COLIN Murray has been a constant presence on our airwaves over the past two decades, whilst on television he’s presented everything from Top of the Pops to UEFA Cup Football, but the Dundonald man is currently living his dream as host of Channel 4 quiz show Countdown.
The in-demand presenter is proud to have sat in three different seats on the iconic show - where contestants try to outsmart their rivals by displaying their numerical agility and lexical prowess - appearing in dictionary corner, as a contestant on the celebrity version of the show and now as host.
First covering for Nick Hewer during Covid, Murray stepped up as temporary host when Anne Robinson quit last summer and last month he was announced as the permanent anchor.
The show attracted close to a million viewers during its series finale in December – the show's highest viewing figures in a decade.
“It's worth pointing out that it was during the World Cup which took audiences away too,” says a proud Murray.
So what’s the secret to the programme’s success?
“It's not that I'm better, for sure,” he says sincerely. “It's just that I think that people like to see genuine honesty and happiness. They can tell when they watch it that Rachel, Susie and I are happy to be together and love the game.
“We've a few rules now with dictionary corner. We don't care how famous a person is - they must be nice people. We want to create a place where people of all ages can sit down with us and have a bit of craic and tune out for 45 minutes
“The thing about Countdown is there’s no script and no autocue. You don't know what you are going to talk about, it's completely ad libbed. It's like radio, where I'm happiest, and that’s why it suits me.
“Countdown is a national treasure; but the reality is there was a period when not many were watching. As a lifelong fan I don't want to be the last presenter,” adds Murray, who is it for the long run.
“Susie's been there for 30 years and Rachel has been there 15 years. I want to make double figures. Countdown was always the one I thought, ‘God, what a dream that would be’, so now I've got that I don’t want to mess it up.”
Murray confesses to playing along from time to time. “I'm spotting the words that come up more often than normal, like 'moaner' and the great Irish word 'saunters'.
“But I love when something comes out and you have no idea what it means – though you do have to be careful how you say them," he chuckles.
One person who will be getting an invite to Countdown’s dictionary corner is his old buddy and co-presenter from Radio One, Edith Bowman. Last summer the pair teamed up to record the new BBC Food Fest Northern Ireland programme.
The quirky show lifts the lid on some fascinating food stories, samples culinary delights and meets local food suppliers. Across the series, Colin and Edith will be joined by chef Suzie Lee and Q Radio presenter Ryan Hand.
“I didn't want to be talking red wine jus and caviar – but this show is about people and the stories behind the food,” says the 45-year-old, who visited St George’s Market, the Belfast Mela, the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle, Derry’s Walled Market and a music and food event in Newcastle.
“I had a ball meeting all these great food producers and showing my old mate around, pointing out where I had my first date and the caravan site we used to go to in Newcastle, where my granny got drunk,” Murray tells me, confessing he had his first kiss at the Strand Cinema.
Murray describes himself as “a cook” rather than a chef, with his speciality dish being ground beef chilli.
“I've driven most of the United States over the last 25 years watching baseball. I always go to the best barbecue joints and check out their chilli and pick up little tips," he tells me.
“People always go, 'Don't be silly, a boy from Belfast can't make the best chilli’."
"Mine’s probably a good roadside café version, though I did have Susie Dent over the other day and I made her a veggie version and she said it was the best she had eaten,” he beams, admitting he’s come a long way since his appearance on Celebrity MasterChef back in 2009.
Thankfully the archive footage is not available, but I had a massive panic attack during the first round.”
In contrast, the super-organised Murray excelled in the second round when the contestants were sent to work in a restaurant, with his stuffed chicken and lentil risotto being the most popular dish.
“I can cook when given instructions, and my McDonald's experience shone through when it came to speed,” he laughs.
Food Fest Northern Ireland viewers will see Murray enthusiastically tucking into a mammoth sized Belfast bap, but also see him politely refuse oysters. Having different taste buds isn’t something he apologises for.
“Why do people try to force you to eat something you don’t like? It’s like cucumber - some people love the freshness it gives them, whereas all I taste is detergent.”
In the programme viewers will also see Murray play Teenage Kicks on the ukulele as part of a flash mob alongside the Belfast Ukulele Jam.
“That was so good - the smile on people's faces was so infectious. You know I might suggest that in Countdown we change the end of the show and have a singalong, like Cilla Black used to do back in the day,” he laughs.
A huge fan of the tiny string instrument, owning at least six, Murray says he got into it “from just loving music, but being so completely untalented at playing it”: “Someone said to me anyone can play the ukulele, so I just tried.”
He’s even taught Carl Frampton to play – just one hour before he had the Belfast boxer performing live on his BBC Radio 5 Live show.
“I would play a lot of Nick Cave and Tom Waits. It's great for your mental health to sit for an hour and play.”
Murray is acutely aware of the need for a work-life balance for both himself and the listeners.
Billed as "late night conversation on the issues that matter to you", Murray combines a balanced view on current affairs alongside lighter features, whether that’s the music of the 'midnight mixtape' or a debate on whether Spielberg or Scorsese is the better director.
“We do the news in a way where nobody raises their voice, nobody sensationalises, we just discuss how it affects us. But equally important in every show, I like to have something to bring us all together and make us smile.”
With a busy work life and not finishing his radio show until 1am, Murray relaxes through music, literature, jigsaws... and his pet rabbit.
“I do find time for myself. I've been trying over the last few years to catch up on books that I didn't read because I was such a wee rip at school.
“I'm reading Dracula at the moment, and I’m obsessed with jigsaws,” adds Murray, saying he builds and winds down to a soundtrack of vinyl records.
Although a lifelong Liverpool fan, and having hosted many sports programmes from Match of The Day 2 to world snooker championships, Murray says music will always be his first love.
“Football at the top level is like death by a thousand cuts. When there's only two or three teams that can win at the start of a season, then it's not really competition is it? Baseball is the only sport I'm consistently in love with, but with music an old record is never going to leave you.”
Colin Murray co-presents Food Fest Northern Ireland on BBC NI on Monday evenings and also on BBC iPlayer
