From Shaun Ryder’s ban for swearing live on TFI Friday and the much-criticised Brass Eye, to unapologetically airing genitalia close-ups in Naked Attraction and broadcasting a live autopsy, Channel 4 has always been known for pushing boundaries.
But when it started back in November 1982 the channel launch was a rather more wholesome affair, with Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman debuting on Countdown – the simple letters and numbers game still going strong 40 years later, proving you don’t always need controversy to make a TV hit.
Loved by pensioners and students alike, the afternoon staple finished its 40th year with its 86th finale just before Christmas, and begins 2023 with a new Champion Of Champions series.
While quizzes such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and The Chase bring the drama, Countdown is comfort TV; the timeslots and presenters have changed over the years but it is always there with a teatime teaser, gentle humour, and a treasure trove of word knowledge from long-time resident lexicographer Susie Dent – or “that woman in Dictionary Corner” as she is known to her million-plus Twitter followers.
Image: Tom Stevenson was crowned the winner of Countdown’s 86th series just before Christmas
Ahmed Mohamed, who became the first ever black Countdown champion when he won the 84th series in 2021, and Tom Stevenson, who triumphed in the latest series just a few days ago – after setting the record for the programme’s highest ever score of 154 during his heats – will both take part in the upcoming Champion Of Champions series.
Throughout his entire run in his heats, Tom remained unbeaten in every single round – something that had never been achieved before.
“I was there to just have a good time, try and win the teapot and hopefully not to disgrace myself,” he says. “But Colin [Murray, the current presenter] was seriously invested.
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“It got to the final game and there were a couple of occasions when my opponent declared a longer word than me, but it wasn’t in the dictionary. And then it got to the final conundrum, and I managed to solve it and Colin was very excited. You can see the clip on YouTube.”
During his time on the show, Tom also scored with the word “hornier” – not a rude one that had to be cut out, forever to live on in Countdown blooper memes, but one he was proud of nonetheless.
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“I can assure you that nobody has let me forget the fact I declared that word on national television,” he says. “Forget about all the other achievements, that is definitely something that stuck with me as a result.”
Knowing your nines: Bolection and tepidaria
Image: Ahmed Mohamed pictured with his mum and Anne-Marie Imafidon, who stood in for Rachel Riley on the numbers when she was on maternity leave
Ahmed, 28, also wowed during his time on the show. However, he freely admits his impressive ability at coming up with good words – and spelling them correctly – isn’t necessarily based on knowledge of meaning, but rather studying Countdown vocabulary.
In the opening round of his third show, Ahmed scored a nine-letter word, “bolection… something to do with architecture”, and says he was also proud to decipher a final conundrum as “tepidaria”. Just don’t expect him to have the definitions at his fingertips.
“Every time I declared a word that sounded a bit crazy, Anne [Robinson, host at the time] would ask me every time, like, what’s the meaning of that word? ‘I don’t know, Anne. I don’t know!'”
Anyone who loves the show will tell you the key to its success is its simplicity: spell the longest word possible from a mix of nine consonants and vowels; calculate a three-digit number from a mix of six small and large numbers using basic arithmetic. All followed by the conundrum, Countdown’s equivalent to the Gladiators travelator.
They will probably also credit its longevity to Whiteley being at the helm for so long.
Finalist Mark Nyman, who took part in the third series in 1983, says there was “a general feeling of family from the start”. After going on to be crowned the first ever Champion Of Champions in 1984, he later became a producer on the show and also appeared in Dictionary Corner himself in dozens of episodes.
‘He was like a god, really’
Image: Countdown’s first Champion Of Champions and later producer and Dictionary Corner presenter Mark Nyman, appearing alongside Stephen Fry
Initially, he says he was brought in as a programme associate, or a greeter, to meet contestants and help put them at ease the night before filming. “Have a couple of drinks and make them feel part of the Countdown experience,” he says. While it wouldn’t be the first show that comes to mind when it comes to raucous behind-the-scenes tales, he says “there were probably a few hungover contestants” playing back in the day.
Whiteley, the presenter who hosted until his death in 2005, was “the cog at the centre of it all”, says Mark, who was made a co-producer in the 1990s. “He appealed to the older demographic but also to students and younger ones as well, which is quite rare, to appeal across the board.
