University Challenge contestant's leather vest sparks social media frenzy

Kamil Shah, a history student at King’s College, Cambridge, wore the controversial attire while appearing on Monday’s programme

A Cambridge university student sparked a Twitter frenzy when he wore a leather vest and gold chain to appear on BBC2 quiz show University Challenge.

Kamil Shah, a history student at King’s College, Cambridge, wore the controversial attire while appearing on the long-standing programme on Monday evening.

The competition hosted by Jeremy Paxman, is known for its tough questions and the contestants' usually demure dress sense.

Introducing himself at the beginning of the programme, Shah stood out from his fellow team mates in the loose-fitting black leather vest and chunky, gold chain.

Mr Shah’s controversial attire caused a furore on Twitter with many users criticising his bold outfit choice.

The comedian Julian Clary joked that he was going to call the fashion police, commenting: “A VEST on #UniversityChallenge #Bold I’m calling the Police”.

While the King's College alumnus and comedian David Baddiel, said: “Hate to judge a book by its cover but so far the bloke in the leather vest and bling has lost my old college 10 points”, referencing the show's scoring system.

Others praised Mr Shah for defying convention, including BBC Radio 1 Breakfast, who said he was "breaking all the cardigan rules".

Mr Shah’s outfit was accentuated by his fellow team mate, who chose to don a knitted jumper with an owl print for the occasion.

But the unusual outfit didn’t seem to help the chances of his team, who lost to rival Cambridge College, Sidney Sussex, in a crushing 60-195 defeat.