Countdowners in the news

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 2:10 pm

Countdown Champion Richard Brittain Writes 'Chilling' Blog Post About Stalking a Woman

Knowing Richard's style, this is just deliberate trolling to get this kind of coverage to promote his book... right? Right?

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 4:13 pm

It's quite good trolling if that's what it is. It would mean that the fake kidnap was fake all along, making it a fake fake kidnap, and the real way of making himself famous and getting publicity for his book was the blog post itself.

Innis Carson · Post by **Innis Carson** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 5:39 pm

Got to hand it to Richard, he's achieved exactly what he's been aiming for.

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:00 pm

Innis Carson wrote:Got to hand it to Richard, he's achieved exactly what he's been aiming for.

I can only echo what Innis says really, I'm sure Richard's very pleased with himself.

However, I'll bet that there are plenty of other borderline lunatics and general sociopaths writing far worse every day all over the internet, so I wonder why this got picked up?

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 7:16 pm

Yeah, he's done well thus far - risky strategy though, no? Could pan out a few ways from here...

Heather Styles · Post by **Heather Styles** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 2:48 pm

I don't think Richard has done well at all. The best that he will have done is get a few cheap laughs and flog more copies of his badly written book*. Cynical, exploitative and cruel.

* I can tell that it's badly written just from the preview.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:04 pm

Heather Styles wrote:I don't think Richard has done well at all.

Yeah, I'm changing my view now. I was basing that just on the fact that it was popping up in a few places (Telegraph.co.uk now!) - dig a little deeper and the (impartial) reviews for the book are pretty scathing, and it seems he's been being his usual dickish self on Wattpad - there's even an allegation that he tracked down and attacked a negative reviewer on goodreads.com.

Bizarre. Fascinating watching it unfold though. Is anybody on here in regular contact with him? Is he coming to COLIN Ben?

Ben Wilson · Post by **Ben Wilson** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:28 pm

Jon Corby wrote:Is he coming to COLIN Ben?

No.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 3:36 pm

Ben Wilson wrote:
Jon Corby wrote:Is he coming to COLIN Ben?
No.

Rats. Could we not honeytrap him into coming?

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 4:07 pm

Sometimes I think the world is trolling me. How the fuck could he be arrested for writing that? What law has he broken? Who's to say if his blog is fact or fiction? Is it illegal to imagine a fake kidnapping?

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:55 pm

I think the journalists writing about this are totally missing the point, whether this story has any truth or not. He's just told you that he was trying to get publicity by being a dickhead, and you're giving it to him.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 6:57 pm

Jon O'Neill wrote:Sometimes I think the world is trolling me. How the fuck could he be arrested for writing that? What law has he broken? Who's to say if his blog is fact or fiction? Is it illegal to imagine a fake kidnapping?

He's not been arrested has he? Or have people suggested it?

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:22 pm

Can we please have updated links based on:

"tracked down and attacked" (almost sounded literal!) someone for a negative review on goodreads.com (Corby)
serious suggestions of arrest? (Jono)
"he's just told you he was trying to get publicity" (Gevin)

Thanks guys.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:24 pm

Just realised Charlie is going to be the first port of call for an exclusive interview! More column inches for Reams!

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 9:39 pm

Matt Morrison wrote:Can we please have updated links based on:
"tracked down and attacked" (almost sounded literal!) someone for a negative review on goodreads.com (Corby)

serious suggestions of arrest? (Jono)

"he's just told you he was trying to get publicity" (Gevin)
Thanks guys.

In Richard's post he says:

I decided to try to make my book known by getting into the national news. I found out that she worked in Glasgow, so I travelled there with a plan. I was going to tell her that if she came with me, and we faked a kidnapping, we would both become famous.

=He was telling the reader that he was trying to get publicity by being a dickhead. The way he actually achieved it was with the post rather than the fake kidnapping, but it's all the same.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:01 pm

Matt Morrison wrote:Can we please have updated links based on:
"tracked down and attacked" (almost sounded literal!) someone for a negative review on goodreads.com (Corby)

serious suggestions of arrest? (Jono)

"he's just told you he was trying to get publicity" (Gevin)
Thanks guys.

I was drunk last night and responding to something in the Telegraph article which I now can't find..

Edit: just realised I posted that today. I was drunk today as well.

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:08 pm

Matt Morrison wrote:Can we please have updated links based on:
"tracked down and attacked" (almost sounded literal!) someone for a negative review on goodreads.com (Corby)

serious suggestions of arrest? (Jono)

"he's just told you he was trying to get publicity" (Gevin)

He's not actually physically attacked anyone and he's not been arrested. I don't think there's any possibility that he could be arrested based on what he's posted so far, however creepy it may be. As far as we know, it's all fiction and until someone actually complains to the police (complaining to the internet is not the same thing), it might as well remain so.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:20 pm

Thanks for good update Jim and shit update Jono. And oh yes Gevin, durrrr. See what you mean, for some reason I thought you meant a more recent statement on the blog post itself and not that bit.
I'm pretty sure his life must be crazy right now. I am fairly sure more than none people will have complained to the Real Police, and I think plenty of journalists will have been trying to get hold of him by phone for a statement.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:23 pm

Quick scout on current Twitterness reveals several connections between RB and The Apprentice, and someone thinking he was the Countdown host.

