University Challenge viewers thought they were hallucinating during last night’s Christmas semi-final episode after host Jeremy Paxman was briefly spotted in pantomime costume.
Many whitty viewers were left wondering if there had been a mix up with the mushrooms they’d been eating over the festive period.
The bizarre moment on BBC Two saw Paxman ask the Wadham, Oxford panel a question about pantomime.
‘'In the Old Vic's pantomime production in 2004, Sir Ian McKellen made a notable appearance as which character in Aladdin?'’ he asked.
The camera jumps to the panel discussing the question and then telling Paxman the answer was “Widow Twankey”.
When the camera jumps back to the host, Paxman is dressed head to toe in pantomime dame costume, wig, lipstick and glasses.
“Oh yes it was! It was Widow Twankey” Paxman replies, before asking the next question.
Neither the panel nor the live audience reacted to the shock costume change, and in the split second time that the next question was answered Jeremy was back in his suit and tie.
Such a costume might have given the Wadham team a huge clue to the answer however, so it appears that the clip was edited post-production.
Viewers of yesterday’s semi-final, which saw Wadham, Oxford go up against Trinity Hall, Cambridge, were certainly surprised by the unusual wardrobe change.
“Genuinely thought I was hallucinating,” one viewer explained.
“There must be hallucinogenic drugs in my tea because I’m sure I just saw Jeremy Paxman dressed as Widow Twankey asking a #UniversityChallenge question” another joked.
“Spent the rest of the programme waiting for the next one, eg Paxman dressed as a quadratic equation, etc” a fan pointed out.
Several jokes were made about the blink-and-you-miss-it moment such as when one viewer pointed out “He is looking for panto work,” to which the response was “Oh no he isn’t”.
University Challenge continues tonight on BBC Two with the second leg of the Christmas semi-finals.
In tonight’s episode the University of Leeds will go against University College London in the challenge to win the spot in tomorrow’s final against Wadham, Oxford.
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