# University Challenge 2026–27
University Challenge 2026–27 is the 56th series of the British television quiz program [University Challenge](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-challenge), broadcast on [BBC Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-two) on Monday evenings at 20:30 and hosted by [Amol Rajan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amol-rajan), with Manchester beginning the run as defending champions.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) • [2](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series number | 56th student series of University Challenge, airing on BBC Two on Mondays at 20:30[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) • [2](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/) |
| First episode | Bristol v Imperial, 13 July 2026[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) |
| Host | Amol Rajan, the show's third host in six decades[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) • [3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/university-challenge-amol-rajan-bbc-b2376628.html) |
| Defending champions | University of Manchester, winners of the 2025–26 final (145 to Edinburgh's 105) on 20 April 2026[4](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/uc26.html) • [5](https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-quizzers-win-university-challenge-for-fifth-time-becoming-joint-most-successful-in-series-history/) |
| Debuts | Guildhall School of Music and Drama makes its first appearance; the Royal College of Art is represented for the first time by a qualifying team[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) |
| Champions' pedigree | Manchester's fifth title (2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2025) makes it joint most successful institution alongside Imperial College London[5](https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-quizzers-win-university-challenge-for-fifth-time-becoming-joint-most-successful-in-series-history/) |
## Broadcast context
The 2026–27 series follows the 55th series (2025–26), which began on 14 July 2025 and ended with the final on 20 April 2026.[4](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/uc26.html) That final saw Manchester defeat Edinburgh 145–105, with Manchester captain Kai Madgwick answering all nine of his team's starters.[4](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/uc26.html) • [2](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/) The 2025–26 run covered 36 episodes featuring 28 institutions, and its Edinburgh–Manchester final pair gave the northernmost average location of any final since [Bamber Gascoigne](https://www.edgepedia.org/bamber-gascoigne) hosted the show in the 1980s.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/apr/20/university-challenge-final-reviewed-by-last-years-winner) Manchester's fifth overall title (2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, and the 2025–26 series) placed the university joint with [Imperial College London](https://www.edgepedia.org/imperial-college-london) as the most successful in the competition's history.[5](https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-quizzers-win-university-challenge-for-fifth-time-becoming-joint-most-successful-in-series-history/)
Between the two student series, the Christmas 2025 special ran over the festive period with 14 teams drawn from previous Christmas series competing in a "best-of" format; the Durham team that won the 2024 Christmas series took the title again, beating Keble College, Oxford in the final.[2](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/)
## First round
The series opened on 13 July 2026 with Bristol against Imperial.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) The second heat put Durham up against defending champions Manchester.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) Two first-time appearances came early: the [Guildhall School of Music and Drama](https://www.edgepedia.org/guildhall-school-of-music-and-drama) makes its University Challenge debut against Darwin College, Cambridge, and [University College London](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-college-london) opens its campaign against the [Royal College of Art](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-college-of-art), described by the episode listing as the first team ever to qualify from that institution.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official)
Other first-round fixtures recorded in the episode listing include [University College, Oxford](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-college-oxford) v [St John's College, Cambridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-johns-college-cambridge); [Magdalen College, Oxford](https://www.edgepedia.org/magdalen-college-oxford) v Warwick; Birmingham v Leicester; Southampton v Queen's University Belfast; Emmanuel College, Cambridge v Somerville College, Oxford; Glasgow v Goldsmiths, University of London; and SOAS University of London v Edinburgh.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official) The first round concludes with two repechage matches, in which two of the highest-scoring losing teams get a second chance to qualify for the second round: St John's, Cambridge v LSE, and Bristol v Queen's, Belfast.[1](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official)
## Format and background
University Challenge is a British television quiz program in which teams of students from UK universities answer questions across all subjects. The college teams of Oxford, Cambridge, and the [University of London](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-london) enter as independent teams rather than as single university entries, and teams are selected by the show's producers on the basis of scores in a general knowledge audition and suitability for television.[7](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10202360/1/On-Learning-Volume-3.pdf)
The program first aired in September 1962 and was rebooted on BBC Two in the 1990s after cancellation in 1987, retaining its core structure of a "starter for ten, no conferring" followed by bonus questions.[8](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/show_history.html) Amol Rajan became only the third host of the BBC Two show in its six decades, taking over from [Jeremy Paxman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeremy-paxman) with the series that began in 2023.[3](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/university-challenge-amol-rajan-bbc-b2376628.html) • [2](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/) Since the 1994 relaunch, 159 institutions have appeared on the student series, with Durham the most frequent participant at 25 series, followed by Edinburgh on 24 and Manchester on 23.[9](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/stats_apps.html)
## References
1. [University Challenge – Aired Order – All Seasons, TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/university-challenge/allseasons/official)
2. [Sean Blanchflower's University Challenge Page](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/)
3. [University Challenge review: Amol Rajan is a natural as he takes up the baton from Jeremy Paxman, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/university-challenge-amol-rajan-bbc-b2376628.html)
4. [University Challenge results, 2025-26, Sean Blanchflower](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/uc26.html)
5. [University of Manchester quizzers win University Challenge for fifth time, University of Manchester news](https://www.manchester.ac.uk/about/news/university-of-manchester-quizzers-win-university-challenge-for-fifth-time-becoming-joint-most-successful-in-series-history/)
6. [The University Challenge final, reviewed by last year's winner, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/apr/20/university-challenge-final-reviewed-by-last-years-winner)
7. [On Learning (UCL Discovery, discussion of University Challenge format and selection)](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10202360/1/On-Learning-Volume-3.pdf)
8. [A brief history of University Challenge, Sean Blanchflower](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/show_history.html)
9. [University Challenge – Most Appearances (1994-2026), Sean Blanchflower](https://www.blanchflower.org/uc/stats_apps.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Screen seasons › Quiz, panel, and game show seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license