“That was because he was a bit of a bumbling oaf at times and the students loved to take the mickey out of him, but in a nice way. He was like a god, really. So welcoming. And once you’d earnt his respect, he would do anything for you.”
‘I just thought he was a bit cocky’
As a producer, Mark also interviewed potential contestants, deciding whether or not they were good enough for the show. He says he must have carried out about 15,000 in total and that a “few quite well known” people applied over the years, including The Chase quiz mastermind Mark “The Beast” Labbett.
It was a no from Nyman.
“He was really good at the numbers at the interview, but he was average on the letters. In borderline cases, I would go on personality and it wasn’t that I didn’t like him, I just thought he was a bit cocky. So I rejected him. But if there were borderline cases, I would always give them a second go… and he did try again and he got through the second time round.”
Countdown was never about picking people purely for “good telly”, bad contestants for cheap laughs, he says. It is 100% about ability. “It doesn’t matter if you get someone socially inept winning eight shows, people admire their brilliance… and they might say something stupid, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
With the next Champion Of Champions series set to air, Tom and Ahmed are getting ready to see themselves back on Channel 4 once again.
Both say the experience has been life-enhancing, for different reasons.
Tom, who suffered from agoraphobia as a teenager, says appearing on the show was something he pushed himself to do. “I nearly did drop out on one occasion, but it was something I could say to myself, it doesn’t matter how I do but I can say that I’ve done it, and it’s something that’s pushing me massively out of my comfort zone because I haven’t been on TV before.
“I was just hoping to win one episode. And even if I did end up losing that, as long as I felt I’d done myself justice then all was good by me. But it’s been an incredible experience. People have remarked that they think my confidence has gone up.”
Ahmed says he was proud to become the first black champion. “I was really happy about that. I live in Tottenham and it was going a bit viral – I was getting a lot of mates I haven’t talked to for years finding me online saying they’d heard about me on the news.”
The upcoming Countdown Champion Of Champions series begins in January
Police will take no further action over alleged chants at a Bob Vylan concert in London.
Met Police had launched an investigation after allegations the singer, real name Pascal Robinson-Foster, was heard in footage saying “death to the IDF (Israel Defence League)”.
The footage was filmed at a performance supporting Iggy Pop, 78, at Alexandra Palace in May.
In a video, Mr Robinson-Foster is also alleged to have said: “Death to every single IDF soldier out there as an agent of terror for Israel.”
But the Met Police confirmed they are closing the investigation following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Image: The Glastonbury performance led to a police investigation. Pic: PA
‘No further action will be taken’
A spokesperson for the force said: “On Wednesday 2 July, officers became aware of footage that appeared to have been filmed at Alexandra Palace in London on 28 May. An investigation was launched into the language used in the footage.
“Early investigative advice was sought from the Crown Prosecution Service who considered a number of potential offences but determined that, based on the information and material available, there would likely be insufficient evidence to take the case forward.
“As a result, officers have decided that no further action will be taken. We recognise the concerns that the footage caused, particularly among many in London’s Jewish communities.
“It emerged during a period where we have seen a concerning rise in antisemitic hate crime.
“We continue to work closely with community representatives to understand those concerns, to ensure the safety and security of Jewish Londoners and to provide reassurance moving forward.”
It followed footage of Mr Robinson-Foster allegedly leading a chant of “death, death to the IDF” during a BBC live-streamed performance at Glastonbury Festival, in June earlier this year, leading to an investigation from Avon and Somerset Police.
A man, in his 30s, understood to be Mr Robinson-Foster, had voluntarily attended an interview on Monday in relation to the band’s Glastonbury performance, the force said.
Police added the individual was not arrested but an investigation is ongoing.
After the Glastonbury appearance, the group were dropped from a number of festivals.
Actor and director Samantha Morton has said councils who fail to prevent the deaths of children in care should face manslaughter charges.
Warning: This story contains references to suicide.
In a powerful interview with Sky News, the Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning actor and director, who grew up in care, said Britain’s care system needs to be “completely rethought”.
It comes after a Sky News documentary, A Girl Called Nonita, told the story of 18-year-old Nonita Grabovskyte, who died in the care of the state following a catalogue of failures by those responsible for her care.
