Is it true that DOND is extending to 65 minutes from January 3rd? All the moanies on the DS Forums DOND Thread are moaning about it.

Yep. They've added an extra break into the show (similar to the way today's game is) but it's more likely to be a 60 minute show with breaks.

Yeah all the moanies are moaning that it's dragged out long enough already and Countdown is so much better than it blah de blah de blah

There is some funny stuff that sometimes gets edited out of the show so it might make it funnier to watch.

The RadioTimes website seems to have DoND down as being on from 15:55 - 17:00 from Monday 3rd January. Not sure what's happening with the weekend shows.

The old shows were on as 16:10 - 17:00 though. You can factor an ad-break into that to account for the other 5 minutes.

Indeed, the "17:00" is actually the start of the next programme, and not necessarily the end of the previous one.

Is this a permanent thing, or just something that's happening while Countdown's off air? For the week beginning 3rd January, Come Dine With Me is in the 14:55 - 15:55 slot. Will this slot be taken up by Countdown?

If you watch Countdown which seems you don't, at the last show of the current series they said it was moving to a new slot of 3:10pm.

I think it's permanent. Also the More 4 evening repeat seems to have disappeared (at least for the week starting 3rd January).

I'm always at work when the main C4 showing is on, so if they cancel the More4 repeat, I'll only be able to catch it on 4OD from the New Year.

I guess if you're the kind of person who just wants the show to get on with the game, then it's kind of irritating. I personally like that they've done this. There's more room to play with banter, and the more agonising decisions can feel tenser because the editing team don't have to make the decision seem rushed.

It looks like they are moving the repeat to mid-afternoon the next day on More 4. Odd but perhaps they weren't getting the viewing figures in the slot. Like you said, thank goodness for 4OD but it won't be the same.

I've mixed views on this - yes, it will allow for more banter and more tension on the big decisions, but inevitably you will get games that drag on a bit. I think they've done it mainly to generate more revenue from having the extra break. There may also be the potential for primetime editions.

In other news, there may be a graphics change for the new year...

I reckon the change will be even more fundamental - to ensure there are fewer "dragged out" games and more "big decisions", there'll be an even greater stigma against early deals, and the ADP will move from 8- to 5-box.

If we must have that, I'd far rather see permanent 4- and 3-box decisions so that at least each game has more than two realistic exit points!!

Everyone suggested it would mean starting the next game at the end, if that's what it is, that will be cool.

RadioTimes now has the Sunday 9th Jan show listed for 16:30 - 17:35. Don't know if this will be a permanent slot for Sundays, or whether it'll shift about at the weekend like it usually does.

Very much doubt it. Weekdays are a fixed slot where as Sundays aren't. Though always expect it around that time.

This new kind of extended time slot sounds alright, but it does have its flaws

Don't know how they'd pad out a game like Nikki Tucker's or Derek Brown's either to be honest!

There's a heck of a lot of Noel/wing banter that normally ends up on the cutting room floor that could be added.