Politics
-
Matthew Byrne, French and German
-
Lee Cooper, Physiotherapy
-
Ewan Pickard, Chemistry
Reserve member was Robert Orr, History.
Posted on Monday 9th January 2012