The Countdown Thread

[XIII]

Anne-Marie's had quite a lengthy run but I assume that it wasn't that long because of how many episodes they film a day.

[Brekkie]

Just 12 filming days.

It's a minor thing but having finally got the guests back lined up last autumn to be on Monday to Friday frustrating they were so tight they couldn't do a 4-episode day for the finals rather than using the final filming slot to film the first Moday episode of the new year, meaning since then guests have appeared Tue-Mon.

[Pip]

Just 12 filming days.

It's a minor thing but having finally got the guests back lined up last autumn to be on Monday to Friday frustrating they were so tight they couldn't do a 4-episode day for the finals rather than using the final filming slot to film the first Moday episode of the new year, meaning since then guests have appeared Tue-Mon.

I completely agree. Having the end of a guests run on the first episode of the week is jarring. But I guess that they don’t think it’s an issue or haven’t got the wherewithal to fix it.

[CameronYoung]

Just 12 filming days.

It's a minor thing but having finally got the guests back lined up last autumn to be on Monday to Friday frustrating they were so tight they couldn't do a 4-episode day for the finals rather than using the final filming slot to film the first Moday episode of the new year, meaning since then guests have appeared Tue-Mon.

I completely agree. Having the end of a guests run on the first episode of the week is jarring. But I guess that they don’t think it’s an issue or haven’t got the wherewithal to fix it.

I think the only solution is to make some guests only be on for a few days, and others on for 5 (which I believe is how they did it in the Whiteley era, may be wrong though).

Currently they're all on for 5 days and it gets knocked out of sync by sport or something else taking priority.

[DE88]

Talking of guests...

How fair would it be to say, though, that the main reason [Kay Burley] has been booked is because she has quite a lot in common with Anne - including hair colour and hailing from the same region of England? (Although, of course, the place in that region where Anne hails from is considerably closer to the sea than the place where Kay hails from.)

Well... it seems that the view of the Apterous community (made up, for those who didn't already know, of the former contestants who spend hours playing on the website of that name, make the overwhelming majority of posts on the C4Countdown forum, and maintain the Countdown Wiki) was, and probably still is, that "she obviously only appeared to replenish the savings she'd eaten into during her suspension from Sky News for breaking lockdown laws". Not surprisingly, they had the same view regarding Beth Rigby's appearance earlier this series.

Now that Kay's boo-boo and suspension are fairly firmly in the past, and assuming she doesn't make such a bad mistake again in the future, the community will surely have to have a different view if she appears next to Susie again... right? The things she has in common with Anne shouldn't be overlooked, IMO...

It is fair to say, however, that they almost certainly weren't the only people with such a view regarding Kay's and Beth's appearances. And it's not beyond possibility that the following views have been held - fairly or unfairly - about some of the other guests so far in the Robbo era... 

Stanley Johnson: "He's only there because his son is running the country." The Apterous community seemed to like him, though.

Craig Charles: "He's there to promote that new Moneybags show of his." Let's not forget that he and Anne are both Scousers...

Prue Leith: "Would she appear on Countdown at all if GBBO wasn't on Channel 4?" She also appeared in Nick's last two series.

Nicky Campbell: "He's there because he took over from, and was replaced by, Anne on Watchdog." He did have two previous stints next to Susie - albeit the second of those was back in 2015.

Janet Ellis: "She's there because of how big her daughter is at the moment." Well, if this Instagram post of Rachel's is anything to go by, Sophie herself will be appearing in DC too... 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZw60fQIysz/

[Joe]

I thought she’d been suspended with pay.

[Rob]

I thought she’d been suspended with pay.

She hasn't.

If we could not go down this road of discussion please, just to be on the safe side legal wise, that would be great.

[Joe]

To be clear, I was talking about Burley in line with a comment in the post above – but you're right, it's not for here.

[Rob]

To be clear, I was talking about Burley in line with a comment in the post above – but you're right, it's not for here.

Ah, that wasn't clear in your post. No problem.

[adamiow]

Giles Coren said in recent restaurant review that Anne had asked him to come on. He did comment that the money wasn't great but did it really as a favour to Anne, as she is a friend (and you don't say no to Anne!), so it looks like she is pulling on her friends to get some new faces on the show and perhaps some bigger names than the fee can tempt.

[Steve Williams]

Nicky Campbell: "He's there because he took over from, and was replaced by, Anne on Watchdog." He did have two previous stints next to Susie - albeit the second of those was back in 2015.

"Hey Nicky, do you remember when you got dropped from Watchdog because Anne Robinson came back? Obviously you'd love to be on her show, wouldn't you?"