Matt Morrison · Post by **Matt Morrison** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:23 pm

Countdowners not in the news interesting 404: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/reports/n ... t-stalker/

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:51 pm

He's taken it down and issued an apology.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:51 pm

Gavin Chipper wrote:He's taken it down and issued an apology.

LOL

Mark James · Post by **Mark James** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 4:05 pm

I now wish to live as a normal and respectable person again

Again?

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Fri Oct 17, 2014 4:53 pm

Mark James wrote:
I now wish to live as a normal and respectable person again
Again?

Hahaha!

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Sun Oct 19, 2014 5:40 pm

They're calling it "Brittains Law".

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Wed Nov 05, 2014 4:43 pm

Okay, so it seems like this almost certainly wasn't just an internet-trollery-viral campaign type thing, given that RB has actually tracked down a negative reviewer of his book, a teenage girl, and smashed her over the head with a wine bottle.

http://groupthink.jezebel.com/richard-b ... 1649170122

Jennifer Steadman · Post by **Jennifer Steadman** » Wed Nov 05, 2014 5:47 pm

Looking forward to seeing how people find more ways to excuse or justify this as "only" trolling or a hilarious joke. LOL, stalking and attacking women!!!

Mark Murray · Post by **Mark Murray** » Wed Nov 05, 2014 8:58 pm

This is shocking stuff.. had not been the guy's biggest fan before all this and don't know what part of this story is genuine, but if this is true, this guy needs specialist help!

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:59 pm

If this happened as reported then I'd be surprised if he doesn't get a custodial sentence.

David O'Donnell · Post by **David O'Donnell** » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:01 pm

An elaborate hoax if it is one.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-e ... e-29504832

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:19 pm

Flippin eck, what a knob.

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:25 pm

Also, RB, don't hunt me down please, I'd be a waste of railway fare.

Mark Murray · Post by **Mark Murray** » Fri Nov 07, 2014 6:57 am

http://richardbrittain.wordpress.com/20 ... er-person/

interesting...

James Robinson · Post by **James Robinson** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 12:59 am

Well, it seems Mr Brittain has made it into the newspapers...., well, the Daily Star.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... d-Brittain

Ian Volante · Post by **Ian Volante** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:16 am

James Robinson wrote:Well, it seems Mr Brittain has made it into the newspapers...., well, the Daily Star.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... d-Brittain

Eep. Suspect he won't be on Apterous for a wee while then.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 9:26 am

James Robinson wrote:Well, it seems Mr Brittain has made it into the newspapers...., well, the Daily Star.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest- ... d-Brittain

As I scrolled down and the top line of the headline just read "Countdown champ battered" I just assumed it was going to be the write-up of our CoC match

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:00 am

What a cheeseball.

Keith Bennett · Post by **Keith Bennett** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:23 am

"Kind-of embarrassed that this guy's name appears on the Richard Whiteley trophy along with mine, to be honest."

"To be honest, the more I research this case, the more outraged and amazed I become."

Just two of his insightful posts on a discussion of Callum's Glory Roll when the latter was revealed as a cheat.

Tracey Anne Mills · Post by **Tracey Anne Mills** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 11:40 am

What a lunatic.

Thomas Carey · Post by **Thomas Carey** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 3:54 pm

Keith Bennett wrote:"Kind-of embarrassed that this guy's name appears on the Richard Whiteley trophy along with mine, to be honest."

"To be honest, the more I research this case, the more outraged and amazed I become."

Just two of his insightful posts on a discussion of Callum's Glory Roll when the latter was revealed as a cheat.

Hah, great find. Wonder what someone would have to do to get their name taken off the trophy?

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 4:53 pm

Thomas Carey wrote:
Keith Bennett wrote:"Kind-of embarrassed that this guy's name appears on the Richard Whiteley trophy along with mine, to be honest."

"To be honest, the more I research this case, the more outraged and amazed I become."

Just two of his insightful posts on a discussion of Callum's Glory Roll when the latter was revealed as a cheat.
Hah, great find. Wonder what someone would have to do to get their name taken off the trophy?

Callum's set the bar pretty high tbf, so who knows.

Keith Bennett · Post by **Keith Bennett** » Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:38 pm

"Callum's set the bar pretty high tbf, so who knows"

But at least nobody was hurt in the making of the Immoral Octochamp's records. There's misguided, and then there's pure evil.

Still, better hadn't say too much given the type of character RB might spend the next few years making friends with....

