‘we often have to stop filming – we laugh a lot!’
Countdown star susie Dent talks about her relationship with co-star Rachel Riley and what it was like to work with her late colleagues Richard Whiteley and Sean lock
Susie Dent may have been a fixture on our screens for the past 30 years – and on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown for the past 10 – but the 57-year-old says she’s more than happy to steer clear of the showbiz spotlight.
“I often get asked if I’d ever do a reality show, but I’m happiest when I’m below the radar. Doing any reality show makes you the centre of attention and that’s never where I want to be,” she laughs. “There’s none I’m desperate to do. I was asked to do The Jump once and my agent said, ‘Susie can’t ski,’ and they said, ‘Oh, that’s Ok!’ It made me laugh.”
Susie celebrated her milestone 30 years on Countdown back in June with a special trip down memory lane. “It’s extraordinary really and it’s not something I ever anticipated when I look back to my first appearance, which is unfortunately still on youtube. I just looked so terrified!” says the lexicographer, who appears in the show’s famous Dictionary Corner.
“I certainly wasn’t heading for a career in TV. I was working at a publicist’s and I was just there at the right time when Richard [Whiteley, Countdown’s original host] and Carol [Vorderman] wanted to establish a full-time team.”
The mum-of-two continues, “There are so many happy memories. When I think back to the early days, I just remember Richard wriggling in his seat with joy at
the word ‘leotard’. He loved that it was named after a French trapeze artist. I remember his glee, and his grumpiness!
“He could be grumpy, but you always knew where you were with Richard. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he was the heartbeat of Countdown. He quite often used to joke that the Queen Mother watched Countdown, so he would raise the teapot and say, ‘Good afternoon Ma’am.’ I didn’t think we ever got solid proof of that, but [Countdown regular] Gyles Brandreth said we did!”
With so many years under her belt, we can’t help but wonder if Susie still loves her job as much as she did when she joined the Channel 4 show in 1992.
“The honest answer is, I really do,” she says. “[Presenter] Colin [Murray] was saying the Countdown clock must be the most played tune on telly and you’d think it would really get on our nerves by now, but it never, ever does. It’s the soundtrack of my life. Every time the clock ticks down I feel the same adrenaline and the same need to find a long word.
“I think it’s because the game is just so compulsive. It’s part of the fabric of our lives and I think it is for a lot of our viewers, too. Rachel Riley’s dad still records every episode, so he has every episode she’s ever been on!”
Susie has formed a firm friendship with mum-of-two Rachel ever since the mathematician joined the programme as a co-presenter in 2009.
“I love all the laughs we have,” Susie tells us. “Myself and Rachel are always freezing in the studio, so we actually have joint custody of a hot water bottle!
“We film five shows a day, so it’s a hectic schedule. Rachel has to change her whole outfit for every show, whereas I only have to change my top half as people don’t ever really see my legs, but I do have them! It’s a cliché to say, as people talk about TV families, but I do think Countdown is one of the best. It’s something I’d really miss.”
There were rumours of a feud within the Countdown family after reports emerged that Rachel and former host Anne Robinson had clashed. While Susie won’t be drawn on the claims, she’s full of praise for Anne.
“She has the most amazing work
ethic. The thing I love about that time was that she really brought the contestants’ stories out and I don’t think we’d had that to that degree before,” says Susie. “Every single host has brought something new to the show. I was asked the other day to come up with a word to describe each host and the one I chose for Anne was ‘consummate’.”
We couldn’t talk to Susie without bringing up the various rude words that have popped up on the Countdown letterboard over the years. “Quite often we’ve had to stop filming as we’re all laughing so much,” she says. “It’s the really rude ones usually. As I often say, Rachel knows the Urban Dictionary much better than me. Once it took me a good 10 takes to do the origin of cock-a-hoop. I don’t know why, I was just in such a silly mood.
Susie has also had a lot of laughs on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, which she affectionately calls Catsdown.
“People often ask me which is my favourite, Catsdown or Countdown, and I think I’d be lost without either of them,” she says. “They’re so different and bring their different joy.”
Susie has fond memories of former 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown captain Sean Lock, who sadly passed away from lung cancer last year.
“There are lots of little moments when we record Catsdown where most of us pay a silent tribute to Sean in our heads,” Susie tells us.
“The game really mattered to him towards the end. When he first started, he thought, ‘What is this game?’ But as he got better it really did matter to him. If Jimmy [Carr] dared mess around with the scores and give Jon [Richardson] more points, it really bugged him.”
Away from TV, Susie is about to release her latest book, An Emotional Dictionary: Real Words For How You Feel, From Angst to Zwodder, which aims to help readers pinpoint how they feel and describe the indescribable with an array of new vocabulary.
“The only way I know how many books I’ve written is because on Catsdown Jimmy is always teasing me about how many boring books I’ve written. I think this might be my 15th,” she says.
“I think being able to define what you’re feeling helps you establish a framework for dealing with it. The happy words were inspired by my daughters [Lucy, 22, and Thea, 14]. If I felt happy emotions in the book, it’s always thanks to them.
“Whenever I’m writing a book they feed me biscuits and look after me, so it’s like they’ve had a little hand in it, too.”
‘I would be lost without either of the shows’
An Emotional
Dictionary by Susie
Dent is published by
John Murray. Susie’s live show, Something Rhymes With Purple On Stage, runs from 25 September to 19 February, see tiltedco.com/ somethingrhymeswithpurple