The final
Child Genius pitted Britain's most formidable young competitors against one another over a series of knowledge and memory rounds, and the 2017 series ended with Rahul Doshi, then twelve, facing a nine-year-old named Ronan. Eastern Eye reported the score of the final as 10-4. The Daily Mail's account of the series, published on 15 August 2017, led with the kind of question the format turned on — the Latin name for the apricot — and called him Britain's brainiest twelve-year-old.
One feat carried across all the coverage: on the programme he memorised a full deck of playing cards. It is a trained skill rather than a raw one, which is precisely what made it good television. The audience sees the result; the months of drilling that produce it stay off-screen.
The number, and the society
Rahul's IQ is given consistently in the reports as 162, and he is described as a Mensa member. As with every ceiling figure in British coverage, the number is best read as the top of a particular paper rather than as a measurement with room above it.
The reports also record his stated ambition at the time: he wanted to become a financial adviser. It is an unglamorous answer from a child being marketed as a prodigy, and a useful corrective to the assumption that quiz-show brilliance points in one direction.
The parenting argument
His parents are named in the coverage as Minesh, an IT manager, and Komal, a pharmacist. Within days of the final, Eastern Eye ran a second piece asking whether the win proved that Asian parents are too pushy — a debate the programme's format actively courted by filming families coaching their children at home.
The argument that followed was not really about a twelve-year-old. Child Genius made parents part of the spectacle, and the press then judged them for it. What the sources establish about the Doshi household is narrow: two working professionals, a son who trained hard for a televised competition, and a result that made the papers.
What is documented — and what is not
Documented: the 2017 Child Genius win; the 10-4 scoreline against a nine-year-old finalist; a reported IQ of 162 and Mensa membership; the memorised deck of cards; his parents' first names and occupations; and his stated wish to work in financial advice.
Not documented: his exact date of birth; his school; his GCSE or A-level results; university, career, or anything else after the 2017 broadcast. The Daily Mail feature, read here through a press archive, gives a first name only, though its details of the parents and the IQ figure match the Eastern Eye reporting. No source used here follows him past the summer of 2017.
What winning a televised bee actually proves
Competitions like Child Genius reward a specific and trainable combination: a large stock of memorised material, fast recall under lights, and composure when a wrong answer ends the series. Those are real abilities. They are also narrow ones, and the format's own history suggests that the skills which win in a studio do not map neatly onto what follows.
That is the reason this page ends where the reporting does. A twelve-year-old won a television contest in 2017, with a documented score and a documented set of feats. What became of him afterwards is not in the public record collected here, and inventing an ending would be worse than admitting there is none.
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rahul Doshi | United Kingdom | Winning Channel 4's Child Genius in 2017 | Age 0 |
| Paula Imafidon | United Kingdom | Passing A-level mathematics at seven, in August 2008, with her twin… | Age 0 |
| Samantha Imafidon | United Kingdom | Passing GCSE mathematics and statistics at primary-school age | Age 0 |
| Peter Imafidon | United Kingdom | Reported in 2008 as, with twin sister Paula, the youngest ever to pass an… | Age 7 |
| Nishi Uggalle | United Kingdom | Winning Channel 4's Child Genius in 2019 | Age 10 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- Won Channel 4's Child Genius in 2017, beating a nine-year-old finalist 10-4 (Eastern Eye, 20 August 2017).
- Reported IQ of 162 and Mensa membership.
- Memorised a full deck of playing cards on the programme.
- Parents named as Minesh, an IT manager, and Komal, a pharmacist.
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- His date of birth and school are not published in the sources used here.
- The Daily Mail feature gives a first name only, though its details match the Eastern Eye reporting.
- Nothing is documented about his education or career after the 2017 broadcast.
- The test behind the 162 figure is not named.
Questions people ask about Rahul Doshi
What is Rahul Doshi's IQ?
Reported as 162 by Eastern Eye, alongside Mensa membership. No source gives the test or the testing date.
How old was Rahul Doshi when he won Child Genius?
Twelve. The final was reported in August 2017.
What was the Child Genius 2017 final score?
Eastern Eye reports that he beat a nine-year-old finalist, Ronan, by ten points to four.
What did he do on the programme?
Among other feats he memorised a full deck of playing cards, and the coverage cites questions such as the Latin name for the apricot.
Who are Rahul Doshi's parents?
His father Minesh is described as an IT manager and his mother Komal as a pharmacist.
Is Rahul Doshi on Wikipedia?
No. There is no Wikipedia article about him; the record rests on 2017 press coverage.
Where is Rahul Doshi now?
No source used here reports on him after 2017. In 2017 he said he wanted to become a financial adviser; whether he did is not documented.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Rahul’s story?
What was the score in the Child Genius 2017 final?
What memory feat did Rahul Doshi perform on the programme?
What job did he say he wanted in 2017?
Sources
- Rahul Doshi Crowned 'Child Genius' — Eastern Eye, 2017-08-20
- Know the Latin name for apricot? Britain's brainiest 12-year-old does! — Daily Mail (PressReader), 2017-08-15
- Does the Winner of Child Genius Prove Asian Parents Are Too Pushy? — Eastern Eye, 2017-08-22
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
Discover More Child Prodigies
50+ stories of contemporary young geniuses changing chess, music, science, and art.
Explore All Prodigies →Related Child Prodigy Profiles
Peter Imafidon🇬🇧 United Kingdom — In August 2008 two seven-year-olds passed an A-level in…
Nishi Uggalle🇬🇧 United Kingdom — A reported IQ of 162 at ten, then the Child Genius title…
Paula Imafidon🇬🇧 United Kingdom — At seven, she sat an exam meant for…
Samantha Imafidon🇬🇧 United Kingdom — She had GCSE maths before she had a secondary school…
Christiana Imafidon🇬🇧 United Kingdom — She was reported as Britain's youngest undergraduate…
Zahra Alidina🇬🇧 United Kingdom — She left school at 13 and had a law degree before most of…