Amol Rajan facts for kids

Amol Rajan is a well-known journalist and TV presenter in the United Kingdom. He was born in India and moved to England when he was young. He has worked for important news organisations like The Independent newspaper and the BBC. Since 2021, he has been a presenter on the Today radio show. From 2023, he also hosts the popular TV quiz show University Challenge.

Early Life and Education

Amol Rajan was born in 1983 in Kolkata, India. His family moved to England when he was three years old. He grew up in Tooting, a part of London.

When he was born, his name was V. Amol. This was because of a special naming custom in the Tamil culture. Later, when his family came to England, his name became Amol Varadarajan. The family then chose the surname Rajan.

Amol Rajan went to Graveney School in Tooting. After school, he studied English at Downing College, Cambridge. While at university, he wrote for the student newspaper, Varsity. He even became the editor of the newspaper for a short time in 2005. When he was 18, he spent a year working at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This is a government department that deals with other countries.

Journalism Career

Amol Rajan started his career in television. In 2006 and 2007, he was a presenter on The Wright Stuff. This was a daytime talk show on the Five network. He also worked as a researcher for the show.

In 2007, he joined The Independent newspaper. Over the next few years, he had many different roles there. He worked as a news reporter, a sports writer, and a columnist. He also wrote restaurant reviews for The Independent on Sunday.

Editor of The Independent

In 2013, when he was 29, Amol Rajan made history. He became the first non-white editor of a national newspaper in the UK in over 100 years. He was the editor of The Independent.

In 2016, The Independent newspaper stopped printing paper copies. It became a digital-only newspaper. Amol Rajan stayed with the company to help with this big change.

Moving to the BBC

In November 2016, Amol Rajan joined the BBC. He became the BBC's first Media Editor. This meant he reported on news about television, radio, and newspapers. He started this new job in December 2016.

He also hosted The Big Debate on the BBC Asian Network. Since 2017, he has filled in for other presenters on BBC Radio 2. He has also occasionally presented The One Show on BBC One.

From 2017, he presented The Media Show on BBC Radio 4. This show talks about what's happening in the media world. He left this role when he became a presenter for the Today programme in 2021.

Hosting University Challenge

In 2023, Amol Rajan became the new host of University Challenge. This is a very popular and long-running TV quiz show. He took over from Jeremy Paxman. Amol Rajan himself had been a contestant on a special celebrity version of the show in 2020. He played for his old university, Downing College.

In June 2023, Amol Rajan interviewed former TV presenter Phillip Schofield for the BBC. This was the first TV interview for Schofield after he left ITV.

In May 2024, Amol Rajan appeared as himself in two episodes of the TV show Doctor Who. He played a journalist interviewing a character named Roger ap Gwilliam.

Views on the Royal Family

Amol Rajan has shared his thoughts on the British royal family. He has said he believes in a republican system. This means he thinks the UK should have an elected head of state, not a king or queen.

In 2021, he apologised for some comments he made in an article in 2012. In that article, he had described some members of the royal family in ways he later regretted. He also wrote an open letter to Prince William and Catherine when they were expecting their first child. He later apologised for these past comments.

In November 2021, Amol Rajan presented a BBC documentary called The Princes and the Press. This two-part show looked at how the royal family and the media interact. He also narrated a BBC podcast about Prince Harry, Meghan, and the media.

Personal Life

Amol Rajan loves cricket. He plays for a team called the Authors XI. His first book, published in 2011, was about cricket. It was called Twirlymen, the Unlikely History of Cricket's Greatest Spin Bowlers.

In September 2013, he married Charlotte Faircloth, who is an academic. They live in London and have four children.