Gail Trimble
Encyclopedia
Gail Christiana Trimble (born 1982), is a Senior Faculty Member in Classics
at Trinity College, Oxford
. . While a postgraduate student of Latin literature
at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
, in 2009, she gained attention by a series of exceptional performances on the BBC television
quiz
programme University Challenge
. Trimble captained the Corpus Christi team from the second round onwards, and scored a notably high proportion of the team's points.
The final, broadcast on 23 February 2009, was watched by more than five million viewers—the television show's highest audience share since at least 2001. She is notable for having scored 125 points in the last four minutes, to lead her team to apparent victory. However, a week after the final was broadcast, her team was disqualified after an investigation revealed that her teammate, Sam Kay, finished studying at Corpus Christi while the series was being recorded.
She was described in the British press as a "TV quiz phenomenon" and the "human Google", and by a defeated contestant as a "relentless juggernaut of intellectual Blitzkrieg".
, Surrey, to Mary and Michael Trimble. Her father worked as a manager for British Telecom
and her mother was a magistrate
at Staines Magistrates Court.
Growing up, Trimble initially attended the Ambleside Infant and Middle School before moving to the independent and girls only Lady Eleanor Holles School
in Hampton, London
. While there she gained eleven GCSE certificates followed by four A-levels at grade A: in Latin, Greek, English Literature and Maths, plus additionally one of the top five marks in the country with A-level General Studies. She was awarded a place at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 2000. She won a declamation prize at Oxford for Latin recital in 2001, and was also reported to give recitals in her lunchtimes at college as a soprano singer, and lecture on Ovid
, Hellenistic poetry and Catullus. Her research had been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council
and is to be awarded a Doctor of Philosophy
in Latin literature at Corpus Christi, Oxford on the subject of Catullus
in 2010. Trimble is a practising Anglican, and sang in the choir at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin
. In March 2009 Trimble became engaged to Tom West, a trainee solicitor, and boyfriend of five years.
In 2009, Trimble was elected as a Junior Research Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
and held this position for a year, before returning to Oxford as a Senior Faculty Member .
-series final, which had been won by Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
She won a place on the college's 2009 team after several earlier attempts had failed. Participating in the show, Trimble contributed substantially to the team's success in the earlier rounds. The Guardian noted
" when the correct answer would have been "Goody Two-Shoes". The Corpus team were behind for most of the contest until Trimble, with her team-mates, accumulated 125 points within the last four minutes. Corpus won with 275 points, beating Manchester's score of 190 points.
The final of the 2008–2009 series had been recorded in Manchester four months before it had been due to be broadcast; all those involved had had to keep quiet about the result until the programme was shown on BBC Two
on 23 February 2009. The winners' trophy had been presented to Trimble by the poet Wendy Cope
. Trimble revealed that she had previously had difficulty getting on to the college University Challenge team, making three or four attempts. "I've tried over the years with different teams for the college, but we never made it".
The winning Corpus team would later be retrospectively disqualified on 2 March 2009, after it was revealed that another of the team members, Sam Kay, had no longer been a student at the University for the latter part of the series' recordings. The winner's trophy was re-awarded to the runners up, Manchester University. The Daily Telegraph called on Trimble to seek a rematch, with columnist Cassandra Jardine describing her as "the Usain Bolt
of general knowledge". Trimble was reported on 6 March as being "too upset to comment" on the team's disqualification.
had already been in touch. She said, "Would you believe it, my brother received a Facebook
message from Nuts yesterday morning saying 'can we have your sister's email address, we want her to do a tasteful shoot'... So of course he sent them an answer saying: 'Seriously mate, would you give your sister's contact details to Nuts?'"
She had been accused of being "smug" and "snobbish" by bloggers; however, she has been defended by University Challenge
's host, Jeremy Paxman
, who said of her "she's actually had rather a mean sort of press. People have accused her of sneering. Actually I think she's quite shy."
The Independent
's columnist Nicholas Lezard
stated: "The intellectual powerhouse that is Gail Trimble, captain of Corpus Christi's all-conquering University Challenge team, has divided the nation like no other figure since Margaret Thatcher
...Such scorn as she has suffered is really about nothing more than the man's fear of the clever woman." The Mail on Sunday compared her to the recently deceased reality TV star Jade Goody
, saying of the bloggers:
s columnist Melanie Phillips
wrote that "if anything demonstrates Britain's steady descent into baying brutishness, it is surely the treatment meted out to Gail Trimble."
Trimble later stated, "I'm glad that people are being nice about me rather than nasty but ... I very much think this would not be happening if I was a man".