Nonita took her own life on railway tracks in December 2023, just two weeks after her birthday. She had previously told doctors and social workers that she intended to kill herself as soon as she turned 18. But nothing was done to prevent her death.
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Unseen: A girl called Nonita
“I was a child of the state, just like Nonita,” Morton told Sky News.
“I was put in care at birth until I got the letter to say I was no longer the council’s responsibility. I was kicked out at 16 and put into a homeless hostel.”
After spells of homelessness, she found a local TV actors’ workshop and managed to secure roles that would eventually lead to Hollywood.
But she says she has never forgotten her childhood, which saw her in and out of children’s homes and foster families.
“The lack of care historically is shocking,” she said. “But the lack of care today is worse. Back then, it felt like there was at least some comeuppance.
“The system now is not fit for purpose. It needs root and branch reform. It needs to be completely rethought.”
The young people who grew up in care who have died in England since 2020
2020: 40
2021: 30
2022: 60
2023: 90
2024: 80
Source: Department for Education
The data shows a sharp rise in deaths among care leavers – young adults who have aged out of the care system and are expected to live independently, often with little or no support.
The Department for Education only began collecting data for care leavers aged 22 to 25 in 2023, meaning the true scale of deaths over the past decade is likely to be far higher.
Morton says councils should be held more accountable for the deaths of children in their care, especially if local authority failings contributed to deaths.
Image: Pic: Invision/AP
‘State manslaughter’
“A failure to care has massive consequences,” she told Sky News. “And the consequences are that people like Nonita die. I believe that that is a kind of state manslaughter.
“And individuals who fail to do their job properly should be in a dock.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has told Sky News that deaths of care-experienced young people should “shame us all”.
All deaths of children in the care of the state must be reported to the government via the Child Safeguarding Incident Notification Scheme.
But there are doubts as to whether all deaths are being reported.
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Phillipson: ‘Nonita was failed on so many levels’
‘Shames us as a country’
Ms Phillipson told Sky News she has asked officials to urgently review the process to check for underreporting.
“I’m concerned about serious incident notifications – about making sure we’re receiving all notifications of such incidents taking place,” she said.
“Because it’s only if we know what’s happening, if we fully understand what’s going on in the lives of children, that we as a government, as a country, can provide the support they need.”
Ms Phillipson added: “It shames us all as a country that we so badly fail many of the most vulnerable children who’ve experienced such appalling trauma and abuse in their early lives.
“I read every single notification personally – and it always stays with you. Every case is a child or young person who deserved better.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, help, and support is available. You can call Samaritans free on 116 123 anytime day or night. You can also email jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find support online.
Sally Kirkland, a former model and Oscar nominated actress known for her roles in films such as Anna, The Sting and JFK has died aged 84.
Her representative, Michael Greene, said Kirkland died on Tuesday morning at a Palm Springs hospice.
Kirkland had been unwell and struggling to cover medical bills after she fractured six bones last year and developed two life-threatening infections. She had also been diagnosed with dementia.
A GoFundMePage that was set up by her friends to help pay for her ongoing treatment had raised over £45,000 ($60,000).
Image: Michael Douglas, left, and Sally Kirkland appear with their best actor Golden Globes for Wall Street and Anna. Pic: AP
Her biggest role was in the 1987 film Anna, as a fading Czech movie star remaking her life in the United States and mentoring a younger actor.
Kirkland won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination alongside Cher in Moonstruck, Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction, Holly Hunter in Broadcast News and Meryl Streep in Ironweed.
Born in New York City, Kirkland was encouraged to start modelling at age five by her mother, who was a fashion editor at Vogue and Life magazines. Kirkland went on to graduate from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961.
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An early breakout for the star was appearing in Andy Warhol’s 13 Most Beautiful Women in 1964.
Image: Sally Kirkland in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Some of her earliest roles were playing Shakespeare parts, including Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Miranda in an off-Broadway production of The Tempest.
She once told the Los Angeles Times: “I don’t think any actor can really call him or herself an actor unless he or she puts in time with Shakespeare.”
Kirkland was also infamous for her nude scenes, often disrobing in films and for social causes. In particular, Kirkland volunteered and advocated for people with AIDS, the homeless and prisoners.