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. Cansfield 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 Cansfield returned for the Supreme Championship. She entered the event at the group semi-final level, having received a bye. Her first game was against Steve Balment, and although Balment solved the conundrum NAMIBIAPH Cansfield emerged the winner. She next played Jackie McLeod in a closer game, in which she looked in danger of a crucial conundrum but avoided it when McLeod missed a tricky 901 target. However, Cansfield succumbed to boy wonder Allan Saldanha in the series quarter-final when he achieved a perfect score.

Between 2002 and 2003, she filmed a 15-round game against Series 2 finalist Dixie Baird, but this is yet to be broadcast. In 2008, 26 years after she first appeared on the show, Cansfield returned again to the Countdown scene for the CoNot event, organized by a fellow series winner.

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.

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 Warburton	69
190	22/10/1984	CSF	Joyce Cansfield	62 – 33	Russell Byers	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Cathy Hytner	Nigel Rees	Yvonne Warburton	63
191	23/10/1984	CGF	Joyce Cansfield	34 – 65	Mark Nyman	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Cathy Hytner	Ned Sherrin, Nigel Rees	Yvonne Warburton	69
M27	2/10/89-6/10/89	Masters 1	Joyce Cansfield	102 – 58	Chris Beith	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					N/A	Freda Thornton	136
1878	11/11/1996	dSF	Stephen Balment	48 – 57	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Barry Cryer	Susie Dent	71
1880	13/11/1996	dF	Jackie McLeod	42 – 50	Joyce Cansfield	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Barry Cryer	Susie Dent	70
1903	16/12/1996	SQF	Joyce Cansfield	50 – 67	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Clarke	67
S(25)	Unreleased	S	Joyce Cansfield	90 – 56	Dixie Baird	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					Bernard Ingham	Alison Heard	128