Four Sussex University graduates will relive a famous 1968 victory when they appear on University Challenge tonight.

David Blake, John Roberts, John Wilkes and Peter Foges beat every higher education establishment in the UK to become champions in the long-running TV quiz.

Tonight viewers will see the four relive the experience when they appear on the BBC2 show once more, with caustic Jeremy Paxman as chairman.

Pitted against the 2001 champions, Imperial College, the four team-mates will be hoping wisdom and experience prove more important than lightning-quick reactions.

David Blake, former economics editor of The Times, found the experience of appearing on the programme much more stressful this time around.

He said: "I'm sure the buzzers were different last time. We had a bit of a problem with our reaction times."

Mr Blake, now 55, was 20 when he auditioned for University Challenge the first time.

Originally from south Wales, he came to the new University of Sussex to study maths.

He said: "There was such a buzz about the place. I thought Brighton was wonderful and the university was well respected too."

But Mr Blake's motives for joining the team were far from highbrow.

He said: "I was really broke at the time. I heard there was some money involved. We ended up getting £80, which was quite a lot of money then."

In the 34 years since their last appearance, the team members have all embarked on high-flying careers.

Mr Foges, who now lives in New York, became a TV producer. One of his programmes, The Ten Year Lunch, won an Oscar for best feature-length documentary in 1988.

John Roberts is a consultant and journalist specialising in the oil industry who now lives in Scotland. John Wilkes, now retired, built up an academic career at Cambridge.

Mr Blake looks back on his days at Sussex with fondness.

He said: "Students were much more committed, much more interested in politics then. I think that was to do with the fact that people felt very secure.

"They knew there was a job waiting for them at the end of it all."

University Challenge Reunited will be shown tonight at 8pm.