Broadcaster and comedian Sandi Toksvig is standing for Cambridge Chancellor, becoming the sixth candidate in the race, Varsity can exclusively reveal.

In an X post, Simon McDonald, Master of Christ’s College, announced he had “just submitted Sandi Toksvig’s nomination papers to be Chancellor of University of Cambridge.”

The post also included a photo of a completed Chancellor candidate form, including 79 “supporters forms” from those nominating Toksvig.

McDonald confirmed Toksvig’s nomination to Varsity, stating: “I nominated Sandi Toksvig to be Chancellor because I think she’d do the job brilliantly. She has a strong bond with the University, studying Arch&Anth and Law at Girton and taking a First; these days, she’s an Honorary Fellow of three Colleges and a bye-Fellow at Christ’s.”

“At Christ’s, we’ve seen her connection with students; events involving Sandi are high energy and very well attended. We’ve also seen her courageous and thoughtful contribution to debates about academic freedom, AI, and equality. She’s a master communicator. No doubt other candidates would do a decent job but I nominated Sandi because I think she’d be best,” he continued.

He also stated that Toksvig had consented to the nomination, and that she had been planning a run for Chancellor for over a year.

Toksvig is a British-Danish broadcaster known best for hosting quiz show QI and baking competition The Great British Bake Off. Beyond broadcasting, she is also a vocal political activist, having co-founded the Women’s Equality Party in 2015.

She was also named a by-fellow at Christ’s College in 2023, being chosen as the University’s first ‘Q+ Fellow’, a position that aims to allow LGBT+ alumni to pursue research projects and ‘incubate new ideas’.

Before her career in media, Toksvig studied Law, and Archaeology and Anthropology at Girton College. She graduated with a first-class degree and received two prizes for outstanding achievement.

This is not Toksvig’s first candidacy for a Chancellor role. She stood for the position of Oxford Chancellor on an anti-student fees platform in 2003, being defeated in the first round of voting. She is also the current Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, having held the role since 2013.

Five other candidates have announced they are standing for the position so far. These are business owner and activist Gina Miller, Queens’ College president Mohamed El-Erian, former BP chief executive Lord Browne, Cambridge Astrophysics professor Wyn Evans, and Education Professor Tony Booth.

The Chancellor is the University’s formal and ceremonial head. The current Chancellor is David Sainsbury, formerly known as Lord Sainsbury of Turville. The role does not exercise executive authority. However, they do have the authority to call and chair Congregations of the Regent House in addition to deciding on certain contested and unresolved matters on appeal.

Sainsbury, a former chairman of Sainsbury’s supermarkets, was elected the Chancellor of the University by the Senate in October 2011, and was ceremonially installed as Chancellor in the Senate-House in March 2012. He is also the UK’s biggest political donor.

Between 1996 and 2006, when Sainsbury stood down as a Labour science minister, the businessman donated £16 million to the party. The billionaire was questioned by police when still a minister in 2006 during the cash for honours scandal, having admitted to failing to disclose a £2 million loan to the party.

The elected candidate will partake in public-facing activities, fundraising, and in providing advice to senior members of the University. The deadline to register for voting is 2 May 2025, with elections due to take place in July.