c4countdown

The dictionaries, that is.

While they may be a wonderful prize if you own a mansion, there aren't many champions these days who appear to be so fortunate. One suspect most are destined for the winner's mum's attic. Or do people donate them to schools or universities? And now that there's a trophy, is there anyone prepared to admit they'd rather have had the loser's cheque, and a small replica trophy to put on the mantelpiece next to the teapot?

Chris Davies has got mine

It's always struck me as a very cruel prize. If your vocabulary's good enough to win a series of Countdown, your friends probably have trouble understanding you already, without you having a huge multi-volume dictionary to absorb.

Mine are in my old bedroom at my mum's place. They currently languish under the bed; only one box was ever opened just to see what they looked like. I did try and flog them, on ebay, but it was around Christmas and no-one seemed particularly interested.

Mine are on a bookshelf in my living room- though I admit they've not been touched in a long while.

When I played in the final I wanted to win of course but mainly due to competitive nature and the overall prestige and history of the show. The prospect of getting the dictionaries added pretty much zero value to my desire to win, and prize wise I was far happier with the money tbh

Basically what I'm saying is, I let you win Chris

I think the vegan champion who refused them on ethical grounds got a better prize, as the CD-ROM given in lieu is of more practical use.
By the way. I do own a copy of the compact edition, which I found secondhand for £14, though I've not opened it recently, having signed up for free access via the Manchester City Libraries site.

Mine are in the storage space under my bed - I haven't even unwrapped all of the volumes yet.

Peter Mabey wrote:I think the vegan champion who refused them on ethical grounds got a better prize, as the CD-ROM given in lieu is of more practical use.
By the way. I do own a copy of the compact edition, which I found secondhand for £14, though I've not opened it recently, having signed up for free access via the Manchester City Libraries site.

It was good that he was able to act on his veganism.[/Meakin]

Gavin Chipper wrote:

Peter Mabey wrote:I think the vegan champion who refused them on ethical grounds got a better prize, as the CD-ROM given in lieu is of more practical use.
By the way. I do own a copy of the compact edition, which I found secondhand for £14, though I've not opened it recently, having signed up for free access via the Manchester City Libraries site.

It was good that he was able to act on his veganism.[/Meakin]

If there's a vegan winner, does Channel 4 still have to pay for the dictionaries, or are they on sale or return? Or are they free anyway, considering all the free publicity the OED gets from the programme?

David Roe wrote:If there's a vegan winner, does Channel 4 still have to pay for the dictionaries, or are they on sale or return? Or are they free anyway, considering all the free publicity the OED gets from the programme?

They're not ordered until after the finals. The ones shown on screen are the same display model they've had since 1982 (or so Dudley always says, although he is not well known for his factual accuracy).

Charlie Reams wrote:

David Roe wrote:If there's a vegan winner, does Channel 4 still have to pay for the dictionaries, or are they on sale or return? Or are they free anyway, considering all the free publicity the OED gets from the programme?

They're not ordered until after the finals. The ones shown on screen are the same display model they've had since 1982 (or so Dudley always says, although he is not well known for his factual accuracy).

I was told they were Damian Eadie's, unless I have dreamed this, he sold them back to the show when they needed new dictionaries to display. The man is a fucking legend!

David Roe wrote:If there's a vegan winner, does Channel 4 still have to pay for the dictionaries, or are they on sale or return? Or are they free anyway, considering all the free publicity the OED gets from the programme?

In the case of David Acton they donated the financial equivalent to a charity of his choosing. I think he chose a local school.

Charlie Reams wrote:

David Roe wrote:If there's a vegan winner, does Channel 4 still have to pay for the dictionaries, or are they on sale or return? Or are they free anyway, considering all the free publicity the OED gets from the programme?

They're not ordered until after the finals. The ones shown on screen are the same display model they've had since 1982 (or so Dudley always says, although he is not well known for his factual accuracy).

Unlikely that they've had them since 1982. The OED only extended to 20 volumes with the publication of the Second Edition which came out in 1989.

Lucy Gowers wrote:
Unlikely that they've had them since 1982. The OED only extended to 20 volumes with the publication of the Second Edition which came out in 1989.

Erm, I think I answered that one.

Lucy Gowers wrote:Unlikely that they've had them since 1982. The OED only extended to 20 volumes with the publication of the Second Edition which came out in 1989.

Good point. Dudley's other claims include "they're only playing for a teapot" (throughout the finals and CoC) and "we've got all our past octochamps here" (any time he sees someone who's been to the studio before).

Charlie Reams wrote:

Lucy Gowers wrote:Unlikely that they've had them since 1982. The OED only extended to 20 volumes with the publication of the Second Edition which came out in 1989.

Good point. Dudley's other claims include "they're only playing for a teapot" (throughout the finals and CoC) and "we've got all our past octochamps here" (any time he sees someone who's been to the studio before).

Kirk also has the Champion of Champion's title.

Ryan Taylor wrote:

Charlie Reams wrote:

Lucy Gowers wrote:Unlikely that they've had them since 1982. The OED only extended to 20 volumes with the publication of the Second Edition which came out in 1989.

Good point. Dudley's other claims include "they're only playing for a teapot" (throughout the finals and CoC) and "we've got all our past octochamps here" (any time he sees someone who's been to the studio before).

Kirk also has the Champion of Champion's title.

Kirk has about 8 champion of champions titles according to Dudley.

I think Dudley did notice that me and Josh were brothers, so he must have some power of observation in him.