He supported himself by working in McDonalds and DJing, which led to his first job at Radio 1 in 1999, where he teamed up with Edith Bowman. Having grown up in East Belfast during the Troubles, Colin left school and home at 16 and became a trainee journalist at the News Letter. That bloke off Radio 1, Radio 5Live’s Fighting Talk and Match of the Day 2. But the audience don’t care.įebruary was Countdown’s biggest month since 2007 and the show’s share of the audience is up by 39% overall and by 96% for the 16 to 34 audience. “Our champion last season, Tom Stevenson, had problems with leaving the house,” Colin says.īut Rachel adds: “We love you, viewers love you, contestants love you.”ĭespite that huge vote of confidence, he claims he doesn’t have the “pizazz” of predecessors like Des Lynam or Jeff Stelling. Colin says its place to be friendly so viewers feel good while they watch.Ĭontestants get no instructions on how to behave and all are welcomed. He’d also like to move the show’s 2.10pm start back to a teatime slot. “And where is the board game? We should have one, like Richard Whitely and Carol Vorderman did.” “We should have a podcast once a month with me, Rachel, Susie and the contestants. And me suits Countdown because Countdown is me.”Ĭolin has plenty of plans to boost the show’s popularity. With typical modesty, Colin says fans know he’s there, alongside Rachel and Susie Dent, 58, because he really wants to be: “I’m not the best presenter, the cleverest or funniest presenter, but I’m me. A lifelong fan of Countdown, he used to run home from school to watch and is probably a world authority on how to tactically play the games.

The day I visit the set, in Salford, Gtr Manchester, it’s the board game Articulate. With his boundless enthusiasm, he has even introduced a daily competition for the crew in which everyone guesses the time filming will end.

In Want of a Wife by Jo Goodman