What Time Is Countdown On? Channel 4 Times, Streaming and Catch-Up
Bottom line: Countdown runs from 2.10pm to 3pm on Channel 4, Monday to Friday. Colin Murray presents, with Rachel Riley at the letters and numbers boards and Susie Dent in Dictionary Corner. Episodes go up on Channel 4's free streaming service after broadcast, and the catalogue sitting there stretches back roughly a year.
What time is Countdown on Channel 4?
2.10pm to 3pm, every weekday. TVmaze logs each edition at 14:10 with a 50-minute slot, which is the advert-inclusive hour Channel 4 gives it; the streaming version of the same episode is listed at about 35 minutes.
It is the earliest of the four weekday quizzes we track. Countdown finishes at three, Tipping Point starts at 4pm on ITV1, The Chase follows at 5pm, and Pointless opens on BBC One at 5.15pm. Four programmes, three channels, and only fifteen minutes of genuine overlap in the whole afternoon.
Who presents Countdown, and who is in Dictionary Corner?
Colin Murray hosts. Rachel Riley works the boards and Susie Dent occupies Dictionary Corner, where the words get checked and the day's etymology gets an airing.
The fourth chair changes. Channel 4 bills a guest alongside Susie Dent for each block of episodes — Marcus Brigstocke for the run first shown between 14 and 18 September — and the guest usually stays put for a full week of recordings rather than a single afternoon.
How do I watch Countdown online, and how far back does it go?
Channel 4's streaming service carries it, free, once the episode has been on air. There is no early drop of the kind the ITV soaps get at 7am: the clock has to run on television first.
The back catalogue is deeper than most daytime shows manage. We counted the episodes listed on channel4.com on Sunday 20 September and found 249 separate broadcast dates, the oldest of them 22 September 2025. That is close to a rolling year, so a fortnight of missed afternoons is never a problem.
What series is Countdown on, and how many episodes are in it?
Series 94, which has been running through 2026 without the autumn break that the BBC Two quizzes take. Monday 21 September is episode 61; TVmaze's listing carries the numbering on to episode 69 on 1 October.
That is the practical difference between Countdown and the Monday night block on BBC Two. Mastermind, Only Connect and University Challenge run in series with a defined number of heats and a final. Countdown keeps going, five afternoons a week, and the series number ticks over when a new run of recordings begins.
Is 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown the same programme?
No, and the difference matters if you are searching for a time. The comedy version borrows the clock, the boards and Rachel Riley, puts a panel of comedians in the contestants' seats and goes out in the evening in its own separate series.
The 2.10pm programme is the straight one: two players, letters games, numbers games and the closing conundrum, with Dictionary Corner ruling on what counts as a word. If a search result promises Countdown at 9pm, it is the comedy spin-off you have found.
Is Countdown on at the weekend?
No. The listing is a weekday one, Monday to Friday, and Channel 4 gives Saturday and Sunday afternoons to other programming. Our sister site has the same question answered for the soaps in its weekend guide, and the shape is much the same: five days on, two days off, streaming still open.
Why is Countdown not on today?
Two reasons account for nearly all of it. The first is the weekend, above. The second is Channel 4 handing the afternoon to something else — a sporting event or a one-off broadcast will push the quiz out of the schedule for that day rather than move it by ten minutes.
When that happens the episode number does not vanish; it simply lands on the next available afternoon, which is why the Series 94 count keeps climbing. Our week-ahead schedule lists every slot day by day, and the weekly results page records what actually went out.
Questions readers ask
Does Countdown appear on streaming before it airs?
No. Episodes are added after broadcast; the most recent one on Channel 4's page when we checked on Sunday was Friday 18 September's.
How long is an episode really?
The Channel 4 slot is 50 minutes. Without adverts, the streaming version runs about 35.
Where are your other explainers?
They live under UK Quiz Guide, with the daily teatime rundowns on our Chase page and week-by-week listings in our schedules.
Sources
- channel4.com: Countdown (presenters, Dictionary Corner guest, 35-minute streaming episodes, 249 episode dates back to 22 September 2025 — counted 20 September 2026)
- TVmaze: Countdown schedule (Channel 4, weekdays 14:10, 50-minute slot; Series 94 episodes 61–65 on 21–25 September, episode 69 on 1 October)
- What Time Is Tipping Point On? ITV1's 4pm Hour, ITVX and Lucky Stars
- What Time Is Pointless On Tonight? BBC iPlayer and Series 36 Co-Hosts
- How to Watch The Chase: 5pm on ITV1, ITVX Catch-Up and Why It's Sometimes Not On
- Monday Night Quiz on BBC Two: Mastermind 7.30, Only Connect 8, University Challenge 8.30 — Times, iPlayer and How the Rounds Work