Interview: Susie Dent on fame, Countdown and her debut novel

Susie Dent is feeling betwittered. For anyone unfamiliar with the Countdown star’s Word of the Day Tweets on X, her Something Rhymes With Purple podcast that she co-hosts with Gyles Brandreth, or one of her many fascinating books on etymology, betwittered means being “full of nervous apprehension and excitement”.

It’s a feeling the lexicographer (a compiler of dictionaries) always experiences before one of her books is published but this time is different.

“I have my first novel coming out this summer; my first attempt in fiction which is a very new direction and very betwittering!” Susie revealed. “It’s quite terrifying. I’m genuinely scared but equally excited!”

While she nervously awaits early reviews, Susie is proud to have written her debut crime novel, which has been described as “Agatha Christie meets Countdown”.

“I hope people enjoy it. It’s a nice thing for me to have done, and, while I’m worried about everything else, I’m very proud of the title!” said Susie.

Guilty By Definition, published August 15, follows Oxford-based dictionary editor, Martha Thornhil, as her team races to unravel the complex clues they are being sent via anonymous letters, which are all connected to the same year Martha’s sister mysteriously disappeared.

“I did slightly struggle not to make it entirely autobiographical,” admitted Susie. “My main character, Martha, is quite like me in many respects, but I didn’t want to put too much of myself on the page. It does involve dictionary writing and lots of linguistic clues, so it felt familiar from that point of view.

“I did struggle a bit with plotting and pulling the many different threads together but my publishers were a brilliant help. It was a very different thing for me, but I loved writing it.”

A milestone year for Susie Dent

This year is already proving to be a milestone for Susie. She received an MBE for services to literature and language last month, was unofficially named by Richard Osman as the UK’s longest-running TV host – having appeared on around 5,000 episodes of Countdown – and, as well as the release of her debut novel, Susie will turn 60 in November.

“I have mixed feelings about it but there’s no way I’m ready to stop now. There’s so much I still want to do!” said Susie.

“I suppose I feel a little wistfulness but also gratitude because not everyone makes it to that milestone, and I’m excited for what’s to come. I see people like Nigella Lawson doing fantastic stuff in their 60s and realise that age isn’t a barrier.”

Despite presiding over Dictionary Corner for over three decades, Susie says she isn’t looking to wind down her TV career anytime soon.

“I’ll keep doing Countdown for as long as they’ll have me. It’s a part of me and something I love doing,” she said. “The only thing that will stop me is if I get bored but I’ve genuinely not been bored once in 32 years!”

Susie is also keen to remain in her dream job to ensure women over 60 continue to be represented on TV.

“There’s still a huge amount of work to be done, and we’re certainly not there yet, but you can see a tangible difference,” she said.

“We should keep pushing for equality in every single way. I certainly think we are making big strides, and I really admire that Jo Street, head of daytime commissioning at Channel 4, is incredibly supportive of older women in TV.”

Heading to the stage

Susie will swap Countdown’s Dictionary Corner for a trip over the Border next month when she brings her theatre show, The Secret Life Of Words, to Inverness and Aberdeen.

In her “one-woman wordy show”, Susie chats about her favourite words, phrases, and their etymology – the origin of words and how their meanings have changed over time. She will also test her knowledge in a “Word Surgery”, where the audience can ask her to explain their favourite words.

“I was inevitably quite nervous, but I now get such a thrill from it,” said Susie about performing live on stage.

“My audience are clearly language lovers, so are already on-side and there for a good time, and learn new things about the English language.”

Susie holds a unique position in the world of British TV celebrities. While she has graced our TV screens since her first Countdown episode in 1992, she never had dreams of becoming a famous and familiar face on TV and still prefers to “fly under the radar”.

Yet her raised profile gained from appearing on Countdown, its prime-time comedy spin-off, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and her delightfully entertaining and highly informative X account, has allowed her to spread her love of words to new audiences.

“I think as you get older, you get more confident,” said Susie. “I still prefer being out of the limelight, that’s where I feel most comfortable, but I always want to be associated with what I do. If I have an opportunity to literally spread the word about the joy of language, I’m happy.”

Countdown memories

Susie’s theatre show will also recount her favourite anecdotes about Countdown, on which she currently stars alongside host Colin Murray and numbers expert, Rachel Riley.

Susie has also loved appearing on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, hosted by Jimmy Carr, but admits losing comedian Sean Lock three years ago was heart-breaking.

“Sean was as quick-witted as they come and so full of warmth and solicitousness (showing consideration or concern for another person),” she recalled. “He could also be grumpy, particularly if a show ran long, but he was so funny with that grumpiness and made it an art form.

“I loved it when Sean took out his mascot because he prepared them meticulously. They were so surreal that Jimmy would cry with laughter. He was a genius in so many ways. It was so hard going back into the studio. We still don’t have a permanent team captain opposite Jon Richardson, which feels fitting as Sean was irreplaceable.”

Whenever Susie feels a little frobly-mobly (an 19th-Century equivalent of ‘meh’, for when you’re neither well nor unwell) or cabobbled and cumpuffled (both meaning confused, foggy-brained and muddle-headed), she says a walk in nature is a perfect tonic.

“There are lots of lovely walks around where I live, and I’ve found that going out and leaving it all behind is where I’m happiest,” said Susie. “I’m a fast walker; it gets the blood pumping and the mind going, so whenever I was trying to work out any gnarly aspects of my book’s plot, I’d go for a walk.”

Yet her nature walks have also sometimes left Susie feeling that the English language, as expressive, expansive and ever-evolving as it is, doesn’t cover everything. “I love listening to everything around me but realised the other day that there’s no word for the joy of bird song.

“There’s ‘Gökotta’ in Swedish, which means ‘rising early to listen to the dawn chorus’ or the Japanese word ‘seijaku’ which is essentially finding serenity in the midst of chaos, which you often achieve when immersing yourself in nature.

“We need a word for the absolute thrill of listening to birdsong because it’s so restorative!”

Settling the great debate

Susie Dent during her first Countdown show in 1992.

Susie says she is asked the same, divisive question at nearly all her theatre shows.

“How do you pronounce scone? That always gets a debate going,” said Susie. “The dictionary is entirely democratic. It gives both pronunciations, so it’s down to regional preference.

“In Scotland, I think it’s generally scone [rhyming with gone] but etymologically, those who say scone [rhyming with cone] are a little bit closer to the original because we think it comes from the German phrase ‘schön brot’, which means ‘fine bread’.

“The German schön and scone [rhyming with cone] are quite close compared to scone [rhyming with gone].

“I prefer the latter because that’s what I grew up with, and I like the silly joke, ‘Once it’s scone, it’s gone!’”

Susie is also keen to hear new slang words. She said: “Slang is the fastest moving area of language but seems to move so fast now. Perhaps because I’m older but I feel adults shouldn’t be able to keep up with young people’s slang.

“Everybody deserves their secret code so I wouldn’t want to crack all of it.

“Different professions also have code words, including lexicographers and TV presenters.

“During my very early days in the Countdown studio, I heard the producer say I was ‘looking really hot on the floor’, and I was so flattered but later learned that it just meant I was looking very shiny and needed some powder!”

Susie Dent visits Aberdeen’s Tivoli Theatre on August 24 and Eden Court, Inverness on August 25. Tickets are on sale now via nothird.co.uk/live-shows/susie-dent/ or direct from venues.