Where is Dave from Eggheads? Quiz stars absence from BBC quiz series explained Mon 9 March 2

The nation’s toughest quizzing team continues to take on more members for another series of Eggheads!

The twenty-first series kicked off back in May for the 2019 season but new episodes stopped being broadcast over summer. Series 21 started airing again from Monday, September 2nd 2019. And while the usual banter and impressive knowledge was flying around, there was one thing which hadn’t been addressed: David Rainford’s absence.

David Rainford has continuously been one the fan-favourites on the show and made up one of the nine Eggheads featured on the series.

Now, news of Dave’s passing has hit this March 2020. So, what happened to David Rainford?

The Eggheads. Dave is at the top centre.

Who is David Rainford?

David ‘Dave’ Rainford is a 48-year-old Mancunian whose intelligence and sheer brain power earned him the nickname “Tremendous Knowledge Dave”.

On April 9th 2005, he wowed the nation by taking home a whopping £250,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

It was this performance that landed him a gig on the Eggheads team, replacing the Egghead legend CJ de Mooi on September 27th 2012. And he has been wowing audiences on the show with his general knowledge since then.

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Dave goes missing from Eggheads

In January 2019, David Rainford claimed his absence was due to an unconfirmed illness but that he hoped “to be back for the next series.”

However, fans began to speculate whether he would return at all as he did not return to the screen in the autumn series.

Dave continued to Tweet about the show during his January absence so we were expecting him to return post-recovery. However, when the 21st series rolled around he had still not showed up.

On August 30th, 2019 – just a few days before episodes from the new season aired – Dave said he was still recovering from his mystery illness while they recorded the series.

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Brand new Eggheads starting on Monday. I was still recuperating when these programmes were recorded, but I can promise you that there are some great shows coming up with excellent challengers that will keep you on the edge of your seats. Keep watching.

— David Rainford (@daverainy1968) August 30, 2019

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David Rainford passes away

On March 7th, 2020, news that Dave had passed away hit the headlines.

The cause of his death is still unconfirmed, however it is highly likely to be in relation to the illness which kept him from filming Eggheads.

There have been an outpouring of tributes on Twitter from his fellow quizzers and TV stars such as Jeremy Vine, Jenny Ryan and CJ de Mooi. We’re sure the entire quiz community across the UK will be shocked by this news.

Who has replaced Dave on Eggheads?

The Egghead team is made up of nine brainiacs, so there was no need for anyone to specifically step in and replace Dave.

The current lineup of Eggs includes regulars Judith Keppel, Beth Webster and Steve Cooke.

Lisa Thiel also makes appearances from time to time, as does Pat Gibson and Barry Simmons.

Pictured: Dave (Far Left) in S19 E67.

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