What a bizarre selection of comments. Do they think the previous guests used to just come on it out of the goodness of their hearts?

[DE88]

Giles Coren said in recent restaurant review that Anne had asked him to come on. He did comment that the money wasn't great but did it really as a favour to Anne, as she is a friend (and you don't say no to Anne!), so it looks like she is pulling on her friends to get some new faces on the show and perhaps some bigger names than the fee can tempt.

If Anne has *that* much of a say in who appears next to Susie, then that would go a long way to explaining why Alastair Campbell has appeared too.

Historically, how much of a say have the host and co-host had in who appears next to the lexicographer? (Susie only went full-time two years before Richard died.) Quite likely it was at Carol Vorderman's request that Gyles Brandreth appeared for her final episode - the Series 59 Grand Final - as Jo Brand was alongside Susie the rest of that week (and, of course, Gyles hosted "One Last Consonant Please, Carol" which was recorded shortly after that grand final, but broadcast immediately beforehand). But when Kathryn Apanowicz appeared, how much of that was down to Richard himself? Likewise, how much of a hand did Nick have in Margaret Mountford appearing, and how much of a hand does Rachel have in Pasha appearing?

(Absolutely no disrespect intended, of course.  )

Nicky Campbell: "He's there because he took over from, and was replaced by, Anne on Watchdog." He did have two previous stints next to Susie - albeit the second of those was back in 2015.

"Hey Nicky, do you remember when you got dropped from Watchdog because Anne Robinson came back? Obviously you'd love to be on her show, wouldn't you?"

What a bizarre selection of comments. Do they think the previous guests used to just come on it out of the goodness of their hearts?

Well if some people's minds are narrow enough that they believe that Kay Burley "obviously only" appeared because of her suspension from Sky News (Rob and Joe are quite right - let's not discuss *that* in detail here), who's to say that these people don't have the aforementioned views about the appearances of some of the other guests so far in the Anne era - whether or not they explicitly state these views on social media, forums (besides this one, of course) or otherwise?

I certainly *don't* agree with such views (but then again - and again with no disrespect intended - I don't use social media or visit many forums besides this one and the Old Blue Place). I, for one, would like to think that to some extent Kay was there because of the not-inconsiderable number of things she has in common with Anne.

I'd also like to think that to some extent Craig Charles was there because he and Anne are from the same city (and not solely to promote his new C4 game show), that to some extent Prue Leith is there because she's popular (and not solely because of GBBO being on the same channel), and indeed that to some extent Nicky was there because it had been a while since he had last been on (he and Anne both having hosted Watchdog *was* more than likely a factor - no matter that he replaced her and was replaced by her - but I wouldn't think there and then that it was the sole factor).

I also wouldn't think there and then that Stanley Johnson appeared just because his son is in Number 10 - he did do I'm A Celeb, after all. As for Janet Ellis - well, the more former Blue Peter presenters the better (with one or two exceptions), right, regardless whether or not they have famous children?  (Wouldn't say no to Sarah Greene appearing, and the Apterous community can't believe that Lindsey Russell hasn't been invited yet - unless, of course, neither Saz nor Lindsey are big fans of Anne.)

[Steve in Pudsey]

I believe there were occasions when Kathryn Apanowicz was a last minute stand in. I think one one occasion when the booked guest pulled out Damien Eadie (producer and former contestant who often used to do the Susie role as a stand in) did the first few recordings and didn't enjoy it so they called Kathryn in.

I don't think it's a huge coincidence that Corrie cast members appear quite regularly, and to a lesser extent the Emmerdale cast when they were in Leeds

[CameronYoung]

the booked guest pulled out Damien Eadie (producer and former contestant who often used to do the Susie role as a stand in) did the first few recordings and didn't enjoy it so they called Kathryn in.

Wasn't that how Mark Nyman got his DC debut?

[DE88]

It's a minor thing but having finally got the guests back lined up last autumn to be on Monday to Friday frustrating they were so tight they couldn't do a 4-episode day for the finals rather than using the final filming slot to film the first Moday episode of the new year, meaning since then guests have appeared Tue-Mon.

I completely agree. Having the end of a guests run on the first episode of the week is jarring. But I guess that they don’t think it’s an issue or haven’t got the wherewithal to fix it.

I think the only solution is to make some guests only be on for a few days, and others on for 5 (which I believe is how they did it in the Whiteley era, may be wrong though).

Currently they're all on for 5 days and it gets knocked out of sync by sport or something else taking priority.

Well, order *is* being restored, as Kate Humble (in her first stint next to Susie since 2019) is only doing four days - before Stephen Fry will be there throughout next week (as previously pointed out, his first stint since 2001!), and John Thomson the week after.