Anne Widdecombe - worst guest ever?

[Jimmy Gough]

She is so vile.

I just do not get how she is even slightly entertaining, her joke today was awful.

Sorry if you like her but I just find her intolerable.

[John Bosley]

Her 'jokes' got better after the first one - slightly. She is surely not as bad as that smiley, false, ex reporter/presenter. Even forgot his name.

[Jon O'Neill]

I like her, I like her jokes, I think she's fit, but I don't like her politics. I think Countdown should be politically neutral.

[John Douglas]

... that smiley, false, ex reporter/presenter. Even forgot his name.

Nick Owen, wasn't it? A non-person IMO - nothing interesting to say (they have quite a lot of them - Michael Aspell is another one). I'm afraid I drifted off during Miss Widdecombe's "joke" this time - but that one about Noah and the ark and the EU went on and on, didn't it? She never gives up.

[John Bradley]

Unless they have a routine the guest is a difficult gig - though I'm sure Ms W has a few more stories to tell than her efforts to date

[Ralph Gillions]

Along with Richard Digance, Anne Widdecombe is close to the bottom of my favourite guests list.
Melvyn Hayes is down there somewhere too.

[Paul Howe]

VICTORIA MATHER

[John Douglas]

I think one of the funniest (at the other end of the scale) is Keith Barron. He only has to stare at the camera to get me giggling. As for the one about clenching your buttocks at a bus-stop - hilarious! (Like caterpillars in a sack, he said.)

[Deek Fleming]

I quite like Richard Digence actually. Always thought of him as being quite comical.

Can't be doing with Doris Karloff, at all.

[Michael Wallace]

She's currently scrapping with Jo Brand for my bottom spot.

...so to speak.

[David Roe]

She's better looking than Jo Brand.

And you can't ban politicians just for being politicians - if they did that, Gyles Brandreth would never come back!



(Hmmmm.)

[Joseph Bolas]

Along with Richard Digance, Anne Widdecombe is close to the bottom of my favourite guests list.
Melvyn Hayes is down there somewhere too.

I agree with you, when it comes to Richard Digance, but I like Anne myself.

[Andy Thomson]

Far from the worst - that's a tie between Melvyn Hayes and Ernie Wise. Poor old Ernie didn't know if it was New York or New Year when he was on.

[Martin Gardner]

Far from the worst - that's a tie between Melvyn Hayes and Ernie Wise. Poor old Ernie didn't know if it was New York or New Year when he was on.

I'd have to go for Jo Brand, while I think she's really good, I can't stand the made up nines in every round. Once in a while when there's something really funny that comes out, but not 55 times in one week.

[Jennifer Turner]

And you can't ban politicians just for being politicians - if they did that, Gyles Brandreth would never come back!

You could ban politicians for being politicians. But the key difference with Widdecombe is that she brings her politics with her. Tuesday's rant about the EU was appalling. The worst example, though, was a couple of years ago when at the end of a show Carol bizarrely asked Anne straight out what she would do to improve Britain, or words to that effect, Widdecombe gave a speech (I think the answer was something along the lines of bring back national service, death penalty for litterbugs, heil Hitler) after which Carol replied "hear hear" and led the audience in a round of applause. Now clearly Countdown has always had a conservative (if not necessarily Conservative) slant, but people should have been hauled up before OFCOM for that. I very much regret not reporting it myself.

[Charlie Reams]

You're right, all television presenters should be bland automata, devoid of any views on any subject. Then we will truly know democracy.

[Jennifer Turner]

That's a false dichotomy. There's plenty of clear ground between being a bland automaton and using a light entertainment show to promote a political platform. Inviting a politician to make an unquestioned political speech and then enthusiastically endorsing it, is blatantly overstepping the mark.

[Joseph Bolas]

I'd have to go for Jo Brand, while I think she's really good, I can't stand the made up nines in every round. Once in a while when there's something really funny that comes out, but not 55 times in one week.

Granted that it can get annoying when Jo comes up with a fake word in every round, she is still is quite funny and a brilliant guest in DC.

[jeff wharton]

One of the worst guests I can remember was the bloke who played Derek on
Coronation St.I can,t remember his real name but he was embarrassingly bad.I think
it was noted because he has never returned.
Whilst on the subject of guests.I wonder why we don,t see Geoffrey Durham any
more?He was one of the better guests.Could it be something to do with reduced
budgets?

[Michael Wallace]

Granted that it can get annoying when Jo comes up with a fake word in every round, she is still is quite funny and a brilliant guest in DC.

You reckon? Maybe it's just perceptual salience or whatever, but I usually find her pre ad break section feel as if she's tried to think of something to say in the taxi on the way to the studios or whatever. I suspect I'm just nowhere near the target audience for DC guests, though, since I can't really think of anyone I've found actually interesting - the best I've encountered are the ones who play along themselves, don't try and pretend they got words they didn't (or at least don't seem to, obviously we can't know for sure), and whose pre-ad spiel doesn't make me think "wow, I can be more interesting than that.

