Series 1

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Joyce Cansfield presented with her dictionaries by Carol, Beverley and Linda.

Naturally enough, Series 1 was the first series. The first of 53 series presented by Richard Whiteley, it ran from 2 November to 16 December 1982, originally only on Mondays to Thursdays, included just 26 heats and one final (also making it the shortest in history), and was won by 1980 National Scrabble champion Joyce Cansfield.

The first episode was broadcast on 2 November 1982 at 4:45pm as the first programme ever to be shown on Channel 4. It was won by Scrabble player Michael Goldman, becoming the first daily champion after a 50 – 27 win over Jeff Andrews. Goldman won a further four matches before he was unseated by John Simpson, who was unseated by Cansfield.

Joyce Cansfield and Michael Wylie qualified for the final with the two highest scores of the series. The final was a close game but Joyce wrapped it up 59 – 41, solving an apt crucial conundrum. Wylie never returned to Countdown as a contestant, except for a brace of Countdown Masters contests, but later became the show's producer. Cansfield on the other hand had impressive runs in the Championship of Champions I and the Supreme Championship and was invited back for the Ladies' Championship during Series 49, but was unable to attend because she had booked a skiing holiday.

The jazz saxophonist and raconteur Benny Green was booked to appear in Dictionary Corner for part of the series but fell ill, leaving Kenneth Williams to do all but the first seven programmes.

The original team of Linda Barrett, Beverley Isherwood, Richard Whiteley, Cathy Hytner and Carol Vorderman, with guests Kenneth Williams and Ted Moult. Williams complained bitterly in his diary that he had to wait a whole day just to pose for this photo.

Seed table

Rank	Name	Score
1	Michael Wylie	66
2	Joyce Cansfield	65

Players are seeded by highest scores achieved in the heats.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
1	2/11/1982	P	Jeff Andrews	27 – 50	Michael Goldman	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult	Mary	67
2	3/11/1982	P	Maureen Barr	28 – 41	Michael Goldman	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult	Mary	76
3	4/11/1982	P	Bill Benson	?	Michael Goldman	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult
4	8/11/1982	P	Bill Benson	?	Michael Goldman	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult
5	9/11/1982	P	Sheila Arnold	?	Michael Goldman	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult
6	10/11/1982	P	John Simpson	?	Michael Goldman	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Ted Moult
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
10	17/11/1982	P	Helen Grayson	?	Jack Baker	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
11	18/11/1982	P	Helen Grayson	?	Gail Cooper	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
12	22/11/1982	P	Darryl Francis	?	Joe Guy	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
13	23/11/1982	P	Paul O'Neill	?	Joe Guy	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
14	24/11/1982	P	Martin Pettit	?	Joe Guy	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
15	25/11/1982	P	Andrew Bruno	40 – 22	Joe Guy	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
16	29/11/1982	P	Andrew Bruno	57 – 22	Josef Kollar	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
17	30/11/1982	P	Andrew Bruno	42 – 49	Christine Jones	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
18	1/12/1982	P	Michael Wylie	?	Christine Jones	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
19	2/12/1982	P	Michael Wylie	?	Ian Gucklhorn	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
20	6/12/1982	P	Michael Wylie	?	Don Wright	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
21	7/12/1982	P	Michael Wylie	54 – 39	Arnold Weinberg	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams	Mary	72
22	8/12/1982	P	Michael Wylie	?	Saladin Khoshnaw	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
23	9/12/1982	P	Heather Frankland	?	Saladin Khoshnaw	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
24	13/12/1982	P	Heather Frankland	?	Maurice Daniels	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams
25	14/12/1982	P	Jane McLeman	41 – 41	Maurice Daniels	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams	Mary	70
26	15/12/1982	P	Jane McLeman	48 – 47	Maurice Daniels	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams	Mary	73
27	16/12/1982	GF	Joyce Cansfield	59 – 41	Michael Wylie	Richard Whiteley	Dr Linda Barrett, Carol Vorderman	Beverley Isherwood	Cathy Hytner	Kenneth Williams	Mary

* includes 10 points from a tie-break conundrum

External Links

• Series 1 on The Countdown Database.
• Series 1 on The Countdown Page.