Anna Jameson & PA MediaBBC News, Lancashire
Channel 4A knife-wielding Countdown champion lunged at a rival player and stabbed him at a fan club tournament.
Jurors at Preston Crown Court heard John Cowen, 31, ran across Wainwright Social Club in Blackpool with a knife before reaching across a table to attack Thomas Carey.
Prosecutor Rosalind Scott Bell said it happened on 14 September 2024 at the Focal Countdown Group event, where ex-contestants were due to play against fans of the Channel 4 quiz show.
Judge Guy Mathieson said he had ruled Cowen unfit to stand trial and told jurors to instead determine the facts of what had happened. They found he had committed assault and had been in possession of a bladed article in a public place.
‘Grabbed defendant’s wrist’
CCTV footage capturing Cowen, a Cambridge maths graduate, entering the venue shortly after 11.30 BST was shown in court.
About 30 people were in the club’s function room at the time, including Mr Carey.
Mrs Scott Bell said: “The defendant had a knife in his left hand. You can just about make it out, glinting as he walks past the camera.
“He appears to see Mr Carey and he then breaks into a run and he goes straight for him.
“The defendant lunged across the table with his left hand going straight towards Mr Carey.
“Mr Carey was forced back on to the seat behind him and you can just about make out him trying to kick towards the defendant.
“Mr Carey then grabbed the defendant’s wrist in an endeavour to stop the assault.
“By then he had been stabbed.”
‘Mentally unwell’
The court heard Cowen was pulled away from Mr Carey by others in the room and restrained on the ground before police were called.
The victim was treated in hospital for a stab wound to his left bicep.
When Cowen was arrested he was searched and found to have another kitchen knife in his pocket, the prosecution said.
Mrs Scott Bell said Mr Carey had been a member of the Countdown fan club since 2011 and knew Cowen from other events.
Cowen, from Morecambe in Lancashire, was not present in court as jurors were told he is “seriously mental unwell” and in hospital.
He appeared on Countdown in 2017 and scored the third-highest total score during his series.
He competed in a further 11 episodes, winning eight consecutive contests, before being finally defeated.
Cowen’s sentencing hearing was adjourned to 30 September pending psychiatric reports.
