University Challenge contestant accused of sex attacks
A UNIVERSITY Challenge contestant has appeared in court accused of rape.
Bartholomew Cuthbert Joly de Lotbiniere, 21, is charged with sexually assaulting a woman almost two years ago.
The York University history graduate faces claims that he raped, sexually assaulted and attempted to sexually assault his alleged victim. He denies the charges.
His team reached the semi-finals of the TV quiz, only to be knocked out by Peterhouse College, Cambridge.
His appearances on the BBC2 show hosted by Jeremy Paxman created a stir on social media – mainly because of his long name.
On Thursday, Joly de Lotbiniere appeared before a judge at York Crown Court accused of rape on January 27, 2014.
Wearing a sober suit and tie, he spoke only to confirm his name and address as a trial date was set for February next year.
Joly de Lotbiniere, who gave his home as his parents’ £800,000 house in Kensal Rise, north London, was released on bail.
He became the subject of internet debate after appearing on University Challenge last year.
One viewer tweeted: ‘ When you watch a quiz and the team with a member called Joly de Lotbiniere you know you’ve got University Challenge on.’ Other viewers joked that the ‘voiceover guy’ had to practise pronouncing his name for ‘four hours’ and even claimed Joly de Lotbiniere was struggling to say it himself.
The graduate was educated at top Roman Catholic comprehensive The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Holland Park, west London. While at York, he edited the student newspaper York Vision, in which he was quoted discussing the fame his TV appearances had brought him.
Quizzed whether he was the campus’ most eligible bachelor, he said he was initially oblivious to his fame. When asked when he first found out, he said he was ‘stuck up a hill in Northern Italy on holiday without any wifi so I became aware only gradually’.
He added: ‘Something seemed suspicious when the local village children started to come up for autographs and then the local count held a banquet in my honour’.
He was asked about what his family thought of his fame and said: ‘They’re quietly proud I think, and happy that somebody’s finally put the Joly de Lotbiniere name on the map, even if it was to the ridicule of the unwashed masses of the Twittersphere’.
‘His surname created a stir’