Q 01/05

Which animal bit Countdown host Richard Whiteley on live 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 bit Richard Whiteley on air, and he later joked that when he died the headlines would read 'Ferret man dies'. He said the bite had made him a...

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, a nod to the Yorkshire studios where the show spent its first 27 years. Contestants then ...

Q 03/05

Whose mother answered a 1982 advert for 'a woman with good mathematical skills', landing her the Countdown numbers job?

A) Kirsty Young

B) Carol Vorderman

C) Anthea Turner

D) Gloria Hunniford

Answer · why

B) Carol Vorderman

Carol Vorderman was 21 when her mother applied on her behalf; she stayed 26 years and was eventually earning an estimated £1 million a year. She was f...

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, the famously stern quizmaster of The Weakest Link, broke a 39-year run of male hosts on Countdown. She lasted just one year before leav...

Q 05/05

Who hosts 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, the comedy spin-off born on a Channel 4 'mash-up night' in 2012?

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 host's chair when Channel 4 merged the two shows for one of its anniversary nights. He oft...