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Michael Calder (Series 42)

From Countdown
Michael Calder (Series 42)
Octochamp Statistics
Final positionChampion
Seeding2
Points total462
Conundrums solved5 (+2 tiebreaks)
For other people called Michael Calder, see Michael Calder.

Michael Calder was an octochamp in and the champion of Series 42, and a participant in Championship of Champions XI. Although his nameplate said Michael, he was referred to throughout as Mike.

He first appeared on Countdown on 31 January 2000, beating Peter Hindes 59 – 49 in a nail-biting game, only triumphing after a sudden death conundrum. Calder went on to win a further 7 games, including another via a sudden death conundrum, and returned for the final rounds as an octochamp and No. 2 seed.

He first beat Helen Wrigglesworth in the quarter-finals 55 – 29, with Calder spotting FLEAPIT, RANCHEROS and the conundrum DOWORDFIT. In the semi-final, the words MORTICES and INJURED allowed him to avoid a crucial conundrum against Terence O'Farrell, which was all the less controversial because the solution to the conundrum was in fact an invalid word (SCRAPHEAP). This brought him to a final showdown with John Hastings. In the final, Calder got off to a roaring start, taking an 18 – 0 lead by declaring the brilliant 9-letter word MYOGLOBIN — statistically, the least probable nine-letter word ever spotted on Countdown. [1] Calder eventually won by a score of 101 – 72, becoming a Xicount and the champion of the 42nd series in the process.

Calder was invited back for Championship of Champions XI in 2003, and had the distinction of playing the first ever game on the purple-and-pink set that would be used on Countdown for six years. Unfortunately, he was beaten by Loz Sands, with the main difference between the two being Sands' taking 22 points on the numbers games to Calder's 0.

Preceded by
Scott Mearns
Series winner
Series 42
Followed by
Graham Nash

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
2699 31/01/2000 P Peter Hindes 49 – 59* Michael Calder Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Don Black Susie Dent 70
2700 1/02/2000 P Michael Calder 64 – 40 Carol Hogan Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Don Black Susie Dent 74
2701 2/02/2000 P Michael Calder 56* – 46 Clarissa Caröe Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Don Black Susie Dent 72
2702 3/02/2000 P Michael Calder 50 – 46 Gerry Ratzin Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tim Rice Susie Dent 84
2703 4/02/2000 P Michael Calder 64 – 37 Sue Meredith Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tim Rice Susie Dent 72
2704 7/02/2000 P Michael Calder 54 – 49 Daniel Green Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tim Rice Susie Dent 74
2705 8/02/2000 P Michael Calder 58 – 32 Marjorie Clark Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tim Rice Susie Dent 72
2706 9/02/2000 P Michael Calder 57 – 47 Andrew Hulme Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tim Rice Susie Dent 74
2792 13/06/2000 QF Michael Calder 55 – 29 Helen Wrigglesworth Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Ned Sherrin Damian Eadie 95
2796 22/06/2000 SF Michael Calder 55 – 40 Terence O'Farrell Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Joan Bakewell Damian Eadie 72
2797 23/06/2000 GF Michael Calder 101 – 72 John Hastings Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Joan Bakewell Damian Eadie 126
3390 6/01/2003 CP Michael Calder 60 – 77 Loz Sands Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Martin Jarvis Susie Dent 127
* includes 10 points from a tie-break conundrum