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...
LUXON DIMS Opera baritone Benjamin Luxon has sung his last aged 87. He was noted for his collaborations with Benjamin Britten, and was picked by The Fat Lady’s singing… Benjamin Luxon24 March 1937 – 25 July 2024, aged 87💀💀💀💀💀💀 + 👻 = 10 POINTS
GIRL WITH PENNY EYES Irish author Edna O’Brien has died aged 93. Her debut novel The Country Girls broke down stigmas surrounding sexual discussion in 60s Ireland, and was so controversial it was subject to bans and burnings. The acclaim won out in the end and in her latter years she received various awards from […]
BECKONING FOR BARR BBC presenter Becky Barr has died aged 46. She had been a popular regular at BBC North West Tonight until switching her trade to firefighting in 2019. A Christmastime announcement of advanced cancer had all the makings of an inspired 2025 pick, instead a canny gamble pays off for three teams, with […]
CLOWNS TO THE LEFT OF ME, CROAKERS TO THE RIGHT Surviving frontman of Stealers Wheel Joe Egan has died aged 77. After befriending Gerry Rafferty in their teens, the duo formed the folk rock group in 1972 and quickly struck gold with “Stuck in the Middle with You”. Rafferty’s presence with the group became on-and-off […]
MULL OVER Comic actor Martin Mull has died aged 80. He had worked as a satirical musician when he caught the eye of Norman Lear and was cast as a cruel wifebeater in soaps satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. His character died after being impaled on a Christmas tree star, but Mull himself became a […]
ACUTE ENGLE Astronaut Joe Engle has died aged 92. The last surviving X-15 pilot was also poised to walk on the Moon before he was swapped for Harrison Schmitt in the push to fly a scientist. He later flew on the Space Shuttle with fellow DDP24 graduate Richard Truly. He was a twin pick for […]
GRACE UNDER FIRE Archers actress Ysanne Churchman has died aged 99. She joined the radio mainstay in 1951 as the second actress to play Grace Archer, it would prove a brief-yet-pivotal tenure as Grace’s shocking death in a stable fire drew an audience of 20 million and deliberately overshadowed the launch of ITV on the […]
THE MUMMY Shortly after Anouk Aimée goes another La dolce vita alum. Yvonne Furneaux played Emma in the Fellini classic, and was considered one of the most fleshed out of the girlfriends if overshadowed by the more enigmatic Anita Ekberg and Nadia Gray. She also did Hammer horror with The Mummy and was sister to […]
GOODNIGHT IRENE Actress Roberta Taylor has died aged 76. Active over a half-century, she was best known for a duo of strong-willed roles in the new-age fad loving Irene Raymond in EastEnders and hard-drinking Inspector Gina Gold in The Bill. She was picked by The Final Bill. Roberta Taylor26 February 1948 – 6 July 2024, […]
NO HOEP Photographer Thomas Hoepker has died aged 88. He took iconic snaps of Muhammad Ali and the Berlin Wall, but was best known for a controversial picture of 9/11 in which New Yorkers were going about their day while smoke from the wreckage could be seen in the distance. Tombstone Ticklers never forgot him. […]