Creator Of TV Quiz ‘Countdown’ Dies Aged 96

CREATOR Of TV Quiz ‘Countdown’, Marcel Stellman Dies Aged 96

Marcel Stellman, the creator behind Channel 4’s popular daytime quiz ‘Countdown’, has died today, Monday 3, aged 96, confirmed on Twitter by his nephew Mark, saying, “It is with our deepest sorrow we share with you news of the death of our beloved Uncle – Marcel Stellman, 96, who passed away late last night. Marcel is survived by his beloved wife Jean”.

Carol Vorderman posted, “I am so sorry to hear this news Mark….x. Marcel and Jeanie and I had so many very happy decades together, forging a path for Countdown in the early days and working hard together to make it the juggernaut it then became. Happy days. A great life well lived”.

Stellman was originally from Belgium, and penned songs for Tony Bennett, Petula Clark, and The Shadows, in his capacity as a record producer and lyricist, as well as working with the BBC in the 1940s and 1950s, later working on popular kids show ‘Pinky and Perky‘.

His legacy will be Countdown, which is one of the longest-running television quiz shows in the world, starting out on Yorkshire, with enigmatic host Richard Whiteley, before being snapped up in 1982 by the newly-created Channel 4, which brought brainbox Carol Vorderman to the attention of the public.

Countdown had originally broadcast on French television, where it was called ‘Chiffres et des Lettres’, before Stellman had the foresight to bring the show across to Britain, where it has since racked up a mammoth 82 seasons, and 7,000 episodes, including the French version, as reported by mirror.co.uk.

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