Countdown: 13/01/2026


2:10 pm - 3:00 pm, Today on Channel 4 HD (104)

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About this Broadcast

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13/01/2026
Season 1, Episode 1

Colin Murray, Rachel Riley and Susie Dent host, with Mark Durden-Smith in Dictionary Corner, as contestants race against the clock to pit their wits against words and numbers


new HD new subtitles
Game Show/Quiz/Contest Show/Game Show

Cast & Crew

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Rachel Riley (Co host)
Susie Dent (Contributor)
Damian Eadie (Series producer)

More Information

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Did You Know..

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Colin Murray (Host)
Born: March 10, 1977 in Dundonald, east Belfast
Best Known For: Co-hosting the Colin and Edith Show on Radio 1
Early-life: Born on March 10, 1977, and raised on the Ballybean Housing Estate in Dundonald, east Belfast. Expelled from grammar school at 16 for being disruptive in class, Murray was keen on entering a career in journalism, becoming a trainee on The Ulster News Letter and spending a year's fellowship at the Toronto Star. He then set up a pop magazine called Blank and wrote a pop column in the Sunday People.
Career: He got his big break when he was signed up to co-host Radio 1's Session programme alongside Donna Legge in 1999. His witty one-liners and laidback presenting style proved popular, and the pair often deputised for the likes of John Peel, Steve Lamacq and Mary Anne Hobbs. In 2002, Colin was headhunted to front Channel 4's ill-fated breakfast show RI:SE but left to front the channel's late-night music shows. In late 2003, he was reunited with RI:SE co-host Edith Bowman for The Colin and Edith Show, which pulled in more than five million listeners before the pair went their seperate ways in 2006. Since then, he has presented Five's American football show, NFL Live, and the channel's European Poker Tour Series. He currently presents the channel's coverage of the UEFA Cup and hosts the topical sports-based news show Fighting Talk on BBC Radio Five Live. However, he hasn't forgotten his roots and also presents a late-night weekend show on Radio Ulster.
Quote: "It used to be that you'd turn on a TV chat show, and you'd learn by the end something about the person. These days, it tends to be just an interviewer cracking bad jokes."
Trivia: Murray supports the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team.
Rachel Riley (Co host)
Born: January 11, 1986 in Rochford, Essex
Best Known For: Countdown.
Early-life: Rachel Annabelle Riley was born in Rochford, Essex, on January 11, 1986. She studied mathematics at Oriel College, Oxford.
Career: Riley's big break came in 2008 when she was chosen from more than 1,000 applicants to replace Carol Vorderman on Countdown. She presented her first show alongside Jeff Stelling in January 2009, and reached her 1,000th episode in June 2013. Away from the numbers and letters on Countdown, she began co-hosting The Gadget Show alongside Jason Bradbury in June 2013. She was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 and was the fifth celebrity to be eliminated.
Quote: "I don't want girls to aspire to being famous for the sake of being famous. If I was only known for wearing a dress, that wouldn't have any value for me."
Trivia: Riley won £36,000 for charity on a celebrity edition of The Bank Job. She supports Manchester United.
Susie Dent (Contributor)
Mark Durden-Smith (Guest)
Born: October 01, 1968
Best Known For: Being one of ITV1's hardest working presenters
Early-life: Born in North London in 1968 to travel presenter Judith Chalmers and BBC sports commentator Neil Durden-Smith. Studied at Radley College boarding school in Oxfordshire and hated being teased by the rugby team for his 'big body and skinny legs.' He made his first TV appearance in 1979 in a This Is Your Life devoted to his mum. Had an ambition to be a landscape gardener but with showbusiness in his blood, he pursued a career as a TV presenter instead.
Career: Durden-Smith started getting noticed in 1997 as the frontman for live rugby union on Sky. He presented ill-fated Big Breakfast replacement RI:SE on Channel 4 but when that ended, he was delighted when ITV snapped him up. His CV boasts Surprise Wedding, Drop the Celebrity and Design Wars. He teamed up with Tara Palmer-Tomkinson in 2003 to front ITV2's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! before taking the helm of Hell's Kitchen: Extra Portions. He currently presents ITV's Package Holiday Undercover.
Quote: "I've never had a long-term plan. I just bumble along and see what happens."
Trivia: Once asked out Gwyneth Paltrow for a RI:SE stunt. She laughed in his face.
Damian Eadie (Series producer)
Born: August 15, 1969 in Blackpool

Before / After

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