University Challenge brainbox Gail Trimble was thrown into the media spotlight this week when she led her team from Oxford University to victory in the 2009 grand final of University Challenge.
Even Jeremy Paxman was left speechless by Trimble’s intelligence; she scored a massive 825 of the 1,235 points amassed by Corpus Christi on the road to the final and was integral to their triumph in the last few rounds over Manchester University on Monday night.
But what does it say about Britain that she was labelled by fans on the programme blog as “horribly smug”, “immensely annoying” and a “hateful know it all”?
In the same week that Trimble has been vilified for her intelligence, Jade Goody, a woman famous (by her own admission) for her ignorance, has won the nation’s heart (yet again) by marrying a violent convict with only weeks to live. Although Goody’s story is undoubtedly tragic, it seems bizarre that she is being showered with love and support while Trimble is being publicly condemned.
One thing’s for sure, Goody certainly knows how to work the media. When she first emerged from the Big Brother house in 2002, she was met with cruel taunts of “kill the pig”. Yet, she managed to change public opinion and forge a successful career in reality TV – as well as launching a best-selling perfume and publishing two autobiographies. And she showed in the most poignant way that it was skill not luck that brought the turnaround when, after leading a racist campaign against Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the Celebrity Big Brother house, she rebuilt her shattered media career just before cancer struck.
Who is exploiting whom? This weekend, Goody earned £1million for the exclusive rights of her wedding photos and had her lavish £315,000 wedding paid for by friends and well-wishers. Even if Gail Trimble goes into a career in academia when she finishes her doctorate in philosophy, it is unlikely she will earn in her lifetime what Goody earned in a few days. But there are already signs of a media savvy mind at work. Her lightning quick brain came up with the right answer when asked “What about a tasteful photoshoot for Nuts Magazine?” Trimble, Corpus Christi College! “NO!” Correct!!
February 25th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
2 spelling mistakes makes a bad impression on what is an excellent piece of work.
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Thanks for pointing this out – we’ve fixed it. Good to know that it’s being read in such detail and that you took the trouble to reply. Thanks!