University Challenge 2016–17


Series 46 of University Challenge began on 11 July 2016 on BBC Two, and finished on 10 April 2017. This series of the long running quiz show drew larger audiences than usual thanks to a collection of interesting characters, most notably Eric Monkman from Wolfson College, Cambridge, who has been described on Twitter by many viewers as "the most intense contestant ever".
The University of East London made its University Challenge debut in this series.

Results

  • Winning teams are highlighted in bold.
  • Teams with green scores returned in the next round, while those with red scores were eliminated.
  • Teams with orange scores had to win one more match to return in the next round.
  • Teams with yellow scores indicate that two further matches had to be played and won.
  • A score in italics indicates a match decided on a tie-breaker question.

Final

Spin-off: Christmas Special 2016

Qualification round

Each year, a Christmas special sequence is aired featuring distinguished alumni. Out of 7 first-round winners, the top 4 highest-scoring teams progress to the semi-finals. The teams consist of celebrities who represent their alma maters.
  • Teams with green scores won their match and achieved a high enough score to return in the next round, teams with red scores lost and were eliminated.
  • Teams with grey scores won their first round match but did not achieve a high enough score to return.
Team 1Team 2TotalBroadcast date
University of Manchester185St Anne's College, Oxford24019 December 2016
University of Kent245University of Sussex28020 December 2016
City, University of LondonNewcastle University18021 December 2016
SOAS, University of London175University of Leeds26022 December 2016
University of EdinburghSt Catharine's College, Cambridge17523 December 2016
Magdalene College, Cambridge225St Hilda's College, Oxford29025 December 2016
University of BristolUniversity of Nottingham14526 December 2016

Final

The winning St Hilda's College, Oxford team of Fiona Caldicott, Daisy Dunn, Val McDermid and Adèle Geras beat the University of Leeds team of Louise Doughty, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Kamal Ahmed and Steve Bell.