Sir Trevor McDonald and Floella Benjamin to host Countdown for 40th anniversary

Sir Trevor McDonald and Floella Benjamin will guest host Countdown as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations.

The quiz show was the first programme to air on Channel 4 when the broadcaster launched in November 1982 and remains the channel’s longest-running series.

To celebrate the milestone, four broadcasters will each take on a week-long hosting stint alongside resident lexicographer Susie Dent and mathematician Rachel Riley.

Benjamin will be up first, appearing on the week commencing 31 October, with TV judge Rob Rinder joining Dent as the guest in dictionary corner.

She will be followed by celebrity vicar and Radio 4 presenter Reverend Richard Coles the week after. Former BBC Breakfast host Dan Walker will appear with him alongside Dent.

The next week (beginning 14 November), McDOnald will return to host the show. McDonald last sat at the helm in September 2021 as part of Channel 4’s Black to Front project, in which the broadcaster hosted a day of flagship shows with Black talent and contributors at the forefront.

The veteran journalist’s upcoming stint will start on 14 November, with mathematician and University Challenge star Bobby Seagull appearing in dictionary corner.

To close out the month of special programming, broadcaster Moira Stuart will host from 21 November, along with actor Christopher Biggins.

In addition, the series will mark the Channel 4 anniversary on 2 Novermber by bringing back the broadcaster’s first continuity announcer Paul Coia to introduce the show once again, as he did with the first ever episode.

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 weekdays at 2.10pm on Channel 4.

Additional reporting by Press Association.