John Cowen was arrested on 14 September at the Countdown in Blackpool 2024 event, which has former winners of the popular gameshow playing against each other.
According to the Lancaster Guardian, the tournament where the alleged stabbing took place was being held at the Wainwright Club on Blackpool’s Hornby Road.
The 30-year-old Cowen allegedly attacked his opponent and police were called to the scene on the September Saturday morning, with a man in his 20s taken to hospital for treatment.
A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: “We were called at 11:35am on 14 September 2024 to a report of an assault on Hornby Road in Blackpool.
John Cowen during an appearance on Countdown. (Channel 4)
“Officers attended, and a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault and possession of a knife / bladed article.”John Cowen, 30, was later charged with section 18 assault – wounding with intent and possession of a knife / bladed article in a public place.
“He was remanded and will appear at Preston Crown Court on 14 October.”
Cowen first appeared on Countdown in 2017 and had the third highest total score in his series, winning eight consecutive episodes and appearing in several others.
The Morecambe maths champion missed out on joining the show’s 800 Club during his run on Countdown, having appeared on 12 episodes of the Channel 4 show in total between 2017 and 2019.
He will today appear before Preston Crown Court on the charges of the alleged stabbing.
The Mirror reports that the alleged victim of the stabbing was a man who appeared on Countdown in 2015 named Thomas Carey.
They say that Carey, a Bingley man, had been studying for his A-Levels when he appeared on Countdown.
He was the first contestant since 1986 to win all eight of his conundrums, making his subsequent appearances in the Championship of Champions XV in 2019 and again for a Christmas special episode in 2020 where he defeated fellow Bingley bloke George Armstrong in a festive show where both men scored the nine-letter word ‘planetoid’.
Countdown first aired in November 1982 and was the first programme to be shown on Channel 4, since then it has run for more than 80 series and racked up thousands of episodes.
Pretty much every British teenager growing up in the 2000s looks back on the Channel 4 series following a group of adolescents fondly, as it was – and still is – one of the most relatable series a lot of us have seen on TV.
It also gave the likes of Jack O’Connell, Dev Patel, Kaya Scodelario and Nicholas Hoult a leg up in the industry and was pivotal in helping them on their way to Hollywood stardom.
As fans of the show will remember, the actress’ body was often up for discussion – her character describes her main priority as ‘looking shaggable’ and tells her pals on Myspace that she is that ‘gorgeous in real life’, not just in pictures.
And let’s not forget Tony’s regular reference to her nipples and constant comments about her ‘uneven’ breasts.
While these jabs were obviously all part of the script and nothing to do with Pearson’s actual appearance, the tongue-in-cheek remarks probably didn’t help the actress brace herself for nude scenes.
The 35-year-old, from Bristol, has previously spoken out about feeling ‘too young’ for some of her explicit storylines, as well as the pressure she felt to be ‘smaller or slimmer’.
April Pearson seen alongside Nicholas Hoult in Skins (Channel 4)
She’s also addressed one certain scene which she found to be very ‘weird’ in retrospect and dubbed her time on the show as a ‘f**ked up experience’ on the whole.
Pearson has grown a large social media following since her Skins days and also hosts a podcast titled Are You Michelle From Skins?, which she uses to spill behind-the-scenes secrets and her opinions on the teen drama.
So when one TikTok user asked her a question about intimate scenes on the show, she was more than happy to oblige.
The social media user said: “Did you guys actually have to get naked in Skins? If so, weren’t you uncomfortable?”
Pearson responded: “Yes…and yes. It was very weird and erm, not all the time pleasant. Still dealing with it.”
She didn’t elaborate further, but Skins fans flooded the comment section with messages of support for the actress.
The actress said it was ‘weird’ to film the intimate scenes as a 17-year-old (Instagram/@apriljpearson)
One said: “I’m so sorry that you had to deal with that April,” as another wrote: “”Aw I feel like she had a really hard time.”A third added: “You were so young.”And a fourth commented: “Omg, some of you weren’t even 18-years-old.”While a fifth chimed in: “This makes me so said, I would’ve been so traumatised.”
Pearson isn’t the only Skins star to speak out about their experience on the Channel 4 show.
Kaya Scodelario, who starred as Effy Stonem, previously alleged that ‘the safeguarding wasn’t there’ during filming, while O’Connell, who played James Cook, admitted he felt ‘compromised’ while shooting sex scenes.
Contestants on Naked Attraction know what they’ve signed up for – but it still stings when the ‘picker’ is a bit too blunt while sharing their feedback on a person’s figure.
And the hot tub installer had no idea that showbiz star Lauren Harries was amongst the line-up of starkers potential lovers.
The Celebrity Big Brother alum seemed to catch the contestant’s eye with her moves, but Rigby quickly shot down her advances when her face was revealed.
She emerged from the red pod and began twirling a strand of her hair in between her fingers – but the bloke wasn’t impressed and he swiftly eliminated her.
