Luke Boynton

Luke Boynton in Series 83, 17 years after his first appearance.

Luke Boynton was a contestant in Series 51 and Series 83. As of his second appearance, he was a senior finance manager from Birmingham. He is also a poker player, and is the winner of the 2019 International Poker Open.

Boynton first appeared on Countdown in 2004. On his début, he played well, but lost on an unsolved crucial conundrum against would-be octochamp Sweyn Kirkness. On his incredible "second début" in 2021, Boynton set the bar for the highest score of Series 83 so far, and achieved the second-highest ever score for a challenger against a daily champion with 138 points – one short of Luke Johnson-Davies's 139 – to stun six-time winner and Apterite Tom Vincent. On top of this, Boynton pulled off a perfect letters-round performance in spite of very difficult numbers rounds, making this one of the most impressive maiden wins in Countdown history. In his second game of his second run, he improved on that by scoring 141 points. In his third game, he scored 136, winning by over 100, in a Jos game.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
3703	13/05/2004	P	Sweyn Kirkness	88 – 83	Luke Boynton	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Barry Norman	Susie Dent	119
7468	19/03/2021	P	Tom Vincent	57 – 138	Luke Boynton	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	144
7469	22/03/2021	P	Luke Boynton	141 – 77	Alex Davidson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	146
7470	23/03/2021	P	Luke Boynton	136 – 10	Matthew Hallas	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Paul Zenon	Susie Dent	147
7471	24/03/2021	P	Luke Boynton	120 – 6	Bobby Casey	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Konnie Huq	Susie Dent	138