Ann Dibben

Ann Dibben in Series 74.

Ann Dibben was an octochamp in and the runner-up of Series 74 who débuted in Series 18. Notably, her performances in the Series 74 finals (in terms of knockout stages reached, tie-broken by highest scores, and excluding Championship of Champions appearances) make her the most successful female contestant in the history of the 15 round format.

Dibben initially appeared on Countdown in Series 18 in 1989 under her maiden name, Ann Rutter, winning one game and unseating three-time champion Mark Pont before being stopped by David Ware. In April 2016, she was readmitted to the show and made a much greater mark, becoming an octochamp, notching up a total of 884 points and never falling below 99 in any single game. She was the only woman to win a game in Series 74.

This run was successful enough to allow Dibben to enter the series finals in June as #3 seed. Here, her first opponent was the octochamp and Apterite Tim Down. Dibben maintained a narrow lead for most of the game, but Down achieved a perfect solution on the final four large numbers game to lead 106 – 97 going into the crucial conundrum. Roughly one second before the end of time, Dibben solved MAGICPORT to win by just one point. In the semi-finals, Dibben was again placed in a close matchup, this time against Robin McKay, and yet again she prevailed by a single point on a crucial conundrum, this one being unsolved. Finally, Dibben took on Paul Erdunast in the series grand final, and despite Erdunast having spotting UROKINASE in Round 1, she came back with PHOBIAS and managed to stick quite closely behind his score, remaining in contention until Erdunast sealed victory prior to the last numbers game. However, Dibben had the last word by unravelling the conundrum HOLYCIGAR in two seconds to lose 116 – 105 and become the first woman to have ever scored a century in a series grand final.

Dibben will return to Countdown in January 2019 to participate in the Championship of Champions XV as the tournament’s only female player. She will do battle with John Cowen in the first round.

Preceded by Matthew Tassier

Series runner-up Series 74

Followed by Andrew Macleod

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
900	23/08/1989	P	Ann Rutter	63 – 59	Mark Pont	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Brian Johnston	Della Thompson	76
901	24/08/1989	P	Ann Rutter	38 – 40	David Ware	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Brian Johnston	Della Thompson	74
6342	12/04/2016	P	Tom Coward	55 – 117	Ann Dibben	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	153
6343	13/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	107 – 45	Ashton Gardner	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	133
6344	14/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	99 – 33	John Billitteri	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	124
6345	15/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	118 – 60	Paul Lonsdale	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	131
6346	18/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	102 – 54	Ben Manuell	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	129
6347	19/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	112 – 63	Neville Spiers	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	124
6348	20/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	101 – 37	Sean Taylor	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	130
6349	21/04/2016	P	Ann Dibben	128 – 28	Nick Ferguson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dave Myers	Susie Dent	145
6380	20/06/2016	QF	Ann Dibben	107 – 106	Tim Down	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	127
6383	23/06/2016	SF	Robin McKay	112 – 113	Ann Dibben	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	144
6384	24/06/2016	GF	Paul Erdunast	116 – 105	Ann Dibben	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Dr Phil Hammond	Susie Dent	135