Wayne Kelly

Wayne Kelly was a contestant in, and runner-up of, series 28. he made his first appearance on 10 August 1994, defeating Helen Wood 55-45, and won a further five games before exam pressures forced him to retire before he could complete a potential octochamp run. He returned for the final rounds as #5 seed, and beat Isabelle Heward and Suzanne Miles on his way to the final. In the final against Damian Eadie, it went straight to the wire with Wayne trailing by a solitary point going into the final, crucial conundrum. Ultimately, it was Damian who buzzed first, meaning Wayne had to settle for second-best and a clutch of book tokens (which, when dictionary corner guest Michael Parkinson asked what he would do with them, Wayne famously replied he would 'buy some books'). Wayne returned at the start of the next series to participate in Championship of Champions VII, but was knocked out in the first round by Richard Campbell. Wayne also participated in the supreme championship the following year, losing in the first round to Gareth Williams.