Amol Rajan's French is so bad University Challenge reshoots questions

2023-07-19

University Challenge’s controversial new host Amol Rajan’s French pronunciation is so bad camera crew have to reshoot questions featuring the language

Amol Rajan, 40, has said he was ‘right to be worrying’ about his French skills
The TV presenter made his debut on the BBC’s University Challenge this week

New University Challenge host Amol Rajan, 40, has said his French is so rusty, camera crews are forced to reshoot questions featuring the language.

The presenter this week made his debut on the BBC Two show, in taking over from Jeremy Paxman who stepped down from his job as quizmaster after 29 years.

Mr Rajan admitted he was ‘worrying’ about his French pronunciations before starting his new job due to never having studied the language himself.

The former newspaper editor has now revealed he was ‘right to be worrying’ as he claimed camera crews are forced to ‘re-take’ questions in French.

The ex-BBC Media Editor also said he felt ‘very humbled’ to have been chosen as Paxman’s successor, who stepped down in May due to ill health.

Amol Rajan, 40, (pictured) said he was ‘right to be worrying’ about his French language skills in his new job hosting University Challenge

Mr Rajan’s debut show saw a team from Trinity College, Cambridge face a team from the University of Manchester.

Speaking on the Headliners podcast, Mr Rajan said: ‘It’s a big moment in my life and a new era for an amazing programme, which I feel, honestly, very humbled to be a part of.

‘I think there was a long process of what happens in a world after Jeremy Paxman steps down as he’s got Parkinson’s and spoken very publicly about it.

‘There was going to be a natural end to his incredibly successful and brilliant 29 year reign so I think they’d been thinking about it for a little while.

‘And for some reason they thought this mischievous little tyke who pretends to be cleverer than he actually is would be well suited and we’ll find out if they were right.’

Amol Rajan made his debut on University Challenge this week after taking over from Jeremy Paxman

Asked if he had to go through questions beforehand to confirm pronunciation of words in Latin or Greek, the father of three answered: ‘It’s so funny you say that, the one I was worrying about was the French.

‘And I was right to be worrying about it.

‘I’m not going to pretend for a minute I can speak German, but I studied German up to GCSE level and I love German culture and German philosophy is a favourite subject of mine.

‘So, the German stuff I’m absolutely fine with, the Italian stuff you do it with a certain twang, the French is both the one I find hardest – because I never studied French – and also the one I think most people watching BBC 2 at 8.30pm on a Monday night care about.

Amol Rajan (pictured) previously appeared on a celebrity Christmas special edition of University Challenge in 2020

‘So, we do do the odd re-take for the French one.’

In 2013, Rajan became the youngest editor of a broadsheet newspaper after taking up the top job at The Independent at the age of 29.

He took up a job as the BBC’s first Media Editor in 2016 before he was named as Paxman’s successor on University Challenge.

Rajan appeared on a celebrity Christmas special edition of University Challenge in 2020 with a team from Downing College, Cambridge.

Source: Read Full Article