Jeremy Paxman has been the face of the BBC’s University Challenge for 28 years.
But today the presenter was announced to be stepping down from the role he’s held since 1994 just over a year after he revealed he had been diagnosed with an incurable disease which will slowly affect his brain and motion.
At the time, Jeremy, 72, told how he aimed to continue working on the BBC quiz show alongside his Parkinson’s diagnosis.
After revealing he had been diagnosed with the degenerative condition, which affects one in 500, Jeremey told how he felt somewhat “let off” getting the illness as many of his ancestors were dead by his age.
Reflecting on his life-changing diagnosis, Paxman took an unusual perspective on it with the Newsnight presenter joking that he had been putting his conservative "wet Tory" politics down to going "gaga" for years.
But Jeremy’s battle with the disease appears to have caught up to him as he announced his last episode as year University Challenge celebrates 60 years of being Britain’s longest running quiz show
In May 2021, Paxman confirmed his Parkinson's diagnosis and said that his symptoms were "currently mild".
In a statement to the PA news agency, he said: "I can confirm I have recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. I am receiving excellent treatment and my symptoms are currently mild.”
But Parkinson's disease is a condition that affects the brain. Symptoms include tremors, slow movements and stiffness and each can take hold rapidly or take years to develop.
Last year, the broadcasting legend revealed he'd suffered a nasty fall while out walking his dog, a Spaniel-Dalmation cross named Derek.
In his column, Paxman admitted he had "no recollection" of taking the tumble as he "blacked out beforehand or did so when my nose hit the ground".
He added there was "certainly a lot of blood afterwards" and confessed he told Derek it was "all his fault."
After receiving the news and recognising his mild symptoms more and more, Paxman found the news harder to take. He previously said: “It's very hard to know you’re not going to get better.”
The diagnosis was made even more difficult for Paxman as he was unaware of the symptoms.
He explained that he thought trembling hands were always the first sign. But living with the disease he realises that the condition is much more unpredictable.
The former Newsnight titan said: “It’s the unpredictability that gets me. Sometimes you feel awake, sometimes you feel asleep, and how you are today is no guide to how you will be tomorrow. It’s really annoying.
“I find myself very tired a lot of the time. Parkinson’s is incurable, so you’re stuck with it. And that is hard.”
The NHS lists involuntary tremors are the symptoms most people associate the condition with, it also manifests itself through slow movement and stiff and inflexible muscles
Shan Nicholas, the interim chief executive of Parkinson’s UK, said: “Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological condition in the world, and Jeremy choosing to speak publicly about his diagnosis will do so much to raise awareness of this much misunderstood condition.
“With more than 40 symptoms, Parkinson’s is unpredictable and complex. We are glad that he has been receiving the right treatment to manage his symptoms."
While there is no cure for Jeremy’s condition, he is said to be receiving “excellent” treatment and was planning to “continue broadcasting and writing for as long as they'll have me.”
Jeremy will film his last University Challenge episode this autumn and his final series will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from Monday 29 th August through to summer ’23.
Paxman said today: “I’ve had a blast hosting this wonderful series for nearly 29 years. I’ve been lucky enough to work with an amazing team and to meet some of the swottier brains in the country. It gives me hope for the future.”
A new presenter will be announced later this week.
