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| − | [[Image:Richard whiteley captioned on ep 1.jpg|right|150px]]
| + | '''[[Graeme Cole]]'''. ('''[[Graeme Cole|more...]]''') |
| − | The '''[[Episode 1|first episode of ''Countdown'']]''' was broadcast at 4:45pm on Tuesday 2 November 1982, and was the first ever programme shown on the brand new [[Channel 4]]. It was hosted by [[Richard Whiteley]] ''(pictured)'' alongside "hostesses" [[Cathy Hytner]] and [[Beverley Isherwood]], who placed letter and number tiles on the board respectively. Isherwood also created three-digit targets for the numbers rounds using a random-number generator, introduced as [[CECIL]] – "Countdown's Electronic Calculator in [[YTV Studios|Leeds]]". This name is still used today, despite production of ''Countdown'' moving to Manchester in 2009. [[Carol Vorderman]] was the programme's "vital statistician", responsible for checking contestants' calculations and solving numbers rounds where necessary. During [[Series 1]] and [[Series 2]], this role was alternated with Dr [[Linda Barrett]]. In what would come to be known as [[Dictionary Corner]], farmer and television personality [[Ted Moult]] sat alongside the programme's first ever lexicographer, referred to only as [[Mary]]. Although Carol Vorderman is usually said to be the first woman to appear on Channel 4, Mary was in fact introduced to viewers earlier in the episode than Vorderman.
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| − | The first ever [[champion]] was solicitor and [[Scrabble]] player [[Michael Goldman]], who beat accountant [[Jeff Andrews]] by 50 points to 27. The structure of the game was essentially the same [[9 round format]] used until [[Series 45]], broadcast in 2001. However, there were some notable differences from more recent episodes – beyond the multiple co-hosts whose roles Carol Vorderman would fulfil single-handedly from 1989 until 2008. Only the contestant whose word was longest stated it during letters rounds; their opponent just declared the length of their word. Also, the scrambled nine-letter word in the final round wasn't called a [[conundrum]], and was manually revealed by Hytner pulling a lever in-vision. Furthermore, whereas ''Countdown'' conundrums today are usually rearranged into a short phrase (such as {{word|TINYROLES}} from the [[Series 66]] [[Episode 5517|final]]), the final round in earlier series saw the letters of a nine-letter word shuffled into a random and often nonsensical order. ('''[[Episode 1|more...]]''')
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