Countdown champion John Cowen appears in court accused of stabbing quiz rival

A Countdown champion has appeared in court accused of stabbing a rival contestant at a quiz event.

John Cowen, 30, appeared in the dock at Preston Crown Court, accused of wounding with intent and two counts of possession of a bladed article, prosecutor Mercedeh Jabbari told the court.

Cowen, who appeared on the daytime TV quiz show in 2017, allegedly attacked Thomas Carey with a knife at the Countdown In Blackpool 2024 event at the Wainwright Club in Hornby Road in the Lancashire resort on 14 September.

Mr Carey, a Cambridge maths graduate and fellow Countdown champion, was taken to hospital for treatment to an injury to his arm.

Cowen was arrested at the event shortly after.

The defendant, from Morecambe, Lancashire, spoke only to confirm his identity at the brief hearing before Judge Darren Preston.

He wore a grey pullover and nodded as he was told he was to be remanded into custody at HMP Liverpool, until a further hearing on 6 December.

The Countdown In Blackpool event is an annual tournament which pits former winners from the Channel 4 game show against each other.

Cowen scored the third-highest total of the series he was a contestant on, as well as spotting the nine-letter word “spreading”.

He went on to appear in a further 11 episodes, winning eight consecutive contests before he was finally defeated.

One of Britain’s longest-running game shows, Countdown has been on air since 1982, and has had seven main presenters, as well as a host of co-presenters and guest presenters across its five decades.

Based on a series of word and mathematical challenges, the format has inspired several spin-offs, the most popular of which is the late-night panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, hosted by Jimmy Carr.