‘Pointless’ has garnered all the headlines this week with its change of roles for hosts Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman, but something equally dramatic appears to have happened on ‘Eggheads’, without anyone noticing.
If you’re wondering what’s happened to host Dermot Murnaghan, you’re not the only one… and now it’s been confirmed that the original presenter has quietly left the show, without any kind of farewell fanfare.
Dermot had fronted the demanding quiz show - inviting wannabe boffins to test their wits against some of the biggest brains in the country - since its inception since 2003, but had been sharing hosting duties with Jeremy Vine since 2008.
The pair have both been in the seat ever since, meaning viewers were slow to spot Dermot’s absence, but keen-eyed fans have noticed he’s been gone for more than a year, and now the Sun confirms his departure is permanent.
The newspaper quotes his agent confirming that Dermot has quit the show due to his busy schedule, including his news anchoring duties for Sky News. However, everyone seems happy enough with Jeremy, seen as more of a ‘BBC fit’, with his show on Radio 2, work on ‘Panorama’ and, of course, last year’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.
This is the second high-profile departure from ‘Eggheads’ in a year.
One of the show’s favourite brainboxes CJ de Mooi announced in May that he was quitting the hit quiz show, to focus on his career in acting.
The professional quizzer announced news of his departure on Twitter, revealing he wants to become an actor in South Africa.