Countdown star shares ‘exceptionally appropriate’ post ahead of Truss and Sunak prime minister announcement

‘Haha, you’ve been sitting on this one for a few weeks!’

Countdown star Susie Dent has shared an “exceptionally appropriate” word of the day ahead of the announcement of the UK’s new prime minister.

On Monday (5 September), Liz Truss is expected to be announced as the new prime minister after a six-week Tory leadership campaign.

Voting among the estimated 200,000 Tory members tasked with choosing Boris Johnson’s successor closed on Friday (2 September), and either the foreign secretary or Rishi Sunak will be declared the victor at 12.30pm by 1922 Committee chair Sir Graham Brady.

Ahead of the announcement, Countdown lexicographer Dent shared a “hilarious” choice for her word of the day.

“Word of the day is Zugwang [tzoog-tzwung],” wrote Dent on Twitter. “A situation in chess (and life) in which a move must be made, but each possible one will make the situation worse.”

It did not take long for fans to pick up on the apparent subtext of the tweet, which is supposedly a reference to the race for prime minister.

(Susie Dent Twitter)

“How exceptionally appropriate!” wrote one person. Another added: “Haha, you’ve been sitting on this one for a few weeks!”

“Great timing as ever Susie!” said someone else.

A fourth person joked: “Whatever could you mean,” alongside a photograph of Truss and Sunak.

Dent is not the only one cracking jokes about the forthcoming political announcement, with Joe Lycett leaving TV viewers in hysterics after the comedian claimed to be a “right-wing” Tory supporter while discussing politics on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

You can find a rundown of Lycett’s most-talked about political pranks here.