A Christmas episode of University Challenge has been axed by the BBC after two contestants complained about a lack of requirements for their disabilities.
The festive addition has been pulled from the broadcaster’s schedule over the Christmas period following complaints about a lack of audio description and subtitles from one person who was blind and one who was neurodivergent, the BBC has reported.
The BBC Two quiz show features teams of distinguished alumni who compete on behalf of their former universities, hosted by Amol Rajan.
The journalist took over from long-time presenter Jeremy Paxman this year, who fronted the show since 1994.
It is understood the University Challenge production team explained that subtitles were not possible but that audio description would be provided for the contestants – which it was not, the BBC has reported.
One of the affected contestants is said to have been told a minute before the show began filming that there would be no audio description and their captain would have to relay all information, PA news agency has said.
It’s also thought the second claimed a request for subtitles in advance which was turned down.
BBC apologises to disabled University Challenge contestants
But after the decision was made to axe the festive episode on Friday (December 1), both the BBC and the production company – Lifted Entertainment, have issued an apology.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an episode in the upcoming series of Alumni University Challenge will not be broadcast because two of the contestants felt their access requirements were not sufficiently met by the production.
“We are working closely with producers to improve cross industry access on our programmes to ensure a consistent approach is implemented.
“We would like to apologise to the individuals and teams concerned, and they have been written to personally by the producers.”
A spokesperson for Lifted Entertainment, which is part of ITV Studios, added: “During the pre-filming briefing for this episode, two contestants requested that certain adjustments be made in order for them to be able to fully participate.
“However, following the recording, we were made aware that the adjustments made fell short of their requirements. We have spoken to the individuals involved and offered our sincere apologies.
“Having listened very carefully to their descriptions of their experiences, we agreed with the BBC that the fairest course of action was not to screen this particular edition.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel