8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown as part of its 30th anniversary celebrations. Amongst the programmes that were chosen to be merged for the evening of specials, production teams on "Countdown" and "8 Out of 10 Cats" agreed to merge the two formats of their respective programmes together - the crossover between the two formats meant that "Countdown"s arrangement of games would be interspersed with "8 Out of 10 Cats"-style banter. As part of the merger, both Rachel Riley and Susie Dent assumed their roles from the programme, while Jimmy Carr took on the mantle of host, with both Sean Lock and Jon Richardson competing as
Panel show began airing in 1990, and often has the highest ratings of all shows on its night, regularly attracting as much as 20% or more of all homes watching television. The show's success grew after its transfer from BBC Two to the flagship BBC One in 2000. After "HIGNFY"'s success, panel shows have proliferated on British TV, including, among others, "QI" on various BBC channels since 2003, "Mock the Week" on BBC Two since 2005, "8 Out of 10 Cats" on Channel 4 since 2005, "Would I Lie to You?" on BBC One since 2007, and the annual special, "The Big