1. Susan Dent was born on November 1964 and is an English lexicographer, etymologist and media personality.
17 Facts About Susie Dent
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Susie Dent has appeared in "Dictionary Corner" on the Channel 4 game show Countdown since 1992.
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Susie Dent appears on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, a post-watershed comedy version of the show.
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Susie Dent was educated at the Marist Convent in Ascot, an independent Roman Catholic day school, with a term at Eton College to study for Oxbridge entrance exams.
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Susie Dent went on to Somerville College, Oxford, to read for a BA in modern languages, then to Princeton University to read for a master's degree in German.
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Susie Dent is well known as the resident lexicographer and adjudicator for the letters rounds on Channel 4's longest-running game show, Countdown.
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Susie Dent began working on Countdown in 1992 at the insistence of her boss, Simon, at Oxford University Press.
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Susie Dent had recently switched roles to work on compiling English dictionaries, having previously worked on bilingual dictionaries.
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Susie Dent is the longest-serving member of the show's current on-screen team, first appearing in 1992; she has since made more than 5,000 appearances.
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Susie Dent appeared as herself in an episode of the BBC sitcom Not Going Out.
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In 2019, Susie Dent launched the gold award podcast, Something Rhymes With Purple, co-hosted with her friend Gyles Brandreth; they have followed this up with their live theatre stage residencies using the same formula as their podcast.
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In 2023, Susie Dent embarked on a solo tour, The Secret Lives of Words.
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Susie Dent co-wrote a romantic radio drama with Peter Souter, Only One Word for Love, that was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 ahead of Valentine's Day in 2025.
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Susie Dent has been honorary vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading since 2016, as well as an Honorary Fellow and vice-president of the Chartered Institute of Linguists since 2023.
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Susie Dent was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to literature and to language.
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From 2003 to 2007, Susie Dent was the author of a series of yearly Language Reports for the Oxford University Press.
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Susie Dent was married to Paul Atkins, a teacher, and has two daughters.