Nameplates to be forenames only

[Philip A]

Is this correct?

For safeguarding purposes, Countdown will now only use the first names of the contestants on their nameplates - no more surnames.

[Gevin Chapwell]

Just the nameplates or their name as referred to on the show at all times?

Just listing the greatest players: Harvey Freeman, Julian Fell, Conor Travers, John from Coventry.

[Philip A]

Just the nameplates or their name as referred to on the show at all times?

It's both, I think. Times are a'changing.

[L'oisleatch McGraw]

Lame.

[Tracey Anne Mills]

Will the surname be on the Wiki page ? This would change recaps sadly I have to move with the times

[Martin Hurst]

This rule will make Family Fortunes impossible!

[Philip A]

This rule will make Family Fortunes impossible!

And Ask The Family!

[Logan Skelton]

This rule will make Family Fortunes impossible!

"And tonight's families are Family A from somewhere, and Family B from somewhere else!"

[Rhys Benjamin]

Just the nameplates or their name as referred to on the show at all times?

Just listing the greatest players: Harvey Freeman, Julian Fell, Conor Travers, John from Coventry.

"Michael, 73 from Hampshire played Peta, 23 from Essex, with Peta, 23 from Essex winning 69 - 17."

[Martin Hurst]

Just the nameplates or their name as referred to on the show at all times?

Just listing the greatest players: Harvey Freeman, Julian Fell, Conor Travers, John from Coventry.

"Michael, 73 from Hampshire played Peta, 23 from Essex, with Peta, 23 from Essex winning 69 - 17."

Then Michael reaches the finals, has a birthday, and moves to the Lake District just to confuse everything!

[Mark Deeks]

Peta, 23 from Essex

Rhys you dirty old bollocks

[Rhys Benjamin]

Peta, 23 from Essex

Rhys you dirty old bollocks

Glad to see someone got the joke!

[Robert Ring]

They're worried about people setting new Stan-dards in viewership... loyalty etc.

[Ian Volante]

Peta, 23 from Essex

Rhys you dirty old bollocks

Glad to see someone got the joke!

It made me think of Marc Almond, but I can't see why that would have been your reference.

[Philip A]

It's true and I have been reliably informed so disseminating this here. Surnames have now been dropped and will take effect on screen later this series.

[Christy Cooper]

What will happen if they have a Series 53 style final lineup? Series 53 had John Mayhew, John Brackstone and Jon O’Neill.

“Who was your favourite?”
“John.”
“Which John?”
“John.”
“Yes, but WHICH John?”
“The other John.”

Was it John?”
“No, Jon.”
“Which one?”
“Jon.”
“Right. The one without the H.”

[Christy Cooper]

What will happen if they have a Series 53 style final lineup? Series 53 had John Mayhew, John Brackstone and Jon O’Neill.

“Who was your favourite?”
“John.”
“Which John?”
“John.”
“Yes, but WHICH John?”
“The other John.”

Was it John?”
“No, Jon.”
“Which one?”
“Jon.”
“Right. The one without the H.”

Also I suppose you could do initials like John M, John B etc… sounds good in theory, but not if you have, e.g. John Bell and John Baker in the same series.

Plus aren’t Colin’s nicknames for octochamps often based on the surname? Off the top of my head, A5 for Arthur Page, Hurricane for Ronan, and the Incredible Mulk for Cillian. Is the nickname thing going to have to stop?

[Philip A]

Yeah I suspect with shared surnames they’ll either use initial letter od surnames or use alternatives such as John VS Jonathan. Anyway Colin Murray’s Instagram photo chekcs it out and it’s been done. They will all use first names only.

[Christy Cooper]

I wonder how Colin’s nicknames for the octochamps will work this time round then. Because they are so often surname based, as mentioned above.

I don’t think this decision makes much sense to be honest. As said, if two contestants have the same name, it makes sense using the first initial, but what if they have the same first initial? You’ll have to unveil a little bit more of their name then (as said above if you have a John Bell, a John Baker, and a John Brown all in one series- you can’t have them all as John B considering they could all make finals) and in that case you might as well use the full name. Or if you had John Mayhew, and John Martin. What happens then, John Mar and John May? Because at that point you’re just gradually reconstructing surnames anyway. Would they change it to John 1 and John 2?

Colin often addresses the contestants formally by their surname as well- when I was on, there were various instances of him referring to me as “Mr Cooper”.

I don’t think a surname exposes anybody’s deep dark secrets- it’s just their name. I like that it’s what sets Countdown apart from the rest. Most quiz shows use first names only- but most shows are self-contained whereas those with a tournament structure like Countdown, Mastermind, Only Connect, use the full names. And a non-tournament show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, being the most famous example. Self contained shows like The Chase or Tipping Point where you’re just there for one episode- it’s an easy solution- just don’t cast two people with the same name in one episode. With Countdown and its tournament where you don’t know how the seedings will turn out, you can’t really apply that logic for a full series, especially when those of the same name could end up playing against each other. “We’ve already got a Dave/John/Chris for this series, so we can’t cast anymore”.

