Derek Coombs

Derek Coombs

Derek Coombs first appeared on Countdown on 16 July 1990, beating his opponent Richard Hooke 42-37 in the 10th heat of Series 20. he beat a further seven opponents to become the only octochamp of the series, and duly returned for the final rounds as #1 seed. After inflicting a heavy defeat on Denys Hollis in the quarter-finals and beating Maurice Binks in the semis, he faced Liz Barber in the final. Trailing by one point going into the conundrum, Derek buzzed in on 18 seconds and looked to have won it, but his answer was incorrect. Liz also answering the conundrum incorrectly later on proved to be academic- Derek had lost the game, and the series, by a single point. oddly, Derek did not return for Championship of Champions V at the start of the next series, instead returning in 1993 for Championship of Champions VI, where he was beaten in the first round by Fiona Willis. Derek would return to Countdown once more in 1996 for the Supreme Championship, where he was beaten in the first round by John Clarke.

In Derek's seventh game, he scored 72 points, which was the highest score of the series, even including the 14 round grand final.

Preceded by Gino Corr

Series runner-up Series 20

Followed by Jackie McLeod

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
1013	16/07/1990	P	Richard Hooke	37 – 42	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Gyles Brandreth	Della Thompson
1014	17/07/1990	P	Derek Coombs	56 – 15	Pat Daines	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Gyles Brandreth	Della Thompson
1015	18/07/1990	P	Derek Coombs	57 – 30	Neil Kendall	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Gyles Brandreth	Della Thompson
1016	19/07/1990	P	Neil Rich	49 – 58	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Eve Pollard	Simon Mason
1017	20/07/1990	P	Duncan Dale-Emberton	33 – 63	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Eve Pollard	Simon Mason
1018	23/07/1990	P	Mollie Haigh	18 – 68	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Eve Pollard	Simon Mason
1019	24/07/1990	P	Colin Blumen	44 – 72	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Eve Pollard	Simon Mason
1020	25/07/1990	P	Kevin Roberts	44 – 46	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Eve Pollard	Simon Mason
1061	20/09/1990	QF	Derek Coombs	69 – 10	Denys Hollis	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Simon Williams	Simon Mason
1065	26/09/1990	SF	Derek Coombs	51 – 34	Maurice Binks	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Tim Rice	Simon Mason
1067	28/09/1990	GF	Derek Coombs	66 – 67	Liz Barber	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Tim Rice, Gyles Brandreth	Simon Mason
1329	5/01/1993	CQF	Derek Coombs	54 – 64	Fiona Willis	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Richard Stilgoe	Susie Dent
1857	11/10/1996	aQF	John Clarke	58 – 52	Derek Coombs	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Susie Dent