A STROKE survivor has begun to “Countdown” the days until he hits TV screens as a contestant on the popular quiz show.

Trevor Grundy, aged 61, had a stroke in 2009, but the determined chartered legal executive has used his love of quizzes to help keep his brain trained.

The quiz lover says he has always been good at anagrams and cannot wait to meet hosts Nick Hewer and Rachel Riley and try out the Countdown conundrum.

This is not the first quiz programme Mr Grundy has been on — he has appeared on 10 different shows over the last 25 years including The Crystal Maze, Connections and Crosswits.

Over the years Mr Grundy has won a number of different prizes including a holiday to Cyprus, a day at racing circuit Brands Hatch and £850 which he donated to Bolton Hospice.

Mr Grundy, who lives with his wife and carer Sandra, said: “I found that while I was in hospital recovering from the stroke, playing along with Countdown each day really helped to improve my faculties — including my brain.

"I had my stroke in 2009. It affected the left side of my body and mental ability somewhat.

“There is still quite a lot of prejudice against anybody that has a physical or mental disability. I want to show people that just because someone has had a stroke, it doesn’t mean the beginning of the end.”

Mr Grundy, who attends Bolton stroke group Jigsaw, is filming for the show at MediaCity in Salford Quays this weekend ready for broadcast on March 31.