Q 01/05

Which animal bit Countdown host Richard Whiteley on regional television in 1977, in a clip replayed for decades?

A) A parrot

B) A ferret

C) A goat

D) A python

Answer · why

B) A ferret

A ferret sank its teeth into Whiteley's finger during a 1977 news-magazine item and hung on until its owner prised it off, and the clip became a fixtu...

Q 02/05

What nickname does Countdown give the electronic machine that generates the random target in its numbers rounds?

A) ERNIE

B) HAL

C) CECIL

D) MARVIN

Answer · why

C) CECIL

CECIL stands for Countdown's Electronic Calculator In Leeds, and the machine has kept the name even though the show left its Leeds studios in 2009.

Q 03/05

Whose mother answered a 1982 newspaper advert on her behalf, landing her the Countdown numbers job at 21?

A) Rachel Riley

B) Carol Vorderman

C) Anthea Turner

D) Gloria Hunniford

Answer · why

B) Carol Vorderman

Carol Vorderman stayed for 26 years, then left in 2008 after her agent said she had been told to take a 90% pay cut.

Q 04/05

Who became Countdown's first female host in June 2021, in the programme's 39th year on air?

A) Fiona Bruce

B) Clare Balding

C) Anne Robinson

D) Emma Willis

Answer · why

C) Anne Robinson

Anne Robinson left after a year and 265 episodes, saying she hoped she had shown TV bosses that not all women in their late seventies are 'in care hom...

Q 05/05

Who hosts 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, the comedy spin-off born on a Channel 4 'mash-up night'?

A) Lee Mack

B) David Mitchell

C) Rob Brydon

D) Jimmy Carr

Answer · why

D) Jimmy Carr

Jimmy Carr already fronted 8 Out of 10 Cats, so he took the chair when Channel 4 had its shows swap presenters for a night, and the one-off proved pop...