Death happens. Why not make it interesting?
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, first tenure), The Man in Black (2010-17), Spade Cooley (2018-19), msc (2020-21), Grim Up North (2020-22), Reptile (2020-23), and Death Impends (2022-2025). Now the Committee of Banana (2023), time (2024), the returning Octopus of Odstock (2026) and the deadpooling equivalent of a gap year temp Marlfox (2026) oversee the biggest deadpool going...
X MARX THE SPOT Surgeon Clare Marx has put down her scalpel aged 68. A longtime orthopaedic surgeon with the NHS, she became a “first female X” multiple times in recent years, as the first female president of Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2014 and then the first female chair of the General […]
FINAL CONCERT FOR THE PIANO GRANDAD Unlikely meme star Alan Melinek has died aged 86. After the cancer death of his wife in 2006, he turned to playing the piano to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Videos of him performing were posted to TikTok, and made him a viral phenomenon under the “Piano Grandad” […]
ALL IN WITH ALLAM Former Hull City owner Assem Allam has died aged 83. The Egyptian-born businessman took control of the Tigers in 2010, when they were on precarious second tier grounds. Under his ownership the team’s fortunes turned around with a return to the Premier League, but his standing fell with the fans in […]
MOURNIN’ NORMAN Footballer Maurice Norman has died aged 88. He was most prolific as a centre half for the Tottenham Hotspurs, where he scored 16 goals. His couple dozen appearances for the England international team included the 1962 World Cup, where he was memorably outjumped by Garrincha during the quarter final. His career ended prematurely […]
DOWNSTAIRS Actress Meg Wynn Owen has died aged 82. She was best known as secretary Hazel Bellamy in popular period drama Upstairs, Downstairs, whose working with the upper crust clashed with her middle-class parents. Other roles included Doctor Who and Love, Actually. She suffered from dementia in her later years, and, in horrid circumstances, was […]
BONY MARONI Italian politician Roberto Maroni has died aged 67. A familiar presence in Italian right-wing politics with unmistakable red glasses, he was a key figure in the Lega Nord party and often cropped up in Berlusconi cabinets. To the side he was a keen pianist, and a rare government official to openly admit to […]
SCUPHAM SCUPPERED Poet Peter Scupham has died aged 89. He began publishing his poetry in the 70s, and his personal favourite of his books was The Air Show, which harkened to his childhood and paid tribute to his parents. Fittingly for our purposes, he also had an affinity for invoking ghosts. Though he died in […]
HIS AMAZING RACE HAS RUN He was from a different reality TV show entirely so I can’t even copy and paste the same obit. The Amazing Race participant Don St. Claire has died aged 87. As part of a team with his wife, he was one of the oldest participants on the show. He was […]
HOGAN’S ZEROED The last major original player of the Hogan’s Heroes stead has escaped from Stalag 13. Frenchman Robert Clary portrayed patriotic chef Corporal LeBeau, among the POWs who helped Colonel Hogan outwit the bumbling Nazi guards led by Colonel Klink. LeBeau’s culinary aptitude often persuaded would-be Klink allies to assist team Hogan, and his […]
YOU’VE LOST THAT LIVIN’ PHELAN… In 2011, a young Irishwoman named Vicky Phelan underwent a smear test that indicated no abnormalities. Three years later, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. An audit unveiled the smear test was a false negative, but Phelan did not know this for another 15 months. She refused to stay quiet, […]
