You may have already heard of Jeremy Paxman's replacement on University Challenge. He's a British journalist and broadcaster who has been a presenter on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 since 2021.
Amol Rajan early life and career
He was born in Calcutta, India in 1983 before he and his family moved to London before going on to study English at Cambridge University.
Early in his career, he worked on The Wright Stuff, The Independent, London Evening Standard, before becoming the first non-white editor of a national newspaper in over a century at aged 29 when he was appointed Editor of the Independent newspaper.
Since then, he's become a regular on our TV and radio stations, presenting BBC Radio 2, The One Show and BBC Radio 4.
His most recent career triumph was being made the new host of University Challenge. Speaking about his new job on his Instagram account, he shared how much the role means to him on a personal level with the below message:
I got a new job, and it’s a proper dream come true.
I’m going to be quizmaster on University Challenge. Yeah!
I haven’t posted much on here for a while, because to be frank I have been in a pit of grief since my dear Dad died. It’s hit me extremely hard, and changed me profoundly. I know we all have to go through it, and I’m doing all that processing that people talk about, but it sucks.
Especially when very cool life events like this happen, and even more so when it’s do with universities and knowledge. That was everything for my dear Dad, still the cleverest guy I ever met, and someone who believed so deeply in ideas and erudition, and who venerated great minds and quotations and pedagogy. He would have loved to see me do this show. Then again, as my brother says, he would have loved me to pay off my mortgage even more…
Still, this is such a special moment. I can honestly say University Challenge is my favourite show. I love it. The music, the students, the format, the history, the shameless intellectual ambition. And I love being a quizmaster, as my mates can attest. So this feels massively humbling.
Not least because the show has only ever had 2 hosts. I met Bamber Gascoigne once, at an unforgettable dinner with a friend on Mill Road in Cambridge. He was such an inspiration: clever, urbane, witty, kind.
Jeremy Paxman has been a giant in British broadcasting and culture ever since I can remember. He has total authority behind that desk: something I will have to earn. Thanks largely to him, the show, and format (which was imported from America 60 years ago) is stronger than ever.
I know from being a contestant recently that there is a phenomenal production team. I can’t wait to work with them, and to read my first Starter for 10. I may have a quiet word with my old man in advance.
Amol Rajan wife
Amol and his wife Charlotte Faircloth married in September of 2013. Charlotte is an associate professor at the UCL Social Research Institute, teaching Social Science focusing on gender, reproduction, and parenting. The pair have three children together, but they tend to keep their family life very private.
Amol Rajan interviews
Over the course of his career, Amol has conducted a number of famous interviews, as well as presenting some interesting documentaries.
His hour long interview with Sir Ian McKellen was particularly popular amongst audiences. You can catch up on the BBC interview here. Ian opens up about his upbringing, sexuality and his life on stage and on screen.
Another popular interview was with Dame Sharon White, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership where she speaks openly about her early life, being a daughter of a Windrush generation family, and her position as chief executive of media regulator Ofcom. You can catch up with this interview here.
Other famous interviews include tennis and Wimbledon star Novak Djokovic, Billie Jean King and Nile Rodgers, all of which you can catch up with on BBC iPlayer.