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Allan Saldanha

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Allan Saldanha
Allan Saldanha at the 1993 UK Scrabble Championship.

Allan Saldanha is one of, if not the most famous Countdown contestants of all time.

Saldanha, from London, 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. Saldanha 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, Saldanha risked the word YOLKED, which was disallowed wrongly by the lexicographer Catherine Clarke. Whilst Saldanha would still have lost the game had it been allowed (the game went to a crucial conundrum, which Green 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 OED for Saldanha.

Saldanha 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, 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 Saldanha to the final against Harvey Freeman. In the final, however, Freeman spotted a nine-letter word that Saldanha missed in the first round, taking a lead from which Saldanha was unable to recover. Saldanha was the only person to play six games in the Supreme Championship.

Saldanha also holds the record for most televised games of Countdown broadcast – 21 in total, including his special games and Countdown Masters games. Saldanha 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.

Preceded by
Joel Salkin
Series runner-up
Series 15
Followed by
Roger Wales
Preceded by
Dennis Fearon
Series runner-up
Series 33
Followed by
Harshan Lamabadusuriya


Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
708 11/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 57 – 28 Bridgette Lagden Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 83
709 12/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 61 – 26 Billy Wright Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 73
710 13/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 57 – 26 Alan Brooker Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 73
711 14/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 65 – 23 Margaret Elliot Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 74
712 15/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 60 – 24 Antony Stafford Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 76
713 18/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 81 – 15 Katy Green Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 84
714 19/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 55 – 45 Nick Wilkes Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 69
715 20/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 54 – 40 Danny Morris Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannell 73
751 9/06/1988 QF Allan Saldanha 50 – 37 Paul Walker Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Gyles Brandreth Julia Swannell 74
755 15/06/1988 SF Allan Saldanha 42 – 38 Peter Pryer Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Gyles Brandreth Julia Swannell 74
757 17/06/1988 GF Allan Saldanha 70 – 81 Dick Green Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Richard Stilgoe,
Gyles Brandreth
Catherine Clarke 115
815 4/01/1989 CQF Allan Saldanha 45 – 53 Nita Marr Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Lucy Summers Tim Rice Catherine Clarke 84
M37 11/12/89-15/12/89 Masters 1 Tim Morrissey 83 – 100 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman N/A Freda Thornton 138
1003 2/07/1990 S Allan Saldanha 94 – 93 Tim Morrissey Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Gyles Brandreth,
Richard Stilgoe
Catherine Clarke 121
1523 4/07/1994 S Gareth Williams 62 – 99 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Denis Norden Mark Nyman 129
1884 19/11/1996 eQF Michael Wareham 20 – 69 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Barry Cryer Susie Dent 75
1886 21/11/1996 eSF Darryl Francis 24 – 83 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tom O'Connor Catherine Stokes 85
1887 22/11/1996 eF David Trace 34 – 45 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tom O'Connor Catherine Stokes 70
1903 16/12/1996 SQF Joyce Cansfield 50 – 67 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Nigel Rees Catherine Clarke 67
1906 19/12/1996 SSF Allan Saldanha 61 – 57 Tim Morrissey Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Nigel Rees Catherine Clarke 71
1907 20/12/1996 SGF Allan Saldanha 79 – 82 Harvey Freeman Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Nigel Rees Catherine Clarke 127