Channel 4 Countdown champion accused of stabbing rival contestant ruled ‘unfit to stand trial’

John Cowen, who is accused of stabbing a contestant, pictured on Countdown in 2019 (Picture: Channel 4)

A Channel 4 Countdown champion who was accused of stabbing a rival contestant at a tournament has been ruled ‘unfit’ to stand trial by a judge.

John Cowen, 31, was arrested after allegedly attacking former Cambridge University maths student Thomas Carey with a knife at a Countdown Blackpool event in Lancashire last September.

The event is an annual tournament which puts former winners from the Channel 4 game show against each other.

Cowen, who is also a maths graduate, was charged with possession of a blade and wounding with intent. Mr Carey, aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital for treatment.

Yesterday, however, a judge at Preston Crown Court ruled that Cowen, of Morecambe, Lancashire, was unfit to stand trial based on an assessment by two psychiatrists.

Instead, a finding of fact hearing will take place before a jury today, Judge Guy Mathieson told the court.

The 31-year-old has been ruled as ‘unfit’ to stand trial after the alleged attack (Picture: Channel 4) Cowen was charged with possession of a blade and wounding with intent (Picture: Channel 4)

Not guilty pleas are said to be entered on his behalf.

Cowen appeared in court through a videolink from a secure psychiatric unit where he is being treated.

The 31-year-old made his debut on the Channel 4 show in 2017, scoring the third highest total of the whole series.

He narrowly missed out on joining the 800 club by 1 point, however, but achieved four centuries.

After winning all eight of his heat games to become an octochamp, he appeared in the series finals as the third seed in December 2017.

Mr Carey, from Bingley, West Yorkshire, is also a celebrated octochamp who made his debut on the show two years before Cowen in June 2015 when he was a sixth form student.

The alleged attack came at an annual tournament which puts former winners from the Channel 4 game show against each other (Picture: Channel 4)

He topped the series rankings as the number one seed with 923 points from eight straight wins.

In addition to this, he was the first contestant since 1986 to answer all eight conundrums correctly, but was later eliminated at the semi-final stage before the grand final.

Mr Carey was also number three on the leaderboard going into last year’s event, which he won in 2022, but did not participate in the opening round after the alleged attack on September 14 last year.

In January 2019, Mr Carey and Cowen took part in the Championship of Champions XV series, but were both knocked out at the quarter final stage before they could meet.

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