'Countdown' is set to return in July.

Rachel Riley

Rachel Riley

The long-running game show - hosted by Nick Hewer, maths whizz Rachel Riley and word guru Susie Dent - will be back on TV screens in the coming months, but the programme will be filmed without a studio audience due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Rachel, 34, told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "There is a provisional date for July. When we go back we won't have any audience unfortunately. But like the rest of the country we are just going to play it by ear.

"When we are in the studio we should be able to be socially distance as there is the space. The space in the studio is OK, we can mic ourselves up."

Nick, 76, is at a higher risk of contracting the respiratory disease due to his age and should be self-isolating at home.

However, he won't allow the pandemic to stop him from getting into the studio.

He said: "I will go back happily to the studio if not cautiously, I will keep my distance. But nothing will stop 'Countdown'.

"You can trust over-70s to be responsible, they know their vulnerability."

Meanwhile, Des Lynam - who joined 'Countdown' in 2005 - recently revealed he quit the show after one year because he was bored.

At the time, he said that travelling from West Sussex to Leeds to film the show was just too tiring.

But, he recently admitted: "In truth, I just got so bored doing it.

"We'd record five shows a day but, as the host, I didn't have enough to do. I thought 'I can't do this for another two years, it will kill me.'"

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