Grisly and macabre or just a bit of fun? A pub I visited recently featured a huge blackboard where regulars nominate, and bet on, the celebrity they think is most likely to pop their clogs first in 2024.

Personally I took the latter view and could see the funny side of predicting who might die next, though a few cheeky locals had put money on their drinking pals to be the first to slip off a barstool!

The landlord is always keen to add new names to his roll of death, so at the cost of a few quid, I was encouraged to sign up.

But I struggled to come up with a name that wasn’t already listed. Obviously most folks mentioned are pretty ancient but I did notice a few younger people, mainly footballers, boxers and more than a few rugby players.

The trouble was, the only old people, not already mentioned, I could come up with are absolute legends, if not national treasures, and I felt guilty for even thinking of them – Mary Berry and David Attenborough.

However, I was quickly informed they’d be more than happy to take my money against any of these people, not because they’re such institutions but because they’re so healthy.

When it comes to the game of death it’s clear I’m considered to be a real amateur. In the end I had another pint and put the change on the head of Britain’s greatest naturalist, sincerely hoping I don’t collect a prize.

As I left my host wished me luck and recommended I do some research before my next visit to come up with a better prediction.

“I had another pint and put the change on the head of Britain’s greatest naturalist, sincerely hoping I don’t collect a prize...”

Looking online I discovered the DeathList 2024 with its list of 50 celebrities most unlikely to see out the year. Top spot is ex-US president Jimmy Carter (100) who’s appeared on the list nine times before. In second, dropping one place from last year, is actor Dick Van Dyke (99).

The vast majority, as you would expect, are already well advanced in years but worryingly there are a good number of relative youngsters who appear – as I say, mainly footballers, boxers, and increasingly, rugby players.

A 74-year-old Joe Bugner, who’s now in a care home with advanced dementia, received enough votes to make the list but another 74-year-old, the Welsh wizard rugby player JPR Williams, who died on Monday evening, didn’t feature.

Paul Gascoigne, aged 51, made his second appearance on the Death List in 2018 but has managed to avoid inclusion since.

But, there’s no doubting sporting men are invariably departing this mortal coil ahead of folks who choose to follow different paths.

If I do pop back to this cheery little hostelry in the future and chalk another name on the board, I’ll just go through the boxers and scrum forwards I remember from my youth.