As said, the top 3 way back in Series 53 all had the same forename, so if the answer to “How do we distinguish three contestants with the same name?” is “Well, we don't”, then perhaps just keep the surnames. How will Colin introduce the finalists or the draw for the next day? “Tomorrow John, you’re up against John, and then whoever wins that will play Jon”… (I use John as it’s been a common name for contestants over the years).

[Philip A]

I wonder how Colin’s nicknames for the octochamps will work this time round then. Because they are so often surname based, as mentioned above.

I don’t think this decision makes much sense to be honest. As said, if two contestants have the same name, it makes sense using the first initial, but what if they have the same first initial? You’ll have to unveil a little bit more of their name then (as said above if you have a John Bell, a John Baker, and a John Brown all in one series- you can’t have them all as John B considering they could all make finals) and in that case you might as well use the full name. Or if you had John Mayhew, and John Martin. What happens then, John Mar and John May? Because at that point you’re just gradually reconstructing surnames anyway. Would they change it to John 1 and John 2?

Colin often addresses the contestants formally by their surname as well- when I was on, there were various instances of him referring to me as “Mr Cooper”.

I don’t think a surname exposes anybody’s deep dark secrets- it’s just their name. I like that it’s what sets Countdown apart from the rest. Most quiz shows use first names only- but most shows are self-contained whereas those with a tournament structure like Countdown, Mastermind, Only Connect, use the full names. And a non-tournament show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, being the most famous example. Self contained shows like The Chase or Tipping Point where you’re just there for one episode- it’s an easy solution- just don’t cast two people with the same name in one episode. With Countdown and its tournament where you don’t know how the seedings will turn out, you can’t really apply that logic for a full series, especially when those of the same name could end up playing against each other. “We’ve already got a Dave/John/Chris for this series, so we can’t cast anymore”.

As said, the top 3 way back in Series 53 all had the same forename, so if the answer to “How do we distinguish three contestants with the same name?” is “Well, we don't”, then perhaps just keep the surnames. How will Colin introduce the finalists or the draw for the next day? “Tomorrow John, you’re up against John, and then whoever wins that will play Jon”… (I use John as it’s been a common name for contestants over the years).

Think the recent welfare failings of Married At First Sight has led to upgraded safeguarding practices. Also first names only is something more and more such game shows have done over the last 20-odd years. With Google Gemini gathering contestants’ information and people easily stalked / tracked down on social media, I think this change is sensible. Yes, sad, but you have to move with the times.

[Christy Cooper]

I wonder how Colin’s nicknames for the octochamps will work this time round then. Because they are so often surname based, as mentioned above.

I don’t think this decision makes much sense to be honest. As said, if two contestants have the same name, it makes sense using the first initial, but what if they have the same first initial? You’ll have to unveil a little bit more of their name then (as said above if you have a John Bell, a John Baker, and a John Brown all in one series- you can’t have them all as John B considering they could all make finals) and in that case you might as well use the full name. Or if you had John Mayhew, and John Martin. What happens then, John Mar and John May? Because at that point you’re just gradually reconstructing surnames anyway. Would they change it to John 1 and John 2?

Colin often addresses the contestants formally by their surname as well- when I was on, there were various instances of him referring to me as “Mr Cooper”.

I don’t think a surname exposes anybody’s deep dark secrets- it’s just their name. I like that it’s what sets Countdown apart from the rest. Most quiz shows use first names only- but most shows are self-contained whereas those with a tournament structure like Countdown, Mastermind, Only Connect, use the full names. And a non-tournament show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, being the most famous example. Self contained shows like The Chase or Tipping Point where you’re just there for one episode- it’s an easy solution- just don’t cast two people with the same name in one episode. With Countdown and its tournament where you don’t know how the seedings will turn out, you can’t really apply that logic for a full series, especially when those of the same name could end up playing against each other. “We’ve already got a Dave/John/Chris for this series, so we can’t cast anymore”.

As said, the top 3 way back in Series 53 all had the same forename, so if the answer to “How do we distinguish three contestants with the same name?” is “Well, we don't”, then perhaps just keep the surnames. How will Colin introduce the finalists or the draw for the next day? “Tomorrow John, you’re up against John, and then whoever wins that will play Jon”… (I use John as it’s been a common name for contestants over the years).

Think the recent welfare failings of Married At First Sight has led to upgraded safeguarding practices. Also first names only is something more and more such game shows have done over the last 20-odd years. With Google Gemini gathering contestants’ information and people easily stalked / tracked down on social media, I think this change is sensible. Yes, sad, but you have to move with the times.

The vast majority of gameshows don’t have carryover champions and seeding formats where multiple people with the same name can end up seeded alongside each other…

The welfare failings on Married At First Sight were *really* serious- the producers on that (exploitative) show were turning a blind eye to sexual assault and rape allegations.

It’s really not remotely comparable to somebody trying to solve some anagrams and number puzzles.

[Gevin Chapwell]

Regardless of anything else, nicknames wouldn't be a problem. They base nicknames on many things so they don't need to use the surname.

[Philip A]

Regardless of anything else, nicknames wouldn't be a problem. They base nicknames on many things so they don't need to use the surname.

Agree. They do have nicknames on The Finish Line so no reason why it wouldn’t work for Countdown and it doesn’t have to be restricted to just Octochamps.