Iconic daytime show Countdown is set to welcome a string of new faces to the presenter’s chair for a month long run of special episodes. To mark Channel 4’s 40th anniversary, four eminent broadcasters and Countdown fans, Baroness Floella Benjamin, Sir Trevor McDonald, Reverend Richard Coles and Moira Stuart will join the show as host.

The guest presenters will each take on a weeklong hosting stint, joining lexicographer Susie Dent and arithmetical whizz Rachel Riley on the show. Joining Susie Dent in Dictionary Corner will be criminal barrister and broadcaster Rob Rinder, newsreader and presenter Dan Walker, maths genius and writer Bobby Seagull and actor and presenter Christopher Biggins.

Oct 31st to Nov 4th: Baroness Floella Benjamin
Dictionary Corner Guest: Rob Rinder

7th Nov to 11th Nov: Richard Coles
Dictionary Corner Guest: Dan Walker

14th Nov to 18th Nov: Sir Trevor McDonald
Dictionary Corner Guest: Bobby Seagull

21st Nov to 25th Nov: Moira Stuart
Dictionary Corner Guest: Christopher Biggins

Background:
Countdown is the channel’s longest running show and the first show ever broadcast on Channel 4 when it launched 40 years ago, in November 1982. The original version of Channel 4's Countdown is the French television programme « Des chiffres et des lettres » (literally "numbers and letters"), where the numbers round is referred to as « Le compte est bon » ("the total is right"). DCDL debuted in 1965 as « Le mot le plus long » using letters only, and reached its present format in 1972. This year marks the shows 50th anniversary.

Spinoff:
"8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown" is hosted by Jimmy Carr, with Rachel Riley and Susie Dent assuming their Countdown roles. The formation of the crossover with "8 Out if 10 Cats" began as a series of specials, the first of which was broadcast on 2 January 2012, when Channel 4 orchestrated a special "mashup night", merging two shows to form a special edition of the pair, as part of its 30thanniversary celebrations ten years ago.