Gino Corr

Gino Corr was the runner-up of series 19. He won four games towards the very end of the series, but lost the final heat game of the series to Duncan-Dale Emberton. Nonetheless, he returned for the final rounds as #5 seed, beating Maureen Harmer and Lindsay Denyer on his way to the final. He lost the final, however, to Michael Wareham. Gino's performances, not to mention his near-legendary wit and personality, saw him return for Championship of Champions V. There, he beat Jonathan Anstey in the first round and went on to beat Lawrence Pearse in the semi-final, in the process making the most famous letters declaration never to be shown on Countdown, as can be seen here. In the final, Gino lost a close match to Irish wunderkind Tim Morrissey. Gino returned for the supreme championship in 1996, but lost to Steve Balment in the first round.