Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Countdown host Nick Hewer mourns death of 'my lovely barn owl' after bird flies through his bathroom window and crashes into mirror

TV presenter storing body in his freezer while he considers taxidermy

Sunday 26 August 2018 12:52 EDT
Comments
Hewer holding the deceased creature
Hewer holding the deceased creature (Twitter/Nick Hewer)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Countdown host Nick Hewer has mourned the death of a barn owl that flew through his bathroom window before crashing into a mirror.

The former adviser to Lord Sugar on The Apprentice announced the death to his fans on Twitter, describing the bird's passing as "sad".

Mr Hewer added that he was considering whether to have the owl stuffed and put on display.

Nick Hewer
Nick Hewer (Getty)

"RIP my lovely barn owl," he wrote above a picture of the barn owl clasped in his hand. "Sad," he concluded.

The news from Hewer, whose memoir is being published next month, was met with bewilderment from many social media users.

"I don't think I've ever seen a more bizarre tweet (but RIP Owl)", said one.

Another asked whether Hewer had checked if the owl was dead before he put it in the freezer.

The former public relations consultant replied with a reference to the famous Monty Python sketch: "Just as dead as Cleese's parrot, I'm afraid."

Some Twitter users attempted to pay their respects with a series of puns, while others replied with insults.

One named "Geordie Alex" corrected his spelling of "threw" to "through" and suggested he ask Susie Dent, the star of Countdown's "Dictionary Corner".

"Genuinely confused as to whether Nick Hewer putting a dead barn owl in his freezer is the tweet of 2018 we all needed or not," said Matthew Eyre.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in