Home from Home | British TV has changed since I moved to Hong Kong 28 years ago, but University Challenge is as tough as ever
- Two Hong Kong students recently helped Imperial College London win the UK’s long-running TV show University Challenge, a favourite of Cliff Buddle
- He talks about the pre-streaming challenge of viewing UK TV in Hong Kong, endlessly rewatching Only Fools and Horses, and EastEnders videos sent by post
Watching British television programmes, while living in Hong Kong, was a challenge in the days before the internet, with its streaming apps.
I relied on my parents to record favourite shows and send video tapes by mail. A trip to the post office in Mui Wo to collect the latest instalment of the soap opera EastEnders was eagerly awaited.
The other option was to purchase expensive DVDs. We watched a series of the 1980s sitcom Only Fools and Horses over and over again. I still know all the lines.
British television, I felt, kept me in touch with my native culture, if you can call it that. Strangely, I did not feel the need so strongly when returning to the UK after 28 years.
Now, of course, a bewildering variety of shows from around the world is instantly available. But I was surprised to find that one programme I used to enjoy as a kid is still running.
University Challenge is an institution. This quiz show has been pitting teams of students from British universities against each other since 1962. The format has barely changed at all and there have only been three presenters in all that time.
