Sean

He is a really interesting pick and is on a few early Ddp contenders lists.He is in remission but clearly reckons his number is up.

Must be.Cant believe they concluded he might not die.

I put him on my shadowlist.Former Man United, Celtic player and Republic of Ireland international.Obit guaranteed.

McCain however hasn't been seen in public for several weeks so I reckon he will go before Tessa.

I dunno August sounds about right.Remember Gbm patients normally have several months of being housebound/ bedridden.

That is more a celeb phenomenon not that of public figures.I kind of think the tabloids would avoid it.After all she isn't a former Pm.We shall see.

Because I have no idea who he is despite being a prolific deadpooler.

I reckon that will be the last time we see her in public.

Smith's death puts me at 214 points.

Greg Gilbert was born on 7th December.

Watching her stutter repeatedly is difficult.

Speaking in the Lords about cancer.Clearly struggling with speech.

Tessa live on BBC News right now.

He was diagnosed in September 2015 and still is physically fit going on long walks still.Dementia typically lasts well over 3 years.

The Fall`s last ever show.Very hard to watch.Had I seen this last year he would have been on all my lists.

Well done to Joey who wins again with Mark E Smith.My picks this time round: Morgan Tsvangirai Paul Alcock Ian Martin George Alagiah Liam Miller

Smith is the 20th Name to die whose lifespan was within the Queens reign.

The 17 most likely to die and break the record: 1)Leah Bracknell:16 months into a stage 4 lung diagnosis and reliant on shamanism.Enough said. 2)Tessa Jowell:Glioblastoma diagnosed 8 months ago.No conventional treatment options left.Can no longer speak fluently clearly thinner and frailer also. 3)John McCain:Glioblastoma 6 onths in.Not been seen in congress for awhile.Reports of second tumor. 4)Billy Graham:Parkinsons persistent infections on Oxygen since 2011 and bedridden.Eyesight and hearing also failing. 5)Herman Wouk:Nearly 103 and wheelchair and oxygen cylinder bound.Sold his house. 6)Clive James:Has had emphysema leaukemia and kidney failure since January 2010.Has been in and out of hospital has brought a wheelchair and has near enough stopped working. 7)Jill Gascoine:Has been in a nursing home for several years in the late stages of dementia.By all accounts is not aware of anything.Also had kidney cancer in 1997. 8)George H.w Bush:Parkinsonism and persistent respiratory infections. 9)Barbara Bush:Several previous infections and reliant on a nasal canula. 10)Leslie Philips:Had a stroke several years ago as well as a non malignant growth on his nose.Had a seizure and suffered a cardiac arrest in 2015.Pictured in a wheelchair looking extremely frail in 2016. 11)Kirk Douglas:Had major stroke in 1996 affecting speech.Was ina wheelchair at recentgolden globes ceremony.Also incrediblly ancient. 12)Bob Dole:Recent hospitalisation and looks very gaunt and frail.Has problems with eyes and arthritis. 13)Javier Perez de Cuellar:98 wheelchair bound and reportedly has memory problems. 14)Neil Simon:Reportedly mute from dementia as of August 2017.Had a kidney transplant in 2004. 15)Stirling Moss:Spent 134 days in Hospital last year.Retired from public life after a lack of recovery.Seems similar to Bruce Forsyth. 16)Prunella Scales:Has had dementia for nearly two decades.Hints of deterioration at the last series of Great Canal Journey`s. 17)Valerie Harper:Metastatic lung cancer now in the meninges.Hints last year that treatment was no longer working or at least losing effectiveness.

Bracknell McCain and Jowell are certs.All the others are in real danger.Herman Wouk looked like he was too frail to do anything for himself last year.Bob Dole looks like he has already died.Billy Graham is a mystery to us all and is becoming the New Zsa Zsa.Clive James likewise is becoming incredible for his longevity.He has clearly gone downhill a lot though.Simon was said to be mute from Alzheimers in August and Gascoine is also in the late stages of the disease.Moss is clearly very damaged by recent illnesses.Bush senior has had more hospitalizations than I care to remember.All the others are either so old or very frail.Hey maybe the record can still be broken.

Nice overview of his life for those unfamiliar with him.

Smith`s death in my view leaves the list in a good position.As one of the most risky picks Smith was by no means a cert and was one of the youngest names on the list.With certs such as Bracknell Jowell and McCain advanced dementia sufferers such as Gascoine Scales and Simon and very old and ill names such as Wouk Graham Bush Senior Moss Barbara Bush Dole and Leslie Phillips ,and the extreme age of many candidates this could shape up to be a decent year.I doubt the DL record will be matched let alone beaten but there is still potential for a decent year with maybe 14 hits.

Love the fact that his tag says fallen.Nice touch.

The only picks I feel on my DDP main team that are dodgy are Gazza and Ami Brown.Gazza I figured would be on the Drop 40 (which he is) and at his age I could justify keeping him on that basis.Ami is a strange case.Yes it looks from the outside like a clear hoax but the footage and pictures of her during her cancer treatment convinced me that she was seriously ill.You cannot fake that level of deterioration in terms of weight loss and complexion.Also the Brown`s are weird and strike me as not being overly trusting of Doctors.The only pick that I reluctantly dropped was Hawking but at his age and the fact he is such an outlier meant I did not think he had either enough points or likelihood of dying to justify him a place.

For me it was the uncertainty.Yes he was ill but we didn`t know what.This year I went with primarily ALS sufferers advanced cancer sufferers and Gazza .with Smith yeah I guessed he was seriously ill but could not be sure.

Interesting you say that.When his 60th Birthday bash was held a week ago there seemed a sense it was a farewell night more than a birthday party.Also he broke his pelvis quite a while ago so perhaps his use of a wheelchair is due to something more.That being said as he was drinking on the night maybe it was a precautionary measure.