Countdown appearance for Tucker adds up to namechecks for the P&J

THE Press and Journal newspaper received plenty of namechecks on Channel 4 the other day – thanks to its former editor.

Derek Tucker – who stepped down from the editorship early last year, after 18 years at the helm – was among the contestants in the Channel 4 programme, Countdown.

He appeared in Tuesday’s edition of the show, finishing a gallant second to reigning champion, Philip Jackson, a retired teacher from Berkshire. It all came down to the final round, worth ten points: the Countdown Conundrum. The final score was 89-73.

Host, Nick Hewer, quizzed Tucker about his reporting during the 1980s, in Lebanon, for the Wolverhampton newspaper, the Express & Star.

The P&J, meanwhile, received a mention as the third-biggest regional daily newspaper in Britain.