A Channel 4 Countdown champion who was accused of stabbing a rival contestant at a tournament has been ruled ‘unfit’ to stand trial by a judge.

John Cowen, 31, was arrested after allegedly attacking former Cambridge University maths student Thomas Carey with a knife at a Countdown Blackpool event in Lancashire last September.

The event is an annual tournament which puts former winners from the Channel 4 game show against each other.

Cowen, who is also a maths graduate, was charged with possession of a blade and wounding with intent. Mr Carey, aged in his 20s, was taken to hospital for treatment.

Yesterday, however, a judge at Preston Crown Court ruled that Cowen, of Morecambe, Lancashire, was unfit to stand trial based on an assessment by two psychiatrists.

Instead, a finding of fact

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