Sir Trevor McDonald will host Countdown for a week to mark the show's 40th anniversary. Sir Trevor will be one of four famous faces taking to the hotseat over the space of a month, along with Floella Benjamin, Reverend Richard Coles and Moira Stuart.
The quiz show was the first programme aired on Channel 4 when the broadcaster launched in November 1982. To celebrate the milestone, the four broadcasters will each take on a weeklong hosting stint alongside resident lexicographer Susie Dent and mathematician Rachel Riley.
Baroness Floella will be up first for the shows running from October 31 to November 4 with TV judge Rob Rinder joining Dent as the guest in dictionary corner. She will be followed by celebrity vicar and Radio 4 presenter Coles the week after from November 7 to 11.
Meanwhile, Channel 5 news presenter and former BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker will take over from Rinder in dictionary corner. Sir Trevor will then return to host the show having previously presented it in September 2021 as part of Channel 4’s Black To Front project.
The veteran journalist’s stint will take place from November 14 to 18 with mathematician and University Challenge star Bobby Seagull assisting Dent. To close out the month of special programming, broadcaster Moira Stuart will host from November 21 to November 25 with actor Christopher Biggins stationed in dictionary corner.
Jo Street, head of daytime and features at Channel 4, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming these national treasures to the Countdown hotseat to mark this 40th anniversary milestone and are equally delighted to have enticed the remarkable Sir Trevor McDonald back to Salford.
“Countdown is a much loved institution and we couldn’t imagine Channel 4 without it. Here’s to the next 40!”
Countdown airs on Channel 4 on weekdays at 2.10pm. Its full-time presenters over the years have included Richard Whiteley, Des Lynam and Anne Robinson.
