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
Joe Wilkinson Joe Wilkinson Joseph Wilkinson (born 2 May 1975) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He began his comedy career in his local village pub in 2004 and has supported Alan Carr and Russell Howard on tour. He has also made numerous appearances on television on programmes such as "Live at the Apollo" and "Live at the Electric" and has been touring solo since 2011. He began appearing on "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown" in 2011, initially as Rachel Riley's assistant. He has since gone on to become a regular panelist or guest team captain. He is also