Countdown host Colin Murray's Northern Ireland roots and how he was born with a different name

Colin, who has been announced as the permanent host of Countdown, was called Luke Wright until "a family member pointed out that was a direction" as in ‘look right’. He later took on his stepfather’s surname – Murray.

It was during the September 5 edition of Countdown last year that he explained the naming conundrum.

Colin grew up in the Ballybeen estate in Dundonald and went to Regent House though as he revealed in an interview with the Independent he was “politely asked to leave” the grammar school for being a disruptive influence in class.

He got his first taste of journalism as a trainee with the News Letter before leaving for Canada in 1994 to write for the Toronto Sun.

Colin has gone on to host shows on the BBC, Channel 5 and TalkSport, but he was to become a household name in 2003 when he was paired with Edith Bowman on Radio 1. This after he had made a name for himself locally on Radio Ulster.

Colin has been named the new permanent host of Countdown after acting as “caretaker” for the past half-year.

The 45-year-old has fronted the long-running Channel 4 game show since Anne Robinson stepped down last summer.

Channel 4’s head of daytime and features, Jo Street, said the broadcaster had “listened to the fans” and decided to keep him on as its “permanent host”.