What Time Is University Challenge On? 8.30pm Mondays, the NI Slot, iPlayer and Every Score

Short version: University Challenge goes out on Mondays at 8.30pm on BBC Two, everywhere in the UK except Northern Ireland, and lands on BBC iPlayer once it has aired. Each match lasts 29 minutes. Amol Rajan asks the questions and Roger Tilling reads out the names.

It is the last half-hour of BBC Two's Monday quiz run, and the one with the longest memory. This is the 56th series in all, which the BBC counts as Series 33 of the version that returned in 1994, and it started back on 13 July.

That early start matters. By the time autumn schedules settle down, the first round is nearly finished, the highest-scoring-loser table is already doing its maths, and viewers joining in September have eleven matches to catch up on.

What time is University Challenge on BBC Two?

8.30pm to 9pm on Mondays. BBC Two's schedule for Monday 28 September shows the familiar sequence: Only Connect at 8pm, then University Challenge at 8.30pm, with a documentary taking over at nine.

The episode itself runs 29 minutes. There's no teatime repeat on BBC One and no weekend showing on the main channel, so if Monday evening is busy, iPlayer is the fallback.

Is University Challenge on at a different time in Northern Ireland?

Yes. The BBC's own listing says the Monday 8.30pm showing is on "BBC Two except Northern Ireland". For the next match, the same page lists a Thursday 7pm showing on BBC Two Northern Ireland instead.

So a viewer in Belfast who checks the Monday listings and finds something else in the slot isn't missing an episode. It arrives later in the week, and iPlayer carries it from Monday night either way.

Can I watch University Challenge on iPlayer?

Yes, once the match has aired. The episode page for Monday 28 September says it will be available "shortly after broadcast", and the programme's iPlayer listing was showing 58 available episodes when we looked on Wednesday.

That back catalogue includes earlier series as well as this one, so it's easy to line up a first-round match and its second-round rematch side by side once the draw moves on.

How many episodes are in this University Challenge series?

37. The BBC numbers the 28 September match as episode 12 of 37. We worked out how those 37 are likely to split, based on the format the show has used for years and the rounds the series table already lists:

14 + 2 + 8 + 10 + 2 + 1 comes to 37, which matches the BBC's count. On a one-match-a-week rhythm, episodes 13 and 14 would close the first round in October, though the BBC hasn't listed either match yet.

What are the University Challenge scores so far this series?

Ten first-round results appear in both the Wikipedia series table and the independent University Challenge results archive, so we're comfortable listing them. We list the scores only, never the questions.

Across those ten, the average winning score is 205.5 and the average losing score 118.5. Warwick's 300 is the high point, and Darwin's ten-point win over Guildhall was the tightest finish.

The eleventh match, Southampton v Queen's University Belfast, is different. The Wikipedia table records a five-point finish, but the independent archive hadn't added it when we checked on Wednesday, so we're holding back on the score until a second source has it. Our results page for the week of 21 September tracks that one.

Who is in line for a highest-scoring-loser place?

Four losing teams get a second chance through the play-offs. On the ten confirmed results, the best losing scores belong to St John's, Cambridge on 170, then Bristol and LSE on 160 each. Queen's Belfast would sit above all three if the reported score stands.

That puts the cut-off at 160 with three first-round matches still to come. Any losing side that beats 160 pushes somebody out, and because Bristol and LSE are level, one more big losing score would leave room for only one of them. The series table already marks Guildhall's 155 as eliminated for that reason.

How does University Challenge scoring work?

Four students a side. A correct starter is worth 10 points and earns a set of three bonus questions at 5 points each, so a full turn is worth 25. Buzz in early on a starter and get it wrong, and the team loses 5.

That penalty explains some of the lopsided scores in the table. A side that keeps interrupting and missing can go backwards while the other team collects bonuses, which is roughly how a 300–40 happens.

Questions readers ask

Who presents University Challenge now?
Amol Rajan, with Roger Tilling as the voice announcing each player.

Is University Challenge on every Monday?
During the series, yes, at 8.30pm on BBC Two in England, Scotland and Wales. BBC Two occasionally clears the Monday evening for something else, and our weekly quiz schedule flags it when that happens.

What else is on around it?
Only Connect precedes it at 8pm. On weekdays, the daytime quizzes run from Countdown at 2.10pm to Pointless at 5.15pm, and our day-by-day quiz list puts all of them in one place. More explainers are in the UK Quiz Guide, and the soap hour that follows the quizzes on ITV1 is covered by our sister site's night-by-night soap guide.

Sources

• BBC: University Challenge, Series 33, Emmanuel College, Cambridge v Somerville College, Oxford (episode 12 of 37, Monday 28 September 20:30 BBC Two except Northern Ireland, Thursday 19:00 BBC Two Northern Ireland, 29 minutes, Amol Rajan and Roger Tilling credited)
• BBC Two schedule, Monday 28 September (Only Connect 20:00, University Challenge 20:30)
• Wikipedia: University Challenge 2026–27 (series start 13 July 2026, first-round table including the 21 September match)
• University Challenge results archive, 2026–27 (first-round results to 14 September, checked 23 September)

By the UK Quiz On Air desk · Updated 23 September, 9.14am BST