Sports stars, actors and journalists: The most famous alumni from every Durham college

Carla Denyer, Ed Gamble, Ambika Mod and Gabby Logan: Every Durham college’s most famous alumni

2 days ago

Have you ever wanted to know which famous celebs walked the halls of your college, ate in your dining room, and played pool in your common room? Well, now you can. If you want to become famous after Durham, I would recommend going into sport, acting or journalism – these seem to be the three most common avenues for Durham alumnus.

Collingwood: Fiona Crackles

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With Collingwood having the reputation of “most sporty college” it makes sense that their most famous alumni are sports stars (don’t forget Neil’s dad from the Inbetweeners, however).

Fiona Crackles is a Team GB field hockey player who attended Collingwood during her time at Durham. She has a bronze medal from the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She graduated with a degree in sport and exercise science in 2024.

Grey: Nish Kumar

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Unlike Grey’s reputation, “Grey by name, Grey by nature”, this college’s alumni are pretty cool.

Nish Kumar is the most notable alumnus from Grey. Nish is a stand-up comedian, podcast host and TV presenter. He has been on shows such as Mock the Week and Taskmaster. During his time at Durham, he was a member of The Durham Revue alongside Ed Gamble. He graduated in 2007.

Hatfield: Ed Gamble

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Hatfield’s most notable alumnus is Ed Gamble. Ed is a stand-up comedian who has appeared on TV shows such as Mock the Week and Taskmaster. During Ed’s time at Durham, he was a member of the sketch comedy group, The Durham Revue. He graduated in 2007. Honourable mentions also go to England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson and journalist Jeremy Vine.

John Snow: Lee Daggett

Snow’s most famous alumnus is Lee Daggett, a cricketer who played for Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. He graduated in 2005.

Josephine Butler: Claudia Macdonald

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Butler’s famous alumnus is Claudia Macdonald, an English rugby union scrum half. She plays for the England Nation team and Exeter Chiefs women. She graduated in 2018 with a degree in economics.

South: Sabrina Bahsoon

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The notorious tube girl graduated just one year ago in 2023, after three years of studying law. Due to South’s short history of just five years, Sabrina is their first alumni of any real note.

St. Aidan’s: Nick Mohammed

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Aidan’s most notable alumnus is Nick Mohammed. Nick is a famous actor/comedian who appears as Nathan Shelley on the Apple TV+ show, Ted Lasso. He also is the creator of the Sky One TV show, Intelligence, starring himself and David Schwimmer. He is also an Emmy nominee. He graduated from Durham University in 2003.

St. Chad’s: Carla Denyer

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Chad’s most famous alumnus is co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer. Carla is the current Bristol Central MP and graduated from Durham University in 2009.

St. Cuthbert’s: Jack Edwards

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Jack Edwards is one of Cuth’s most famous alumni. Jack is a YouTuber and book reviewer, who graduated with a degree in English language and literature in 2020. Fun fact, Jack actually signed up for The Tab as a student, but unfortunately never wrote for us.

St. Hild & St. Bede: Gabby Logan

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Gabby Logan, BBC sports presenter, attended Hild Bede while at Durham. She graduated with a law degree in 1995. Honourable mentions must also go to cricketer Nasser Hussain and YouTuber Thogdad, who were coincidentally in the same year and football team at Hild Bede.

St. John’s: Justin Welby

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Justin Welby attended John’s and is currently the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He graduated in 1992.

St. Mary’s: Ambika Mod

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Mary’s most famous alumnus is Ambika Mod. Ambika is an actress famous for playing Shruti Acharya in BBC’s This Is Going To Hurt and Emma Morley in Netflix’s One Day. During her time at Durham she was a member of The Durham Revue. She graduated in 2017.

Stephenson: Matt Milnes

Stevo’s most notable alumnus is Matt Milnes, an English professional cricketer who plays for Yorkshire Country Cricket Club. He graduated in 2017.

Trevelyan: Sophie Hosking

Trevelyan’s most notable alumnus is Sophie Hosking MBE. Sophie won Olympic gold in London 2012 for lightweight double sculls. She graduated in 2007.

University: George Rexstrew

One of Castle’s most notable alumni is George Rexstrew. He is an actor and starred in the lead role in Netflix’s Dead Boy Detectives. George graduated from Durham in 2017.

Van Mildert: George Alagiah

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Mildert’s arguably most famous alumnus is the late George Alagiah. George was a newsreader, journalist, TV presenter and one of BBC News’ chief presenters. During his time at Durham, he was Editor-in-Chief of Palatinate from 1976-1977. George graduated in 1978. An honourable mention goes to British triple jumper and Olympian Jonathan Edwards.

Featured image via YouTube