 Representing Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge, he joined fellow Caians Helen Castor, Mark Damazer (captain) and Quentin Stafford-Fraser to win the Alumni "University Challenge" 2013.Tharp is a noted William Hogarth enthusiast.Noting The artist's theatrical use of ceramics in his paintings and prints he wrote "Hogarth's China" to accompany an exhibition timed to commemorate the artist's tercentenary (1997).