After an extensive career in broadcasting, Colin Murray became the new host of Countdown in 2022.
The Northern Irishman is a lifelong Liverpool fan – during an interview for the season preview issue of FourFourTwo magazine, he was asked which Reds players past or present might be the most or least suitable as hypothetical Countdown contestants.
Immediately, he chose two people he’s got to know during his broadcasting career. “Dietmar Hamann would be fantastic at it – he’s really sharp,” Murray told FourFourTwo. “Stephen Warnock’s a clever boy so he’d be very good, too.”
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As for who might not fare quite so well, Murray pondered his answer and made his choice, despite his love for the man concerned, and his vast contributions to Liverpool Football Club.
“I’d have Steven Gerrard on Countdown tomorrow, but he was once asked in an interview what his favourite cheese was and his answer was ‘Melted’, so he may not be great…” Murray said. “Sorry if you’re reading this, Stevie, you can still come on the show!”
Murray was present for Gerrard’s finest hour in a Liverpool shirt, the final of the 2005 Champions League in Istanbul, when the skipper held the Reds turn around a 3-0 deficit, before Rafa Benitez’s side triumphed on penalties, becoming European champions for the fifth time in their history.
Asked to choose his favourite piece of football memorabilia, Murray chose something from that night.
“The flag me and my mates took to Istanbul in 2005,” he said. “When Andriy Shevchenko takes the penalty that Jerzy Dudek saves, ITV say “The weight of Europe is on his shoulders”.
“If you pause it at that moment, on his shoulder is our flag, saying ‘You can’t beat a bit of Istan-bully, super smashing Reds’, with a picture of Bully from Bullseye in a Liverpool top.”
Murray and Elis James have launched a podcast, Everything To Play For, revisiting great sporting stories, including Wayne Rooney’s emergence, plus the rivalry between Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson. Visit wondery.com/shows/everything-to-play-for
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