A STUDENT from Painswick has played a starring role in this year’s University Challenge competition.

Dom Hewett, 24, who studied English, competed in the popular game show alongside his team mates at the University of Bristol.

They have already beaten Trinity College Cambridge, Trinity College Oxford, and Ulster University with just one defeat to Newcastle, victory in their next televised encounter will see them progress to the semi-finals.

Although it has been a long process Dom thoroughly enjoyed his time in the competition.

“Obviously everything has already been filmed and I can’t share too many details about how far we actually get in the competition,” said Dom.

“However, it was a brilliant process and meeting all the other teams and filming each match was really exciting.

“I was delighted to just make the team because we went through a pretty gruelling selection process which included silent examinations and a lot of quizzing.

“Studying for the competition alongside my teammates was really good fun and it was a great way to make friends.”

The competition is filmed at the BBC studios in Salford with several matches filmed each day.

“It’s quite strange filming it all and then watching it back on TV a year later,” said Dom.

“You don’t actually realise how nerve-racking it is though until you get in front of the cameras.

“Meeting Jeremy Paxman was also quite a surreal experience but he’s actually really nice off camera.”

Since finishing his masters Dom has moved back to Oxford, where he studied during his undergraduate degree.

He has taken up a role at Oxford University as a librarian, something that he had always wanted to do.

However, he credits much of his success to the pub quiz at the Star Inn, Whiteshill, which he used to attend regularly with his friends.

With the show nearing its conclusion Dom will be back on the television in the upcoming weeks.