TV presenter Alexander Armstrong chose to host quiz show Pointless instead of Countdown as he wanted something that would have "a bit of comedy."
The 52-year-old has presented the BBC One teatime show since it debuted in 2009.
Before joining Pointless, comedian Armstrong was asked to take over from presenter Des O'Connor on the popular Channel 4 letters and numbers game.
He told Good Morning Britain: "I did turn down Countdown. I took it very seriously, well it’s a job, I take everything seriously that I am offered.
"I felt Countdown was a very revered format and I got the sense that there wasn’t going to be a lot of leeway to muck about with it and Pointless is all mucking about really.
"I wouldn’t have been able to do both. Pointless was my little treat for saying no to Countdown, but it was a really tough call because they were such nice people and I love Countdown.
"But I wanted to do something that was a little bit more… basically I had kind of stopped doing comedy by then and I wanted something that would have a bit of comedy in it."
It's a bold move to turn down Countdown @XanderArmstrong! pic.twitter.com/2o5EjSRizX
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) August 30, 2022
Jeff Stelling, Nick Hewer and Anne Robinson have since been at the helm of Countdown, which launched in 1982.
Armstrong’s tenure at Pointless has seen him film more than 1,300 episodes and nearly 30 series alongside Richard Osman.
Osman was not originally intended to be Armstrong’s co-presenter but after filling the role as part of a demonstration laid on for the BBC, executives asked him to continue for the first series.
Source: Press Association
