The mystery behind University Challenge legend’s death hoax is finally unravelled
It's a peculiar tale.
The mysterious death hoax of a University Challenge YouTube legend has finally been solved – and it’s a wild tale.
In 2018 quiz show enthusiast Dave Garda began uploading old University Challenge episodes to YouTube, and soon attracted millions of fans – especially in countries that can’t access the quiz show on TV.
He became a legend of the show, and even got a mention on one episode with Jeremy Paxman in 2021.
Garda posted CCTV footage of his reaction to watching his name being mentioned on the BBC show in a clip that went viral. This was the first time fans had heard his Brummie accent and seen his face.
However in 2023, Garda announced to fans that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He continued to upload the episodes through his illness and pledged to help other people suffering with the disease.
He raised £900 doing laps of a local park and took part in a sponsored swim and fun run, raising another £600.
He even got a mention on an episode of University Challenge in 2021 by a contestant making a joke (Picture: BBC)Fans got involved when Garda invited them to take part in a virtual version of The One Percent Club, which asked for a £10 entry fee in order to be in with a chance of winning a cash prize.
Garda hosted the Teams event with medical tubes up his nostrils looking weak.
Followers were then informed Garda had been admitted to hospital, and two weeks later it was announced he’d died at the age of 25.
Fans were directed to a GoFundMe page and told any donations would go towards funeral costs, his partner Jodie and their unborn child. Within a few days, £3,700 had been raised.
However, Dave Garda never died – because he didn’t exist. He was an alter ego created by a man called Alex Smith, living in the Midlands, to hoax money out of University Challenge fans.
He was a well-known member of the TV quizzing community, having appeared on Countdown four times, The Tournament, and Password, which suspicious fans clocked when comparing pictures of Smith and Garda following his ‘death’.
In late summer 2023, Reddit sleuths laid out their suspicions and Smith denied the claims.
Dave Garda was actually quix enthusiast Alex Smith all along (Picture: YouTube)Unconvinced, criticism mounted and all trace of Garda disappeared online.
Now, Smith, 24, has confessed to the whole hoax in an interview with the Daily Mail after podcast Blocked and Reported released an episode on the scandal earlier this month.
‘I was 19 when Dad passed away from cancer suddenly,’ Smith said, explaining his actions in a way that the interviewer admitted garnered sympathy for him.
‘He knew he was dying but chose not to tell me. Being autistic, it was a massive shock. I struggled a lot and then Covid came and I was stuck in the house in a dark place on my own.
‘I had no one to talk to. I was lonely, depressed and looking for ways to build my life back, when I was conned out of money by an Instagram Bitcoin scam. I am ashamed to say that I then used my platform to try to raise money so I could live again financially.
‘After a few months, I realised that what I was doing was wrong and immediately stopped,’ Smith said.
‘I have since refunded every single penny to everyone who contributed. I deeply regret the whole thing, and I wish I could take it all back. I am sincerely sorry for what has happened and I can only ask for forgiveness from everyone.’
Now older, Smith is ‘trying to move on with my life honestly, as everyone in the world should do’.
He explained that the fictitious name was inspired by Rodney Trotter’s ‘Dave’ nickname in Only Fools and Horses and the famed Italian lake.
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