Last week the Oxford scholar, who was hailed for "intellectual blitzkrieg", led her side to a formidable victory over Manchester University, in a showdown which attracted 5.2m viewers.
But the BBC and Granada announced last night that they would have to disqualify the Oxford team and hand the trophy over to the runners-up, when it emerged that Oxford player Sam Kay, 22, was a trainee accountant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers and not a student, when the blistering final was filmed in November 2008.
In a statement the BBC and Granada said: "The University Challenge rules on student eligibility are that students taking part must be registered at their university or college for the duration of the recording of the series.
"While obviously not intending to, Corpus Christi broke this important rule."
Kay, who had taken the accountancy post because he could not secure funding for a PhD, responded in statement: "I hugely regret not confirming my change of status to the University Challenge programme makers before the final rounds.
"I had honestly believed I was eligible as I had indicated my course dates when I applied."
Trimble has been at the centre of the media whirl since the final, in which her team scored 275 points to Manchester's 190. Dubbed a "human Google", she has captured the attention of the press and has been the subject of debate on blogs and social networking sites across the country.
Last week her brother was approached on Facebook by Nuts magazine who wanted to sign the quiz queen up for a "tasteful" photo shoot.
The disqualification saga is reminiscent of the 2006 film, 'Starter For Ten', in which a character played by James McAvoy causes his team to be disqualified from University Challenge because of cheating.
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