Update. Option 1. - This annihilates all text in the column leaving nothing. completed_tasks['Consultant'] = completed_tasks['Consultant'].str.rstrip('.#123') Option 2. - returns unhashable series list. output = completed_tasks[completed_tasks['Consultant']].str.contains(r'/\b[^\d\W]+\b/g') neither option works as the column is a list. Thanks Sayth