Monty Don shares heartbreak over Bamber Gascoigne’s death as he details their connection
Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don has taken to Twitter to share his heartbreak over the death of University Challenge host, Bamber Gasoigne. The Adriatic Garden’s host, 66, paid tribute to the quizmaster following the news that he had died after a short illness, aged 87.
In view of his 248,300 followers, Monty not only paid tribute to the TV host, but revealed a surprising link between them.
The horticulturalist wrote: “Sorry to hear the death of Bamber Gasgoine – for my generation an iconic TV figure.
“I sat next to him at dinner once – we were taught by the same wonderful man, Arthur Sale, at university – and he was charming,” he finished his post.
Both Monty and Bamber studied at Magdalene College at Cambridge University.
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When the show started up again in 1994, Jeremy Paxman then took on the role, which he has retained since then.
Bamber’s signature catchphrases included “Your starter for ten”, “fingers on buzzers” and “I’ll have to hurry you”.
Already academically gifted from an early age, the future TV presenter went on to win scholarships at both Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge.
He read English literature at Cambridge University from 1955, and two years later in 1957, he wrote a musical called Share My Lettuce, which was produced in London and starred Dame Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams.
As well as appearing on the popular TV show, Bamber was also an established author and documentarian, with a particular interest in history.
He also wrote and presented multiple TV series, including 1990s show The Great Moghuls, which he wrote and presented on.
A man of many talents, he then went on to be a Commonwealth Fund scholar at the University of Yale.
In 2018, Bamber was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) by the Queen for services to the Arts.
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