On 1 March 2009 it was reported that Trimble had turned down a "five-figure sum" to become the face of Hyundai
's new "intelligent" car. Bookmakers William Hill
had offered odds of 4/1 that she would win the television quiz show Mastermind
before 2015.
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
at Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
. . While a postgraduate student of Latin literature
Latin literature
Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings of the ancient Romans. In many ways, it seems to be a continuation of Greek literature, using many of the same forms...
at Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Corpus Christi College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
, in 2009, she gained attention by a series of exceptional performances on the BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
quiz
Quiz
A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...
programme University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
. Trimble captained the Corpus Christi team from the second round onwards, and scored a notably high proportion of the team's points.
The final, broadcast on 23 February 2009, was watched by more than five million viewers—the television show's highest audience share since at least 2001. She is notable for having scored 125 points in the last four minutes, to lead her team to apparent victory. However, a week after the final was broadcast, her team was disqualified after an investigation revealed that her teammate, Sam Kay, finished studying at Corpus Christi while the series was being recorded.
She was described in the British press as a "TV quiz phenomenon" and the "human Google", and by a defeated contestant as a "relentless juggernaut of intellectual Blitzkrieg".
Background
Trimble was born in Walton-on-ThamesWalton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames is a town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey in South East England. The town is located south west of Charing Cross and is between the towns of Weybridge and Molesey. It is situated on the River Thames between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock.- History :The name "Walton" is...
, Surrey, to Mary and Michael Trimble. Her father worked as a manager for British Telecom
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
and her mother was a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
at Staines Magistrates Court.
Growing up, Trimble initially attended the Ambleside Infant and Middle School before moving to the independent and girls only Lady Eleanor Holles School
Lady Eleanor Holles School
The Lady Eleanor Holles School is an independent school for girls in Hampton, London, England. The school was founded in 1711.-Admissions:...
in Hampton, London
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
. While there she gained eleven GCSE certificates followed by four A-levels at grade A: in Latin, Greek, English Literature and Maths, plus additionally one of the top five marks in the country with A-level General Studies. She was awarded a place at Corpus Christi College, Oxford in 2000. She won a declamation prize at Oxford for Latin recital in 2001, and was also reported to give recitals in her lunchtimes at college as a soprano singer, and lecture on Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, Hellenistic poetry and Catullus. Her research had been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Arts and Humanities Research Council
Established in April 2005 as successor to the Arts and Humanities Research Board, the Arts and Humanities Research Council is a British Research Council and non-departmental public body that provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the...
and is to be awarded a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in Latin literature at Corpus Christi, Oxford on the subject of Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
in 2010. Trimble is a practising Anglican, and sang in the choir at the University Church of St Mary the Virgin
University Church of St Mary the Virgin
The University Church of St Mary the Virgin is the largest of Oxford's parish churches and the centre from which the University of Oxford grew...
. In March 2009 Trimble became engaged to Tom West, a trainee solicitor, and boyfriend of five years.
In 2009, Trimble was elected as a Junior Research Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and held this position for a year, before returning to Oxford as a Senior Faculty Member .
University Challenge 2009
Trimble had previously sat in the audience during the recording of the University Challenge 2005University Challenge 2005
Series 34 of University Challenge began on 13 September 2004 and was broadcast on BBC Two. This is a list of the matches played, their scores, and outcomes.-First round:-Highest Scoring Losers Playoffs:-Second round:-Quarterfinals:...
-series final, which had been won by Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
She won a place on the college's 2009 team after several earlier attempts had failed. Participating in the show, Trimble contributed substantially to the team's success in the earlier rounds. The Guardian noted
"In the Oxford college's run to the final, Trimble has scored more points than her three team-mates combined. In their semi-final, Corpus Christi defeated St John's College, Cambridge, 260-150. Trimble's personal haul was 185. In the quarter-finals, Trimble racked up a record 15 starters-for-10 as Corpus Christi raced to 350 points. Opponents Exeter University limped to 15 points, the equivalent of one correct starter and bonus. It was the lowest score since 1971 and only five points more than the worst of all time."In the rounds before reaching the final, Trimble had provided two thirds of her team's total points: 825 out of 1,235. The final win was initially more of a team effort, with Trimble even getting the odd answer wrong—buzzing to answer "Pollyanna
Pollyanna
Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook. The book was such a success, that Porter soon produced a sequel, Pollyanna...
" when the correct answer would have been "Goody Two-Shoes". The Corpus team were behind for most of the contest until Trimble, with her team-mates, accumulated 125 points within the last four minutes. Corpus won with 275 points, beating Manchester's score of 190 points.
