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Difference between revisions of "Allan Saldanha"

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[[Category:Contestants in Series 33|Saldanha, Allan]]
 
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[[category:Contestants in Championship of Champions IV|Saldanha, Allan]]
 
[[category:Contestants in Championship of Champions IV|Saldanha, Allan]]
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[[Category:Prodigies|Saldanha, Allan]]

Revision as of 15:18, 4 September 2007

Allan Saldanha is one of, if not the most famous Countdown contestant of all time. Allan first appeared in the first heat of series 15 aged just nine, and he quickly rattled off eight wins, becoming an octochamp with a staggering total score of 490. Allan was #1 seed for the final rounds, and made short work of Paul Walker and Peter Pryer on his way to the final against Dick Green.

The final was one of the most controversial games in Countdown history. In the penultimate letters game, trailing by three points, Allan risked the word YOLKED, which was disallowed wrongly by the lexicographer Catherine Clarke. Whilst Allan would still have lost the game had it been allowed (the game went to a crucial conundrum, which Dick solved in 6 seconds), it was felt that the wrongful disallowing of YOLKED had had a psychological effect on the young man, and then-producer John Meade relented and bought another complete set of the ODE for Allan.

Allan played in Championship of Champions IV, but was knocked out in the first round by Nita Marr. He returned twice in subsequent years for special shows celebrating Countdown's longevity, beating Tim Morrissey in the '1000th' show and Gareth Williams in the '1500th' show. He would make his final competitive appearance on Countdown in 1996, now aged 18, to participate in the supreme championship. In the first round, he beat Michael Wareham, and equalled Steve Balment's record of 83 points in one game in the second round, crushing Darryl Francis 83-24 in a classic encounter. Further victories over David Trace, Joyce Cansfield and Tim Morrissey brought Allan to the final against Harvey Freeman. In the final, however, Harvey spotted a nine-letter word that Allan missed in the first round, taking a lead from which Allan was unable to recover.

Allan also holds the record for most televised games of Countdown broadcast- 21 in total, including his special games and Countdown Masters games. Allan would also make a cameo appearance before his brother's special game against Kate Ogilvie, recorded in 2002.

See also

Richard Saldanha, Allan's younger brother who reached the final of series 39