Naked Attraction host Anna asked him: “Ah, Lauren’s star power wasn’t enough to get her through but why?”
And Rigby didn’t hold back with his response and let Lauren know exactly what put him off her.
He bluntly replied: “I’m looking for someone to be with permanently, and I just think you might be a little bit too old for me.”
The 45-year-old awkwardly refused to accept a hug from Rigby and said: “Stay away. No. I’m going, I don’t want to be around him.
“Don’t say that to a woman about age. Just make something up. That’s your mother talking, alright?
“You will be slapping yourself when you know who I am but also, you’ll be slapping yourself [because] you’re not with me so there you go.”
Anna also stepped in to comment on the interaction, adding: “Oh! You never say that to a lady.
“Rigby, you are saying farewell to the mighty Lauren. She’s a 41-year-old TV personality from Cardiff.”
Keen to have the last laugh, Lauren then strutted out of the studio after slapping her backside, saying: “You could have had the goods but you’re not having them now. Because you’re never going to get my backside now anyway.”
He ended up choosing purple-haired model Hannah to go on a date with – which ended up going disastrously.
That is, for everything except for Channel 4 hit show Naked Attraction, where people are quite literally judged for their appearances.
The show features Brits stripping down from head to toe for their bodies to be judged or even appreciated by contestants, hoping to be picked for a date.But even in this scenario, manners are key, and there’s no real reason to be nasty, though one participant managed to infuriate viewers with his ‘rude’ reaction, which you can see here:
However, this lad’s choice of words after he was eliminated resulted in widespread backlash on social media that would knock his ego even more.
But then came the golden moment, as he told the camera: “It’s one of them. You win some, you lose some, but there’s plenty more cl*nge in the sea.”
Despite his nonchalant attitude and impressive handling of being sent home without a date – having gotten up on stage butt naked to be judged on each singular body part for all the world to see – Leon became the subject of scorn.
.webp)
Contestant Leon backstage on Naked Attraction. (Channel 4)
One user stated: “Plenty more cl*nge in the sea. Stay classy, Leon.”
“Leon you dirty b*stard! CL*NGE!?#NakedAttraction,” another wrote.
Others were left bewildered as to how the term had been allowed on national television. “Did orange just use the word cl*nge on National tv???,” one questioned.
Although it turns out not everyone is so sure what the word in question actually means (perhaps its best that way) as one user stated: “I know I’m getting on a bit but what’s a cl*nge #NakedAttraction.”
In similar Jay Cartwright style, one user joked: “Look I don’t watch Naked Attraction but it seems like the nation had the opportunity to get ‘cl*nge’ trending and has failed so I’m disappointed in you all.”
Jody Bunting, who regularly appeared on the broadcaster’s morning show The Big Breakfast between 2001 and 2002, was reportedly nicked when he landed at Luton Airport after returning from a holiday in Morocco.
Advert
The Derbyshire-based exercise guru has told how he was allegedly arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in wake of a dramatic incident on 29 October, 2023, involving one of his co-workers at the Mickleover Court Hotel Leisure Club.
It has been claimed that an unnamed employee was rushed to the Royal Derby Hospital and put in intensive care after suffering from an allergic reaction to chocolate.
Bunting alleges that he is being accused of planting the sweet treat on purpose, although he strongly denies any wrongdoing, and claims he was apprehended by cops in the airport on 2 November, 2023.
He had been a group exercise instructor at Mickleover Court Hotel Leisure Club since 2017 and claims he was still on holiday on the day which the incident occurred.
Speaking of his arrest, Bunting told Derbyshire Live: “I was in shock, being arrested in front of a friend and then being paraded around Luton Airport in cuffs.
“However, the members at the gym had warned me it may happen. I was shocked my local South Derbyshire police officers had come all the way down to London for this issue.
“The custody sergeant did ask if I could still do my high kicks as he’d Googled me and realised who I was.”
Bunting said he was ‘doing ok’ but being prohibited from stepping foot inside Mickleover Court had forced him to focus on his other training alternatives to make ends meet.
He continued: “I am working a lot less now as Mickleover Court was my main job, so I’m just focusing on the fitness classes I still have and the online weight loss coaching I do.”
“I am just focusing on the future and hoping I get the ‘no further action’ letter from the police any day now. The hardest thing is what to tell the members who have contacted me.”
On top of the severity of the matter, the Lose it with Jody host said it has been ‘hard’ to explain to people that he was arrested – especially due to his past in the spotlight.
Bunting added: “It’s hard to just say ‘I got arrested for attempted murder’ and not explain the whys.
The fitness instructor claimed that Derbyshire Police have not been in touch with any developments since his arrest on 2 November, 2023.
The force said in a statement: “A 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and wounding with intent on 2 November. He has been bailed as investigations continue.
“The arrest relates to an incident at the Mickleover Court Hotel in Derby between 22 and 29 October 2023.”
