Who writes the questions on University Challenge?
(Picture: BBC)  University Challenge is notoriously the toughest quiz programme on TV. Since 1962, teams of four university students representing their place of education have gone up against the shows academic questions. Presenter Jeremy Paxman grills the contestants  though as far as we know, doesnt write the questions himself. Heres what you need to know. Questions, unsurprisingly, are written by expert quizzers. Many are past contestants from the show, writes 1995 contestant Sean Blanchflower on his UC-devoted blog. IMDB also cites a number of past contestants as question setters, including Dr Phil Jones  who represented Magdalen College at Oxford in 1998, winning the series. Charles Oakley, who was captain of the 2005 Corpus Christi team, and 1997 series runner up Martin Heighway, who represented the Open University, have also set questions. David Fanshawe, now a statistician at the University of Oxford, and Anoushka Dav, a 20-something with an incredible four degrees  also past contestants  were revealed to be two of several freelance question setters in an interview with The Telegraph in 2019. (Picture: BBC / ITV Studios / Joseph Scanlon)  Others are experienced TV quiz writers  such as the late David Elias, who worked on the show in the 80s when Bamber Gascoigne was its host. According to IMDBs trivia section, Gascoigne would recheck questions himself  and rewrite any that didnt hit the mark. The series executive producer, Peter Gwyn, told The Telegraph that  after question setters have completed and fact-checked questions  Paxman would see them for approval. He may have some notes for clarification, but he has certainly never said our questions werent any good, he told the paper. Undoubtedly  there are a number of official University Challenge quiz books, containing thousands of questions each. The titles, by author Steve Tribe, include:  The University Challenge Quiz Book  The Classic University Challenge Quiz Book  The All New University Challenge Quiz Book. Theyre available via Amazon, Waterstones and other book retailers. Designed to be 56m high, improvements to the foundations since 1990 have diminished its distinctive aberration. A Buddhist teaching says its in the heart of a person who inwardly despises his father and disregards his mother, Shelley says its like London. A: Karyotype  MORE : The Chase star Darragh Ennis: Id like to present University Challenge if Jeremy Paxman retires  but the Beast wouldnt be happy  MORE : University Challenge 2021: Warwick crowned series champions after tense final with Magdalene College  Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram  Share your views in the comments below