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Wed Nov 11, 2015 9:16 am

I'd hardly call travelling to Scotland to bottle a teenage girl "misguided".

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 9:53 am

Have you seen his latest blog post? It's called "The Benevolent Head-Breaker". I think he's just misunderstood.

James Laverty · Post by **James Laverty** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 6:54 pm

This story just keeps on giving

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... ts-6808448

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 8:00 pm

James Laverty wrote:This story just keeps on giving

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... ts-6808448

I've seen that video dragged up on another forum and used to try and show something about RB. I mean, ffs, isn't it obvious that it's just a joke? Fancy getting a denial from her agent. Makes you wonder how posts here (for example) could get dredged up and used against you if people decided they wanted to paint you a certain way.

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 8:34 pm

Jon Corby wrote:
James Laverty wrote:This story just keeps on giving

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scott ... ts-6808448
I've seen that video dragged up on another forum and used to try and show something about RB. I mean, ffs, isn't it obvious that it's just a joke? Fancy getting a denial from her agent. Makes you wonder how posts here (for example) could get dredged up and used against you if people decided they wanted to paint you a certain way.

The editing on that Daily Record video was farcical, the cutting bits and pieces of video together in an attempt to portray him as "mad". They might as well have had a clock in the background randomly changing time, like in the Simpsons episode when Homer was accused of being a sexual predator because of a gummy bear mixup. I bet I could re-cut that video in a way to make him look even more unhinged without resorting to obvious jumps, but that's not the point. That's all playground stuff, the media stretching and distorting a story to get attention.

I don't deny it's a good story, it's got some great ingredients, but we still don't really know what went on. If RB gets a custodial sentence, then it's pretty much a guarantee that we'll only ever get distorted versions from one side or the other. However, if the authorities do the right thing and realise that RB is fucking completely off his trolley and needs help, we might get something reasonably close to the events as he perceived them at the time, which could help with future cases.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 8:54 pm

I don't think it's edited (much) is it? The original video was jumpy like that. (Intentionally so). Fuck, I hadn't even watched it until now, I'm at the end of it as well.

Mark Deeks · Post by **Mark Deeks** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:37 pm

We haven't mentioned it anywhere above so probably time to give well wishes to the victim, cos this shit is ridiculous.

Jon Corby · Post by **Jon Corby** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:40 pm

Well that should go without saying, obviously. I'm not in anyway defending RB, it's just er... interesting... watching the tabloids do their thing when you have a bit more knowledge about the reality of some of it.

Mark Deeks · Post by **Mark Deeks** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:41 pm

The video on that Record article is nothing like the one I remember him first uploading, but if anything they've streamlined it. That vid is basically two long clips put together, when RB's actual one was about a million cuts. Wonder if it's still out there somewhere...

Mark Deeks · Post by **Mark Deeks** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 9:43 pm

Yep, here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKsqz7fFrqM

JimBentley · Post by **JimBentley** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 10:14 pm

Mark Deeks wrote:Yep, here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKsqz7fFrqM

Cheers Mark, not seen that before. It is a goldmine.

Gavin Chipper · Post by **Gavin Chipper** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:50 pm

JimBentley wrote:
Mark Deeks wrote:Yep, here it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKsqz7fFrqM
Cheers Mark, not seen that before. It is a goldmine.

How have you not seen it? I've just been reading the comments. There's a typical YouTube comments "discussion" on there as you might expect.

Kevin Thurlow · Post by **Kevin Thurlow** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 8:22 am

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... onths.html

Thomas Carey · Post by **Thomas Carey** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 8:42 am

Pisses me off that they have to mention he's a countdown champ every few paragraphs, but otherwise I'm glad.

Jon O'Neill · Post by **Jon O'Neill** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 8:45 am

Let's hope he continues to get the psychiatric help he needs while he's in prison. I wouldn't bet on it though..

Dan McColm · Post by **Dan McColm** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:41 am

They've used the photoshopped GANDISEEG photo again, brilliant.

James Laverty · Post by **James Laverty** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:16 pm

Thomas Carey wrote:Pisses me off that they have to mention he's a countdown champ every few paragraphs, but otherwise I'm glad.

It's the Daily Mail, what did you expect?

Graeme Cole · Post by **Graeme Cole** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 12:35 pm

Thomas Carey wrote:Pisses me off that they have to mention he's a countdown champ every few paragraphs, but otherwise I'm glad.

The BBC story does better, referring to him as an "author" in the headline, and mentioning Countdown once.

However, newspapers have this thing where stories have to have an "angle". You'd think "creepy stalking author tracks down and violently assaults someone who gave his book a bad review" would be enough of a story, but not for the Daily Wail, who refer to Countdown eight times in the one article. Countdown is completely irrelevant to the story, but hey, at least they've got their angle.

Perhaps they're trying to beat the number of times he called himself a Countdown champion in that video of his?