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Forget 2016, This Website Wants This Year To Be The 12 Months Of Death

Forget 2016, This Website Wants This Year To Be The 12 Months Of Death

Kirk Douglas tops the list!

James Dawson

James Dawson

Last year might have been known as the 'year of death', but one website is hoping that 2017 will be able to one-up its predecessor by bringing the deaths of famous figures from Hugh Hefner, Robert Mugabe and Bruce Forsyth to Prince Philip and The Queen.

DeathList 2017 picks celebrities, world leaders and members of royal families who it predicts will pass away at some point in 2017. Cheery stuff.

Explaining its rules, the website states: "Candidates must be famous enough such that their death is expected to be reported by the UK media.

"Candidates cannot be famous solely for the fact they are likely to die in the near future and only 25 candidates can reappear from the previous year's list.

"2016 was billed as the year of the celebrity death by some and, although DeathList 2016 started strongly, it hit a very lean period from June to November and ended with a final score of 12, two below the all-time record of 14.

"Has the big celebrity clear-out of 2016 made the task more challenging for 2017 or will the rate of celebrity deaths continue apace? Only time will tell."

Last year, the list correctly predicted 12 out of 50 deaths (Zsa Zsa Gabor, Martin Crowe, João Havelange, King of Thailand Bhumibol Adulyadej, Richard Adams, Abe Vigoda, Liz Smith, Nancy Reagan, Fidel Castro, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Cliff Michelmore and Muhammed Ali) but its record is 14.

Credit: DeathList 2017

Topping this year's list, and therefore predicted as the most likely to snuff it, is 101-year-old actor Kirk Douglas. He suffered a severe stroke in 1996 and he has appeared on the list since 2002. But despite his ill health, he has proven a survivor and it remains to be seen whether he could make it to 2018.

Ozzy Osbourne, however, has probably defied expectations more than most. He was on the website's first ever 'death list' back in 1987 and remains alive and well.

Yesterday saw the first high-profile death of 2017, with the world's oldest killer whale, 'Granny', passing away aged 105.

RIP Granny, a whale few will forget.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images