Dr Tom Crawford steps into Maths Corner on Countdown

Dr Tom Crawford, a Fellow by Special Election in Maths at St Edmund Hall, is joining Countdown – the UK’s longest running game show – from Monday 24 February for three weeks.

Tom, who is also Public Engagement Lead at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education and a Lecturer in Applied Mathematics at Robinson College, Cambridge, will be in Maths Corner while Rachel Riley MBE takes a short break to work on another project. Tom is known to the internet as Tom Rocks Maths which makes elite mathematics teaching available to everyone and has a following of over 200,000 and 25 million views.

Having already spent some time with Rachel to learn the ropes, Tom began filming in December and will be seen on screen alongside lexicographer Susie Dent and host Colin Murray for the next three weeks. Sir Stephen Fry is in Dictionary Corner for Tom’s first show, with other guests including Jenny Powell and Vick Hope on screen over the next three weeks.

Rachel comments: “Countdown viewers are in great hands with Tom, who is a brilliant Mathematician and a lovely guy.”

Tom adds: “All of my work online is about sharing my love of Maths with the world whilst trying to make it accessible for everyone. Countdown has been doing that for a generation, so it really is a dream come true to be joining this iconic show to cover Rachel.”

Watch or stream Countdown every weekday afternoon from 14:10 on Channel 4. Discover more about Tom’s experiences on the show by listening to the Oxford Sparks Big Questions podcast.