The online competition to guess which famous people won't make it to the end of the current year. If they're elderly, ill, or just live a high-risk lifestyle, stick 'em in your team, and for each one whose death you correctly predict, you'll score points. DDP was dreamt up in Derby, England (hence the name...) by Big Iain back in 1996. Other hosts: Siegfried Baboon and Rude Kid (2003-7), Octopus of Odstock (2008-9), The Man in Black (2010-17), Spade Cooley (2018-19), msc (2020-21), Grim Up North (2020-22), and Reptile (2020-23). Now the Committee of DI (2022), time (2024), and Banana (2023) oversee the biggest deadpool going...

Jan Jongbloed

JONGBLOED, I CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY MIND! Dutch footballer Jan Jongbloed has died aged 82. The gloveless goalkeeper played for the Netherlands national team during the Cruyff-defined Total Football era, and was part of their back-to-back World Cup silvers in the 70s. He was unique for Time’s-up Team.   Also dead is young […]

René Weller

WALK AWAY RENÉ Boxer René Weller is down for the count aged 69. With a glamourous flair to his pugilism, he took the European Boxing Union lightweight title multiple times in the 80s. He was jailed in 1999 for drug dealing, and after his release continued to partake in exhibition matches before withering from dementia. […]

Jango Edwards

MR. NO JANGOS It’s not too often we get to go to the circus hereabouts, but rest assured the clown hearse has arrived. Only Jango Edwards’s raunchy, burlesque act was a far cry from your typical honking nose and floppy shoes. Detroit-born but mostly active in Europe, Edwards hurled insults at the audience and often […]

Roy Swetman

DON’T SWET IT Cricketer Roy Swetman has died aged 89. He was an adept wicket-keeper across 286 first-class matches though his brief Test career never really reflected his talents. He was a unique for Ashes to Ashes XI. Roy Swetman25 October 1933 – 21 July 2023, aged 89💀💀💀💀💀💀 + 👻 = 10 POINTS

Michael Parkinson

PARKINSON’S DECEASED! In perhaps the most “shame they didn’t die of Parkinson’s” missed opportunity since Jerry Lee Lewis, don of interviewers Michael Parkinson has gone upstairs for another chat with Ali. As a youth, Parky was smitten by Hollywood and played club cricket with Dickie Bird and Geoffrey Boycott. He remained lifelong friends with Bird, […]

William Friedkin

WHAT AN EXCELLENT DAY FOR AN EXORCISM! New Hollywood director William Friedkin nourished his love of film with repeat viewings of Citizen Kane and Psycho, though cut his craft with TV and documentaries for years before hitting the big screen. After an inauspicious start with a Sonny & Cher vehicle, Friedkin established himself as a […]

Robbie Robertson

TAKE A LOAD OFF, ROBBIE It’s not been the easiest past few weeks for bands named after a bird of prey – Robbie Robertson got his start with the Hawks, the backing group for rockabilly singer and pancan miracle Ronnie Hawkins. Robertson and his bandmates – Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Levon Helm […]

Sixto Rodriguez

SEARCH CALLED OFF FOR SUGAR MAN Of all the Jerry Lewis phenomena where an entertainer achieves their greatest renown outside of their home country, Sixto Rodriguez perhaps took it to the greatest extreme. Detroit-based Rodriguez released several folk rock albums in the early 70s that made all the splash of a raindrop in the Great […]

Doreen Mantle

BOTH FEET IN THE GRAVE Actress Doreen Mantle has died aged 97. After an extensive stage career that won her an Olivier Award, wider recognition came in her late 60s in the shape of Jean Warboys on One Foot in the Grave. The naïve friend of Margaret was a surprise savant at board games and […]

Jamie Reid

GOD SAVE JAMIE Graphic designer and anarchist Jamie Reid helped shape the rebellious look of punk rock with his pulpy collage style evocative of ransom notes. He most famously collaborated with the Sex Pistols, and was the brains behind their album and single covers. His vandalised Queen Elizabeth II portrait for God Save the Queen […]