Celebrity Countdown

Celebrity Countdown was a short-lived series in 1998 that, as the title suggests, pitted celebrities against each other in a game of Countdown. The format used was a shortened version of then then-standard 9 round format: dropping a letters game from each half to reduce the total number of rounds to 7. Thus the format was half of the 14-round format used for grand finals in the 9-round era. This format had also been used in the special game played on Christmas Day 1997 between Richard Whiteley and Carol Vorderman; that show is often credited as part of the celebrity series. The show was broadcast on Thursday evenings, but only lasted for eight episodes.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
C1	23/04/1998	CC	Desmond Lynam	32 – 17	Sian Lloyd	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Magnus Magnusson	Anna Eaton	59
C2	30/04/1998	CC	Jo Brand	37 – 29	Arthur Smith	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Bamber Gascoigne	Susie Dent	60
C3	7/05/1998	CC	Edwina Currie	18 – 20	Charles Kennedy	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Roy Hattersley	Susie Dent	62
C4	14/05/1998	CC	Jilly Goolden	9 – 47	Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Patrick Lichfield	Susie Dent	58
C5	28/05/1998	CC	Ron Atkinson	39 – 27	Eamonn Holmes	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Andy Gray	Mark Nyman	61
C6	4/06/1998	CC	Jill Dando	20 – 41	Alastair Stewart	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					John Cole	Mark Nyman	79
C7	11/06/1998	CC	Loyd Grossman	20 – 23	David Steel	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Lucinda Lambton	Mark Nyman	59
C8	18/06/1998	CC	Alan Coren	35 – 29	Graeme Garden	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Matthew Parris	Susie Dent	59