The final of the 2008–2009 series had been recorded in Manchester four months before it had been due to be broadcast; all those involved had had to keep quiet about the result until the programme was shown on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 23 February 2009. The winners' trophy had been presented to Trimble by the poet Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope
Wendy Cope, OBE is an award-winning contemporary English poet. She read history at St Hilda's College, Oxford. She now lives in Ely with the poet Lachlan Mackinnon.-Biography:...
. Trimble revealed that she had previously had difficulty getting on to the college University Challenge team, making three or four attempts. "I've tried over the years with different teams for the college, but we never made it".
The winning Corpus team would later be retrospectively disqualified on 2 March 2009, after it was revealed that another of the team members, Sam Kay, had no longer been a student at the University for the latter part of the series' recordings. The winner's trophy was re-awarded to the runners up, Manchester University. The Daily Telegraph called on Trimble to seek a rematch, with columnist Cassandra Jardine describing her as "the Usain Bolt
Usain Bolt
The Honourable Usain St. Leo Bolt, OJ, C.D. , is a Jamaican sprinter and a five-time World and three-time Olympic gold medalist. He is the world record and Olympic record holder in the 100 metres, the 200 metres and the 4×100 metres relay...
of general knowledge". Trimble was reported on 6 March as being "too upset to comment" on the team's disqualification.
Cultural impact and criticism
After the final was broadcast, she said she was getting used to being in the public eye. She said that she had been approached by a men's magazine to take part in a "tasteful photoshoot", revealing that Nuts magazineNuts (magazine)
Nuts is a weekly lad mag published in the United Kingdom. It was the first weekly lads magazine to be published in the UK and is sold every Tuesday...
had already been in touch. She said, "Would you believe it, my brother received a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
message from Nuts yesterday morning saying 'can we have your sister's email address, we want her to do a tasteful shoot'... So of course he sent them an answer saying: 'Seriously mate, would you give your sister's contact details to Nuts?'"
She had been accused of being "smug" and "snobbish" by bloggers; however, she has been defended by University Challenge
University Challenge
University Challenge is a British quiz programme that has aired since 1962. The format is based on the American show College Bowl, which ran on NBC radio from 1953 to 1957, and on NBC television from 1959 to 1970....
's host, Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Paxman
Jeremy Dickson Paxman is a British journalist, author and television presenter. He has worked for the BBC since 1977. He is noted for a forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians...
, who said of her "she's actually had rather a mean sort of press. People have accused her of sneering. Actually I think she's quite shy."
The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
's columnist Nicholas Lezard
Nicholas Lezard
Nicholas Lezard is an English journalist and literary critic.Lezard has a weekly column, 'Nicholas Lezard's choice', reviewing paperback books for the Guardian. He also writes for the Independent, and writes the 'Down and Out in London' column for the New Statesman.-External links:* at journalisted...
stated: "The intellectual powerhouse that is Gail Trimble, captain of Corpus Christi's all-conquering University Challenge team, has divided the nation like no other figure since Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
...Such scorn as she has suffered is really about nothing more than the man's fear of the clever woman." The Mail on Sunday compared her to the recently deceased reality TV star Jade Goody
Jade Goody
Jade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction from...
, saying of the bloggers:
"You can see how much easier it is to take Jade Goody for your role model ahead of Gail Trimble. If you know nothing, and see someone getting rich and famous precisely for that reason, you are instantly validated. You, too, could become the next poster girl for ignorance. How comforting, too, if the moment an awesomely intelligent woman does come along, you're allowed to attack her for being smug and snobbish."The Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
s columnist Melanie Phillips
Melanie Phillips
Melanie Phillips is a British journalist and author. She began her career on the left of the political spectrum, writing for such publications as The Guardian and New Statesman. In the 1990s she moved to the right, and she now writes for the Daily Mail newspaper, covering political and social...
wrote that "if anything demonstrates Britain's steady descent into baying brutishness, it is surely the treatment meted out to Gail Trimble."
Trimble later stated, "I'm glad that people are being nice about me rather than nasty but ... I very much think this would not be happening if I was a man".
On 1 March 2009 it was reported that Trimble had turned down a "five-figure sum" to become the face of Hyundai
Hyundai
Hyundai ) is a global conglomerate company, part of the Korean chaebol, that was founded in South Korea by one of the most famous businessmen in Korean history: Chung Ju-yung...
's new "intelligent" car. Bookmakers William Hill
William Hill (bookmaker)
William Hill plc is one of the largest bookmakers in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters is in the north London suburb of Wood Green and in Leeds, West Yorkshire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
had offered odds of 4/1 that she would win the television quiz show Mastermind
Mastermind (TV series)
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness.Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the...
before 2015.