Joyce Cansfield

Joyce Cansfield.

Joyce Cansfield, a housewife from Otley, was the first ever series champion of Countdown, defeating Michael Wylie 59 – 41 in the grand final of Series 1, broadcast on 16 December 1982. She later returned for Championship of Champions I, losing to Mark Nyman in the final. Joyce also appeared on the special episode to celebrate Countdown's 500th show on 2 February 1987, and competed in the Countdown Masters in 1989. In 1996 she returned for the Supreme Championship, beating Steve Balment and Jackie McLeod before succumbing to boy wonder Allan Saldanha in the series quarter-finals. Between 2002 and 2003, she filmed a 15-round game against Series 2 finalist Dixie Baird, but this is yet to be broadcast.

She first appeared on the Calendar Countdown pilot episode in 1981, but this was never broadcast.

Joyce Cansfield won the the UK National Scrabble Championship in 1980 and is the first of only two people (the other being Craig Beevers) to have been both UK Scrabble champion and Countdown series champion. She is also a long-standing setter of Times crossword puzzles.

In 2008, 26 years after she first appeared on the show, Joyce returned again to the Countdown scene for the CoNot event, organized by a fellow series winner.

Series winner Series 1

Followed by Ash Haji

Champion of Champions runner-up Championship of Champions I

Followed by Peter Evans

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
7	11/11/1982	P	John Simpson	? – 65	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult
8	15/11/1982	P	Helen Grayson	?	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
9	16/11/1982	P	Helen Grayson	?	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
27	16/12/1982	GF	Joyce Cansfield	59 – 41	Michael Wylie	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett, Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
186	16/10/1984	CQF	Joyce Cansfield	45 – 31	Christine Hunt	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Cathy Hytner	Nigel Rees	Yvonne Warberton
190	22/10/1984	CSF	Joyce Cansfield	62 – 33	Russell Byers	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Cathy Hytner	Nigel Rees	Yvonne Warberton
191	23/10/1984	CGF	Joyce Cansfield	34 – 65	Mark Nyman	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Cathy Hytner	Ned Sherrin, Nigel Rees	Yvonne Warberton
M27	2/10/89-6/10/89	Masters 1	Joyce Cansfield	102 – 58	Chris Beith	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					N/A	Freda Thornton
1878	11/11/1996	dSF	Stephen Balment	48 – 57	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Barry Cryer	Susie Dent
1880	13/11/1996	dF	Jackie McLeod	42 – 50	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Barry Cryer	Susie Dent
1903	16/12/1996	SQF	Joyce Cansfield	50 – 67	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Clarke
S(25)	Unreleased	S	Joyce Cansfield	? – ?	Dixie Baird	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Bernard Ingham	Alison Heard