University Challenge viewers have criticised host Amol Rajan for what they claim is an “unfair” habit of speeding up his question delivery towards the end of matches.
The controversy peaked during Monday’s nail-biting quarter-final between Queen’s University Belfast and Imperial College London, which ended in a dramatic tie-breaker.
Fans took to social media to express their frustration, suggesting the 41-year-old presenter’s rapid-fire questioning style gave an unfair advantage to teams trailing behind.
Rajan, who succeeded Jeremy Paxman as the BBC show’s host in 2023, has been accused of significantly increasing his pace during crucial final moments of the quiz programme.
The quarter-final match proved exceptionally tense, with Queens’ University Belfast maintaining leads of varying sizes throughout the first half.
Imperial College narrowed the gap dramatically as the contest approached its conclusion.
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When the gong sounded, both teams were deadlocked on 170 points, forcing a tie-breaker question.
Queen’s captain Daniel Rankin ultimately secured victory for his team in the sudden death round.
The Queen’s quartet featured Sarah Carlisle, Jason McKillen, Daniel Rankin and Sam Thompson, while Imperial was represented by Charlotte Stokes, Mattia Elkouby, Matthew Spry and Jaime Salamanca Camacho.
Die-hard fans of the show claimed Queen’s would have wrapped up victory much earlier had it not been for Rajan’s hasty questioning style.
Viewers didn’t hold back their criticism on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
One infuriated fan posted: “Don’t like it how Amol Rajan massively speeds up the question asking towards the end of University Challenge. Not fair on the team in front. Should be the same speed all the way through.”
Another added: “Exciting match, though I’ve only ever heard horse racing commentators go as fast as Amol towards the end!”
“Amol doing everything he possibly can to make sure Belfast go out here. No need for such rushing” complained another viewer.
One simply stated: “Amol’s speeding through questions. Not good.”
Not everyone was critical of Rajan’s accelerated delivery style, however.
Some viewers praised the BBC Today programme host for adding excitement to the contest.
One X user posted: “#UniversityChallenge Wow what a cracking game of #UniversityChallenge. No spoilers from me about the victors but tiebreaker alert. Host speeding up at the end to give the game a splendid sense of urgency.”
Another enthusiastic fan commented: “@amolrajan what a brilliant University Challenge tonight, two great teams and Amol you did a great job – never got a word wrong and at such speed. Well done to all.”
A third viewer simply remarked: “Amol reading at the speed of light.”