But MediaGuardian.co.uk has discovered that two previous winning teams in the BBC2 quiz – including last year's champions – also appeared to include contestants who had broken the rules.
However, MediaGuardian.co.uk has discovered that the winning teams in 2004 and 2008 – both also Oxford colleges – appeared to include contestants who were not actually members of the colleges they were representing by the time they reached the finals.
That was why her friends gathered Wednesday night in her suite at the Paramount Hotel to initiate her into the world of those who can spell Gervase -- a universe that does not include contestants on the television series "Survivor".
Whoever they choose will have the added advantage of not being the only newbie on the bench – Kara Dioguardi has suffered a huge internet backlash since joining Idol, as people (including contestants, sometimes) don't seem to be interested in the thoughts of an award-winning songwriter.
At a time when the BBC has come under pressure to increase diversity, the new series of the cookery show was notable for a line-up that included contestants whose families originally came from Lithuania, the Caribbean, and the Philippines, as well as fellow semi-finalist Tamal Ray, whose parents moved to the UK from India in the 1960s.
The star-studded lineup includes past contestants Kirstie Alley, Emmitt Smith, Bristol Palin, Pamela Anderson, Joey Fatone, Helio Castroneves, Melissa Rycroft, Shawn Johnson, Kelly Monaco, Drew Lachey, Apolo Anton Ohno and Gilles Marini.
(Via Grub Street) — Maria Newman Washingtonian Art Smithh, whose cheffy résumé includes "Top Chef Masters" contestant and sometime personal chef for Oprah Winfrey and President Obama, is looking to take his cuisine to Dulles and Reagan Airports in Washington, and also to import to the nation's capital both a low-cal, healthy, near-vegetarian restaurant and, yes, an artisanal ham bar.
The UK's options include former contestants from shows like the X Factor (the ones who didn't win) and Michelle Gayle, among others.
But the show adds an extra layer of contention by including deaf contestants — hearing loss is a disadvantage that disappears in front of the camera.
"Jeopardy!" is taped in a block of five episodes on a single day while maintaining the on-air conceit, including returning contestants changing clothes, that the episodes are spaced a day apart.
Their favoured target was "If You Are the One", a wildly successful programme on a satellite channel in the eastern province of Jiangsu, which included female contestants who dared to admit that the main quality they sought in a husband was that he be rich.
