Blimey. Literally just posted about JP leaving, only to find that the Beeb have announced that the new host will be Amol Rajan. Is this another chalk following cheese choice? Well, I think that there's reasons for saying yes, and reasons for saying no.
Some will say - and some already have said that we have another Cambridge educated presenter with a journalism background. I'll be honest, I'd rather this than some more light entertainment personality who might be tempted to think that the show is all about them. On the other hand, though, you can also argue that Amol Rajan, if he hasn't exactly become a jack of all trades he'd certainly accrued a wide range of presenting experience in over a decade, including Radio 2 where I first encountered him covering for Simon Mayo, the One Show, and a range of other assignments.
It's probably fair to say that the reaction to the news from the some of the most vocal sections of the UC audience has been mixed. A widely held opinion is that Amol probably won't want to stay presenting the show for long. I don't know whether there's any grounds for saying this other than the wide range of jobs he's taken in his career. And to be honest, I'm not sure what the BBC could have done about this anyway. I hope that UC goes on forever, but can you realistically ask someone to commit to, shall we say, a 10 year contract when there's no guarantee the show will still be around.
Like a lot of people, I thought Samira Ahmed would have been a good choice. For whatever reason, she's been overlooked. There we are. These things happen. Amol has been appointed, and he deserves to be given a fair chance with the show. As i is we have a whole JP series to enjoy before we'll get the opportunity to see what the Rajan era UC will look like. Good luck Amol.
2 comments:
I have the impression, from some of what's been said, that Samira Ahmed has been a stand-in for Jeremy Paxman whilst filming the upcoming series, so maybe we'll be seeing her in a few episodes anyway.
I'd LOVE to see her hosting a quiz show, she's absolutely super-intelligent. I remember seeing her on an episode of Celebrity Eggheads once where she gave Kevin Ashman a run for his money on a history round. She was eventually knocked out after multiple sudden-deaths, but actually because she tied herself in knots by knowing more than the question required her to know - she considered the correct answer before going for something much more obscure.
That said, I'll look forward to seeing Amol in the role as well.
Hi George,
Yes, me too. I don't think there's a lot of point in some of the carping about his appointment that I've seen across the net. He HAS been appointed, and I certainly don't have any reason to say he's not going to do a good job. I'll certainly miss Jeremy Paxman, but it will still be recognisably university challenge.
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