Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Paxman Jeremy Dickson Paxman (born 11 May 1950) is a British broadcaster, journalist, author, and the quizmaster of "University Challenge", having succeeded Bamber Gascoigne at the time the programme was revived in 1994. Born in Leeds, Paxman was educated at Malvern College and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he edited the undergraduate newspaper "Varsity". At Cambridge, he was a member of a Labour Party club and described himself as a socialist, although in later life described himself as a one-nation conservative. He joined the BBC in 1972, initially at BBC Radio Brighton, although relocated to London in 1977. In
Director-General of the BBC Director-General of the BBC The Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief of the BBC. The position was formerly appointed by the Board of Governors of the BBC (for the period of 1927 to 2007) and then the BBC Trust (from 2007 to 2017). Since 2017 the Director-General is appointed by the BBC Board. To date sixteen individuals, all of whom have been men, have been appointed Director-General, plus an additional two who were appointed in an acting capacity only. The current Director-General is Tony, Lord Hall, who was appointed from the chief executiveship