David Acton

David Acton.

David Acton first appeared on Countdown on 27 february 1996, beating Bryan Darbey 67-42 in the 42nd heat of series 31. David went on to become an octochamp, winning his seven remaining games in impressive fashion, including an 81-8 drubbing of Peter Chamberlain. With 486 points to his name, David was the clear #1 seed going into the final rounds. He defeated Kevin Fisk and Anne Bougourd on his way to the final against kenneth Michie. Despite having two words disallowed, David was still leading by 6 points going into the crucial conundrum. In 11.5 seconds, David unscrambled SUSISDENT to become the 31st champion of Countdown, and the first undefeated champion since Don Reid in series 25. However, David, being a strict vegan, famously declined the first prize of the leather-bound dictionaries, opting instead to take them in CD-ROM form, and donating the difference to a local school. David returned later in the year for Championship of Champions VIII, comfortably beating Dennis Fearon in the first round before falling to eventual winner Chris Rogers in the semi-final.

David would later return to Countdown to play a special match against Kenneth Michie, a rematch of their final. This time, Kenneth was the clear winner.

Preceded by Verity Joubert

Series winner Series 31

Followed by Alan Sinclair

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
1759	27/02/1996	P	Bryan Darbey	42 – 67	David Acton	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Stokes
1760	28/02/1996	P	David Acton	62 – 21	John Shirreffs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Stokes
1761	29/02/1996	P	David Acton	47 – 40	Joan Coker	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Jan Harvey	Catherine Stokes
1762	1/03/1996	P	David Acton	81 – 8	Peter Chamberlain	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Jan Harvey	Catherine Stokes
1763	4/03/1996	P	David Acton	52 – 44	Ed Barlow	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Jan Harvey	Catherine Stokes
1764	5/03/1996	P	David Acton	52 – 31	Liz Groombridge	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Jan Harvey	Catherine Stokes
1765	6/03/1996	P	David Acton	70 – 35	Paulinus Barnes	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Jan Harvey	Catherine Stokes
1766	7/03/1996	P	David Acton	55 – 44	Paul Parry	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Jan Harvey	Catherine Stokes
1776	21/03/1996	QF	Kevin Fisk	36 – 63	David Acton	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Rosalind Ayres	Susie Dent
1780	27/03/1996	SF	David Acton	54 – 48	Anne Bougourd	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Rosalind Ayres	Susie Dent
1782	29/03/1996	GF	David Acton	83 – 67	Kenneth Michie	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres	Susie Dent