Sexism fears as male contestants outnumber women on University Challenge by ratio of three to one

Men outnumber women by three to one on University Challenge’s new series, prompting calls for the BBC and universities to do more to recruit women and protect female contestants from abuse on social media.

An analysis by The Daily Telegraph shows that 87 men have competed in the BBC’s iconic quiz programme this year against just 24 female students.

Eight universities including Manchester, St Andrews and Strathclyde have lined up with all-male teams despite a record number of women in higher education. Women now account for nearly 60 per cent of the student population.

The last all-female team was five years ago while the eight all male teams this year are double the four in each of the two previous years. The 87 male contestants is also the highest number in a series for three years despite previous complaints about sexism.

Bobby Seagull, who became a break-out star from the show with Eric Monkman in the 2016/17 series, said sexist attitudes among viewers was one factor deterring women from participating.

“Anytime a woman does well, on the show, they'll either face objectification or they'll receive a torrent of abuse,” he said. “Men on the show, if they're knowledgeable, they might get comments like: ‘Who’s this guy with brains the size of a planet? ‘

“The issue of negative social media attention for contestants is often so severe that the BBC provides a qualified counsellor if needed.”

Mr Seagull said this fed through into universities where often 70-80 per cent of those applying to take part were men. “I don't think there should be a quota. I think the universities and the colleges should try to increase the number of people applying who are female,” he said.

The BBC said it tried to encourage all teams to reflect the diversity of their students but admitted its production teams were “employing specific strategies” to encourage and broaden the range of applications.

It also had “thorough and robust” duty of care protocols which included an experienced network of support for candidates.

Holly Parkinson, team captain for Durham, said more needed to be done to “dismantle” the idea that University Challenge was a “man’s game, that bookish intelligence and general knowledge is for men only to excel at.”

“Once more women are having the confidence to apply then I think more equal teams will come forward,” she said.

“Maybe taking the pressure off of trying out for the team could be taken off somehow, as I certainly found it very intimidating. I think women on current teams should be encouraging other women to give it a try, and provide setting an example that women can.”

Professor Alex Bryson, a behavioural economist at UCL, believed it could be explained by research into the “bullshit quotient,” which found a greater propensity among men than women to have the confidence to put themselves forward even where they might have equal or less ability.