Hello Countdown fans! Yesterday, we saw history being made as fans' favourite Eileen Taylor, 74 years young, became the oldest octochamp in the history of the show. That means today's show will feature two new contestants. Could either of them provide a threat to Eileen or the other finalists?
C1: Challenger Richard Izzard. No relation to Eddie, he's a helpline advisor for a debt charity from near Huddersfield. He has previously worked in a wild animal park.
C2: Challenger Ian Burn. A retired software engineer from Purley on Thames, just outside Reading. He is a fan of ballroom dancing and horse racing, often getting the two mixed up.
DC: Susie Dent and Gyles Brandreth.
RR: Rachel Riley.
OT: Other words or solutions.
R01: O T Q R T E A E M
R02: D N L I O E S P I
R03: 50, 75, 9, 3, 4, 10. Target: 836.
TTT: ENDSTORY - "If you think hard enough, you'll hit the wall eventually"
R04: R L S E O E D L U
R05: O I A T G C E R T
R06: 75, 5, 10, 10, 3, 5. Target: 893.
R07: O N G T I A J H S
R08: D T S E A E N S T
R09: 50, 100, 25, 9, 4, 5. Target: 539.
TTT: ATTENDEE - "A garden, a gallery and a type of mammal"
R10: R P H I A E S N A
R11: O I R V N R A U X
R12: N S K Y E A O I D
R13: M P G M A O I R C
R14: 75, 8, 9, 10, 8, 6. Target: 893.
R15: B A D H I G E N E (conundrum)
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Round 1: O T Q R T E A E M
Richard: REMOTE (6)
Ian: METEOR (6)
OT: EMOTER (6) MATTER (6) METATE (6) OMERTA (6) ROTATE (6) TEAMER (6)
Score: 6–6 (max 6)
A very flat start to today's proceedings.
Round 2: D N L I O E S P I
Richard: NOISE (5)
Ian: SPINED (6)
DC: LIONISED (8)
Score: 6–12 (max 14)
First blood to Ian with his six but DC go two better with a darrenic eight.
Round 3: 50, 75, 9, 3, 4, 10. Target: 836.
Richard: 836. (75 + 9) x 10 - 4 (10)
Ian: 838.
Score: 16–12 (max 24)
Richard's spot on with this numbers game, meaning that he steals the lead going into the first break.
Teatime teaser: ENDSTORY -> DRYSTONE
Round 4: R L S E O E D L U
Richard: LOUDER (6)
Ian: DUELLERS (8)
OT: URODELES (8)
Score: 16–20 (max 32)
The lead changes hands again as Ian spots a great eight.
Round 5: O I A T G C E R T
Richard: GROCER X
Ian: CATTIER (7)
DC: COGITATE (8) COTTAGER (8)
Score: 16–27 (max 40)
Richard sees double but it's irrelevant anyway as Ian's lead shoots into double figures with a seven. DC mop up the eights.
Round 6: 75, 5, 10, 10, 3, 5. Target: 893.
Richard: -
Ian: 900. (3 + 10 - 5/5) x 75 (5)
RR: 892. (7)
OT: 892. (75 + 10 + 5) x 10 - 5 - 3 (7)
Score: 16–32 (max 47)
A tricky numbers game, impossible in fact. Richard blanks which allows Ian to register five more points, despite only having seven away. Rachel offers 892, which is as good as it gets.
Gyles tells a true story about the late Princess Margaret's baby and his first word was supposedly "chandelier".
Round 7: O N G T I A J H S
Richard: JOINTS (6)
Ian: JOSHING (7)
DC: AGONIST (7)
OT: GOATISH (7) HASTING (7) HOSTING (7)
Score: 16–39 (max 54)
Ian spots one of a few sevens to go further in front and he will take some stopping now.
Round 8: D T S E A E N S T
Richard: STANDEES (8)
Ian: SENATES (7)
OT: ASSENTED (8)
Score: 24–39 (max 62)
Could a recovery be on the cards for Richard? This is a very good start and he's right back in the game now.
Round 9: 50, 100, 25, 9, 4, 5. Target: 539.
Richard: -
Ian: 536. 5 x 100 + 4 x 9 (7)
RR: 539. (100 + 25 - 5) x 4 + 50 + 9 (10)
Score: 24–46 (max 72)
Richard tries three large this time in an attempt to cut the deficit further. Unfortunately for him, it works the other way as Ian scores with two away and Rachel gets it spot on.
Teatime teaser: ATTENDEE -> EDENTATE
Round 10: R P H I A E S N A
Richard: SHARPEN (7)
Ian: PARIAHS (7)
OT: PIRANHAS (8)
Score: 31–53 (max 80)
Two solid sevens from the contestants but a fishy eight goes unnoticed.
Round 11: O I R V N R A U X
Richard: VAIN (4)
Ian: RUIN (4)
DC: VARIX (5)
OT: AUXIN (5) AXION (5) NORIA (5) RAVIN (5)
Score: 35–57 (max 85)
A horrible selection in which only Gyles can manage a five.
OoW: Susie talks about the origin of the word "paragon".
Round 12: N S K Y E A O I D
Richard: SNAKED (6)
Ian: YANKED (6)
DC: DOESKIN (7)
OT: ANODISE (7) DAIKONS (7) DONKEYS (7) KIDNEYS (7) NOYADES (7) YANDIES (7)
Score: 41–63 (max 92)
Quite a few sevens available but the contestants are stuck on six.
Round 13: M P G M A O I R C
Richard: CRAMP (5)
Ian: CAMPO (5)
OT: PICARO (6)
Score: 46–68 (max 98)
Another difficult round emerges, with just one six available and no one in the studio spots it. This guarantees that Ian will win the game.
Round 14: 75, 8, 9, 10, 8, 6. Target: 893.
Richard: -
Ian: 892 X
RR: 893. (6 x 75 - 8) x (10 - 8) + 9 (10)
Score: 46–68 (max 108)
Richard draws his third numbers blank in a row while Ian seems to be on his way to seven points but he gives up after getting as far as 6 x 75. Rachel finishes it off for him.
Round 15: B A D H I G E N E
Ian buzzes on 3.5 seconds to say BEHEADING which is correct.
Final Score: 46–78 (max 118)
A fairly quick conundrum solve by Ian rounds off a decent debut performance. 78 may be a modest winning score but he certainly had some quality spots in the letters rounds. If he can improve his numbers, he could be a dangerous opponent. Richard may be regretting blanking the numbers rounds as it meant it was always going to be an uphill struggle, especially with Ian being pretty good at the letters.
Sadly there's no Countdown for the rest of the week, while next week it's only on on Monday and Tuesday too. Join Graeme on Monday to find out if Ian can build on this performance and mount a challenge for the finals. I'll be back next Tuesday for what could be his third game. See you then!
Further summaries are at:
http://www.apterous.org/cdb/series.php?series=68
