All discussion relevant to Countdown that is not too spoilerific. New members: come here first to introduce yourself. We don't bite, or at least rarely.
Marc Meakin wrote: ↑Wed Jan 08, 2025 10:59 pm
Also was on News at 10 tonight or so I believe as I'm not home yet
My boss said he saw me on News at 10 last Night.
I was trying to find it online but I will have to download it at home unless anyone here is clever enough to upload it here
"Judge Guy Mathieson said he had ruled Cowen unfit to stand trial and told jurors to instead determine the facts of what had happened. They found he had committed assault and had been in possession of a knife in a public place."
Martin Hurst wrote: ↑Fri Sep 12, 2025 12:38 am
Series 66 contestant James Belshaw admits cheating in his audition to get on the show (not totally sure how this makes the news, but there you go!!!):
AFAIK they stopped phone auditions for this reason. When I did a phone audition in 2017 I have always thought since then it was flawed. Surely it’s much better to do video conferences (which I think is what they do now?) because the casting team can actually detect cheating, and you can actually see the candidate.
It’s clearly working because they rarely have contestants that make you think how they passed now. The first half of Series 92 has had no scores below 30.
I think most quiz shows ask you to film yourself, to help the casting team filter out auditionees to determine suitability for the programme.
Martin Hurst wrote: ↑Fri Sep 12, 2025 12:38 am
Series 66 contestant James Belshaw admits cheating in his audition to get on the show (not totally sure how this makes the news, but there you go!!!):
Delete if not allowed. We shook hands when we met in the green room during the recording of the 2019 Champion of Champions and the first thing said to me was, “Nice to meet you in person.” He was eccentric, but did not seem dangerous in any way shape or form at the time. I wasn’t aware he had schizophrenia and only just learned of this having read the articles. The reports of these terrible events that happened in Blackpool in 2024 were absolutely shocking and I find this very saddening.
I think this is extremely bad publicity for Countdown.
Philip A wrote: ↑Wed Nov 26, 2025 10:32 pm
Delete if not allowed
There's nothing delete-worthy about this post. There are no longer any ongoing criminal proceedings, so the biggest reason not to post about Cowen no longer applies. Just the standard advice to everyone, to comment reasonably and responsibly.
Philip A wrote: ↑Wed Nov 26, 2025 10:32 pm
Delete if not allowed. We shook hands when we met in the green room during the recording of the 2019 Champion of Champions and the first thing said to me was, “Nice to meet you in person.” He was eccentric, but did not seem dangerous in any way shape or form at the time. I wasn’t aware he had schizophrenia and only just learned of this having read the articles. The reports of these terrible events that happened in Blackpool in 2024 were absolutely shocking and I find this very saddening.
I think this is extremely bad publicity for Countdown.
I think there are many positives to take from this. The way the attendees and victim dealt with the incident with the minimum of drama; the loving support people have provided to each other. It's a community I'm very proud to be part of. Cowen is seriously unwell, and is unlikely ever to recover from this event, whereas I trust everyone else will/has move(d) on with life.
Philip A wrote: ↑Wed Nov 26, 2025 10:32 pm
Delete if not allowed. We shook hands when we met in the green room during the recording of the 2019 Champion of Champions and the first thing said to me was, “Nice to meet you in person.” He was eccentric, but did not seem dangerous in any way shape or form at the time. I wasn’t aware he had schizophrenia and only just learned of this having read the articles. The reports of these terrible events that happened in Blackpool in 2024 were absolutely shocking and I find this very saddening.
I think this is extremely bad publicity for Countdown.
I think there are many positives to take from this. The way the attendees and victim dealt with the incident with the minimum of drama; the loving support people have provided to each other. It's a community I'm very proud to be part of. Cowen is seriously unwell, and is unlikely ever to recover from this event, whereas I trust everyone else will/has move(d) on with life.
Stories are tomorrow's chip paper.
Most important thing is Maus has recovered physically and I hope mentally , mentally illness is serious and hopefully the best care will be given to Cowen
Philip A wrote: ↑Wed Nov 26, 2025 10:32 pm
Delete if not allowed. We shook hands when we met in the green room during the recording of the 2019 Champion of Champions and the first thing said to me was, “Nice to meet you in person.” He was eccentric, but did not seem dangerous in any way shape or form at the time. I wasn’t aware he had schizophrenia and only just learned of this having read the articles. The reports of these terrible events that happened in Blackpool in 2024 were absolutely shocking and I find this very saddening.
I think this is extremely bad publicity for Countdown.
Ian Fitzpatrick wrote: ↑Fri Nov 28, 2025 10:56 am
Rather spookily i was catching up with Only Connect last night from earlier in the month and came across the 5KS performing well.
Yeah they’ve been amazing to watch. Also thank goodness for the repechage, otherwise they’d only be on for 1 show!
