CHANNEL 4 quiz show Countdown is keeping up with changes to the language by swapping the print version of the Oxford English Dictionary with Oxford Dictionaries Online.
The show was launched in 1982 and the switch means the programme’s Dictionary Corner, fronted by Susie Dent, will now use oxforddictionaries.com to search for words as the contestants try to beat the famous Countdown clock.
Viewers will see the transition to the Oxford Dictionaries Online on air for the first time on Monday, June 30.
Countdown, which is Channel 4’s longest running series, is currently presented by Nick Hewer along with Rachel Riley and Ms Dent.
Ms Dent said: “While I’ll miss riffling through the printed dictionary and using Countdown’s famous pencam, I’m excited that we will now be able to reflect the very latest changes to English by using an online dictionary that’s updated every three months.
“The principles of Dictionary Corner will remain exactly the same – it’s simply the technology that is changing.”
Angus Stevenson, head of content development at Oxford Dictionaries, said: “By using Oxford Dictionaries Online, Countdown’s contestants will have access to the most up-to-date vocabulary lists.
Countdown is broadcast on Channel 4, weekdays at 2.40pm.
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