Telly word show has Guardiola spellbound
MANCHESTER City boss Pep Guardiola is a big fan of Countdown. The Premier League-topping coach is hooked on the afternoon words and sums show and watches it on catch-up if he is running late after training.
The programme also helps the 47-year-old Spaniard improve his English as he consults a dictionary whenever he does not recognise a word. Pep has no problem with the numbers dealt out by figures babe Rachel Riley, 32, though, because he has always excelled in maths.
Pep is fascinated by the Channel 4 EXCLUSIVE JOHN MAHONEY
show – hosted by Nick Hewer, 73 – and prides himself on sometimes doing better than the contestants.
He is also gripped by Susie Dent, 53, who has a solo section in which she explains the origins of words.
Pep is regarded as one the most intelligent managers in football but is still anxious to improve his English.
A source, said: “Pep stumbled across Countdown one day and he’s loved it ever since.
“You can tell from his press conferences how much his use and knowledge of English has come along. It has improved in leaps and bounds. “There’s a standing joke here that if he carries on at this rate he might actually end up on a celebrity version of the programme himself.
“He is very good when it comes to the numbers but occasionally it’s the words which make him reach for the dictionary. “Sometimes if he’s totally bamboozled he’ll look at the letters Rachel puts up and come up with a Spanish word instead, which slightly defeats the object.”