Fortunately it's not too hard to ignore them (Jo Brand's 'words' notwithstanding...).

[Charlie Reams]

That's a false dichotomy. There's plenty of clear ground between being a bland automaton and using a light entertainment show to promote a political platform. Inviting a politician to make an unquestioned political speech and then enthusiastically endorsing it, is blatantly overstepping the mark.

Who says it was unquestioned? Presumably Carol really does agree with those sentiments, and (while I certainly don't) I think she's entitled to say so. Is there anyone stupid enough to alter their own voting preferences "because Carol says so"? I hope not. Once again it's just your tedious jealousy complex against Carol. Let's at least be honest about it.

[Michael Wallace]

Is there anyone stupid enough to alter their own voting preferences "because Carol says so"? I hope not.

You know damn well that there are, though.

[Charlie Reams]

Well, anyone that dumb is probably a hardened Labour voter anyway.

[Paul Howe]

Whilst on the subject of guests.I wonder why we don,t see Geoffrey Durham any
more?He was one of the better guests.Could it be something to do with reduced
budgets?

Weird, I was thinking the same thing, he might've been displaced by Paul Zenon (or he's just cheaper). Geoffrey was doing a show at the Hemel Pavilion* a couple of years back, anyone who's been here will recognise this as a desperate career move. Maybe he just went to live on the Magic Roundabout

*A beacon of arts and culture in Hemel Hempstead. It has since been demolished (pretty much straight after Geoffrey's show actually)

[Charlie Reams]

*A beacon of arts and culture in Hemel Hempstead. It has since been demolished (pretty much straight after Geoffrey's show actually)

Probably the only time in his career that he brought the house down.

[Michael Wallace]

*A beacon of arts and culture in Hemel Hempstead. It has since been demolished (pretty much straight after Geoffrey's show actually)

Probably the only time in his career that he brought the house down.

+1 Internet

[Allan Harmer]

For me, John Sergeant is among the worst - He didnt have a clue what was going on.

The jury is out on Jo Brand and Richard Digance depending on my mood.

[Julie T]

She reminds me of my old secondary school headmistress, and not in a nice way. IMHO the jokeyness doesn't quite sit right with her persona.
She's probably OK, but my memories of school are awful, so that tends to cloud my judgement a bit.

[Simon Cooper]

We could be close to the point where we need a caption saying 'There now follows a party political broadcast . . . . . ' before she does her talk?

[John Douglas]

I thought today's programme was the most political yet, with Carol at the outset saying "I wish you had become Home Secretary - you would have been absolutely magnificent", and at the end Des appearing to agree with AW that the country might not be "in the mess it's in" with a different Prime Minister ... what's that all about?!

[Kathleen Batlle]

I thought today's programme was the most political yet, with Carol at the outset saying "I wish you had become Home Secretary - you would have been absolutely magnificent", and at the end Des appearing to agree with AW that the country might not be "in the mess it's in" with a different Prime Minister ... what's that all about?!

I think Anne Widdecombe is probably a very good politician (Margaret Thatcher type?) but not such a good DC guest. I really don't think Carole, Des and the DC guest should talk politics anyway. I hate Anne's jokes, which someone must write for her, and would have thought a light-hearted anecdote from her University days would be more appropriate, or even a tale or two about her cats!!! I do like Jo Brand, although the made-up words are a bit tiresome. The odd one now and again would be ok, but not every time.

[John Tuttle]

One of the worst guests I can remember was the bloke who played Derek on
Coronation St.I can,t remember his real name but he was embarrassingly bad.I think
it was noted because he has never returned.

Peter Badwin? According to The Countdown Page he was in 25 episodes...

[jeff wharton]

One of the worst guests I can remember was the bloke who played Derek on
Coronation St.I can,t remember his real name but he was embarrassingly bad.I think
it was noted because he has never returned.

Peter Badwin? According to The Countdown Page he was in 25 episodes...

Thanks for the info.I can only remember seeing him for one week.Perhaps the week I saw him
was his last!Hopefully.

[Julie T]

I thought today's programme was the most political yet, with Carol at the outset saying "I wish you had become Home Secretary - you would have been absolutely magnificent", and at the end Des appearing to agree with AW that the country might not be "in the mess it's in" with a different Prime Minister ... what's that all about?!

It was a bit much, I agree. Fawning to the guests is pretty much par for the course, but when politics are involved, they should leave well alone.
Maybe as Des and Carol are going, they're not as bothered about stirring things.

[Dave Reed]

Sorry, but I have to nominate Martin Jarvis as one I can't stand (he probably doesn't think much of me either). I find him so OTT and he seems to fawn over Susie all the time, it makes me want to throw up

[David O'Donnell]

Sorry, but I have to nominate Martin Jarvis as one I can't stand (he probably doesn't think much of me either). I find him so OTT and he seems to fawn over Susie all the time, it makes me want to throw up

I knew there was something I liked about you, Dave! I agree ... entirely ... in fact I have already had a similar debate with Kate Horton.