University Challenge host Amol Rajan praises 'creative brilliance' behind ‘we need jungle’ meme

University Challenge is one of those shows – like Only Connect – where we pray we’ll correctly guess an answer to a question that’s asked on it, but this week, the popular quiz show has provided entertainment in a rather unusual form.

Last week, Amol Rajan (who replaced Jeremy Paxman as host last year) put students from Sheffield and Aberdeen to the test on the programme, and it was one question put to the Aberdeen team which sparked a viral meme.

He asked: “What name is given to the genre of dance music that developed in the UK in the early 1990s, out of the rave scene and reggae sound system culture, associated with acts such as A Guy Called Gerald and Goldie?”

“Drum and bass,” replied team captain Emily Osborne, though the answer couldn’t get them any points.

Rajan responded: “Can’t accept drum and bass. We need jungle, I’m afraid.”

It was a fairly normal and unremarkable comment to many when it was first broadcast, but it was author and broadcaster Nathan Filer who helped give it new life when he wrote on Twitter/X last week: “Please, please will someone sample @AmolRajan saying: ‘I can’t accept drum and bass. We need jungle, I’m afraid.”

And of course, the internet was more than happy to deliver (please note: some of these tweets contain flashing images):

Now Rajan has shared his thoughts on the viral sensation which led to what he has described as “three days of creative brilliance” in an article for BBC News.

He wrote: “All hell broke loose. And what a lovely hell it was.

“This week has reconnected me with my younger self. I have four young kids, which is the greatest blessing, but does rather diminish my capacity for raving.

“These days, much to my chagrin, my most played tunes on Spotify are from Frozen and Moana and my life is more Jungle Book than jungle music. Years ago, jungle was our daily bread.

Rajan, who was previously the BBC’s media editor, went on to add: “This week reminded me of the original vision of social media, which was more social and less media.

“Those of us in my trade should remember it can generate communities and pullulate with kindness and creativity rather than conspiracy and contempt.”

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