Countdown: Colin Murray replaces Nick Hewer as lockdown host amid coronavirus concerns

‘The family has handcuffed me to a radiator, saying “you’re not going anywhere”,’ joked Hewer

Nick Hewer is stepping down as the host of Countdown for the duration of the coronavirus lockdown.

The former Apprentice star will be replaced by BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Colin Murray, who has previously guested on the series’s “Dictionary Corner”.

However, because some episodes of the popular Channel 4 quiz show have already been filmed, Murray won’t be appearing on screens for “a week or two”.

On Twitter, Hewer wished good luck to his short-term successor, whom he described as a “popular Dictionary Corner guest and Countdown fanatic.” 

According to Hewer, Murray would “take over from me as host today and for the rest of Covid lockdown recordings (although I’ll still be on your screens for a week or two) as this 76 year-old shields at home”, with Hewer praising the “amazing military-style safety protocols put in place by ITV Studios and Channel 4”.

“Between you and me, I’d have confidently carried on, but the family has handcuffed me to a radiator, saying ‘you’re not going anywhere’,” he joked. “So have fun Colin and keep my chair warm for me.”

Hewer has hosted Countdown since 2012, alongside Rachel Riley and Susie Dent, having taken over from Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling.