A ‘growling’ assailant allegedly attacked a fellow former Countdown champion during a fan convention of the Channel 4 quiz show, stabbing him in the arm, as reported in court today.
John Cowen, aged 31, was said to have spotted Thomas Carey upon arriving at the Blackpool event and swiftly approached him wielding a kitchen knife, according to the jury.
The court heard that Cowen had felt ‘cheated’ because rival quizzers were using an app to practise online ahead of contests at the convention.
CCTV footage played in court showed Cowen stabbing him before other fans of the series overpowered him.
Cowen has been ruled unfit to stand trial as he is ‘seriously mentally unwell’ and currently in hospital, jurors at Preston Crown Court were told.
A fact-finding hearing is underway to determine if he did indeed stab Mr. Carey, though it will not assess his intentions.
Prospective jurors were questioned at the onset of the hearing regarding any previous participation on Countdown, membership in its fan club, or any intense viewership of the enduring Channel 4 program.
They all indicated that they were not.
John Cowen, who first appeared on Countdown in 2017, is charged with stabbing fellow ex-contestant Thomas Carey in the arm during a Blackpool convention last September.
Thomas Carey was alleged attacked by John Cowen, 31, at the Countdown in Blackpool 2024 event last year
Cowen faces charges of section 18 wounding with intent and two counts concerning the possession of a bladed weapon following the incident at Blackpool’s Wainwright Club on September 14 of the prior year.
‘A group of people who have been participants in or are fans of the television show Countdown have for many years been meeting up for social events,’ Rosalind Scott Bell said as she opened the prosecution case today.
‘They have formed a social club called the Focal Countdown group and meet and play Countdown against each other.’
At around 11.30am, club member Mr Carey was talking to two people in the function room when Cowen was caught on CCTV entering the room, a knife ‘glinting’ in his left hand, jurors were told.
Mr Carey recalled hearing Cowen ‘growling’ before he appeared to ‘clock’ him and ran towards him, the prosecutor said.
Initially he thought the knife he was carrying was fake, but Cowen then ‘lunged across the table’ at which he had been sitting and stabbed him in the upper arm.
‘Mr Carey was forced backwards onto the seat behind him.’
Mr Carey – who had been stabbed in the bicep – could be seen ‘kicking out’ at Cowen and grabbing his wrist ‘in an endeavour to stop the assault’, she said.
Other club members managed to pull Cowen away and disarm him, taking him to the ground while police were called.
John Cowen (pictured) was arrested after allegedly attacking a fellow contestant with a knife at the Countdown in Blackpool 2024 event last September
Mr Carey, of Bingley, West Yorkshire, is a celebrated octochamp of the TV gameshow, making his debut two years before Cowen
Officers arrived and Cowen – whose hands were covered in blood – was found to have a second identical kitchen knife in his pocket when he was arrested and searched.
Mr Carey was taken to hospital where he was treated for a wound with steri-strips.
Giving evidence today, Mr Carey was asked by Jonathan Lally, representing Cowen, if he recalled his client saying he felt ‘cheated’ by players using the app.
Mr Carey replied that he recalled Cowen saying ‘something like that’.
Earlier in his evidence Mr Carey said he remembered Cowen making a ‘half-growl, half-scream’ before walking towards him ‘with purpose’.
He recognised him from previous Countdown gatherings even though Cowen has shaved off his beard.
‘He came up to me with the knife then he stabbed me in the arm,’ he said.
Mr Carey said he grabbed Cowen by the arm and called for help, and there was a ‘scuffle’ as fellow competitors overcame the knifeman.
Appearing in Series 77 of Countdown, John Cowen (pictured) missed out on joining the 800 club by 1 point
He held up his left arm in the witness box to show jurors the scar he still has from the alleged attack.
Jurors were told that Mr Carey had been a member of the group since about 2011 but Cowen was ‘not a regular attender’.
Cowen is ‘seriously mentally unwell’ and in hospital, Judge Guy Mathieson told jurors, and therefore unable to participate in proceedings or attend court.
Cowen, of Morecambe, Lancashire, made his debut on the Channel 4 show in 2017, scoring the third highest total of the whole series, as well as spotting the nine-letter word ‘spreading’.
Appearing in Series 77, he missed out on joining the 800 club by 1 point, but nonetheless achieved four centuries and performed well in the numbers’ rounds – in which he chose six small numbers in every pick.
Having won all eight of his heat games to become an octochamp, Cowen went on to appear in the series finals as the third seed in December 2017.
But he lost in the semi-finals after he gave an incorrect solution to his final six small numbers selection.
Mr Carey, of Bingley, West Yorkshire, is also a celebrated octochamp of the TV gameshow, making his debut two years before Cowen, in June 2015, when he was a sixth form student.
He topped the series rankings as the number one seed with an impressive 923 points from eight straight wins.
He was the first contestant since 1986 to answer all eight conundrums correctly, but was unable to take his impressive form into the grand final and was eliminated at the semi-final stage.
The case continues.
