Jo Brand to host new 'University Challenge'-style quiz show

Jo Brand
(Image credit: Doug Peters/EMPICS Entertainment)

The new BBC show will test junior doctors on their medical knowledge.

The BBC are launching a brand new quiz show this summer - and much-loved comedian, writer and actress Jo Brand will play host. The show is part of the BBC's celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the NHS.

Britain's Best Junior Doctor will test junior doctors on their knowledge in the five-part series, which will comprise of four heats and a final. Eight teams of three doctors will be challenged with complex medical challenges.

Tasks will include diagnosing symptoms, prioritising A+E cases and questions on their specialist subjects. Commissioning editor Kalpna Patel-Knight assures us that it will be "a lot of fun".

A little known fact about Jo, 60, is that she has a medical background herself, having trained as a mental health nurse before becoming a comedian. Health expert Dr Helen Lawal will be joining Jo putting the junior doctors through their paces.

And it sounds like Jo can't wait to get started on her new presenting job. 'Hooray! Another chance to berate junior doctors for their lack of knowledge. Haven't done that since 1988,' she joked.

'Seriously though, I'm really looking forward to bringing a sumptuous array of junior doctors and their encyclopaedic knowledge into your homes.

'It's like University Challenge but it's medical… fingers on organs teams!'

Richard Hastings, Creative Director at Shiver, said: 'The knowledge that Britain’s junior doctors have to absorb in preparation for becoming the country’s GPs, surgeons and medical specialists is extraordinary.

'Britain’s Best Junior Doctors will celebrate this in a new and fun way whilst providing viewers with great medical and health takeout. With Jo and Helen bringing their own personal insight to proceedings, we believe this show will be really special.'

Britain's Best Junior Doctor will air on BBC Two this summer.

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