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
8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Riley is occasionally involved in these segments. Apart from during the first two specials, there are two contestants on each team, with Jon and Sean as permanent guests. During some rounds, contestants all offer an answer but only the best answer from each team counts. During some rounds, one player per team is nominated to give an answer. A celebrity appears in Dictionary Corner, and, after each numbers round, they present a poem, song or other comedic segment. Susie Dent's "Origin of Words" section does not appear, but is instead replaced with an additional segment from the guest. In earlier