Ed McCullagh

Ed McCullagh Octochamp Statistics
Final position	Champion
Seeding	2
Points total	896
Conundrums solved	6

Edward McCullagh in Series 64...

...and again in the 30th Birthday Championship.

Edward "Ed" McCullagh was an octochamp and the champion of Series 64. He was a customer service rep from Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.

McCullagh first appeared on Countdown on 2 February 2011, and beat Dave Dyer in a fairly close and high-scoring debut episode, with both players finding the nine-letter word BETTERING. McCullagh followed this up with seven more victories, including a near-perfect performance against Judy Baynes. Here, he achieved maximum points in all of the first 14 rounds, but was unlucky enough to receive a conundrum which no one in the studio was able to solve (MEGALITRE). He's also notable for having kept three of his opponents to scores under 30.

With an octochamp total of 896, McCullagh was #2 seed for the finals, second to his eventual final opponent Adam Gillard by only 7 points. He made quick work of #7 seed Andrew McNamara and #6 seed Mary Adie, with offerings including UNAWARE, INDORSED, UPSTAIR, PANTOUM, MONIKERS, NEURONE and the conundrums BEDSITTER and SINGLETON. The final proved to be closer. However, McCullagh remained on top, offering a solution to a very hard first numbers game and pulling away further with CARDIO, and despite neither player solving the conundrum, he prevailed by 113 points to 94, earning the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy and the title of Series 64 champion.

He returned to the studios in July 2012, to take part in a special episode against Series 65 champion, Graeme Cole, which he won 107 – 71, meaning that he maintained his unbeaten record on the show.

He returned to Countdown a year later, and with the shortened name of Ed, as one of 41 contestants taking part in the 30th Birthday Championship. He lost his only match (and with it, his unbeaten record) against the Series 66 runner-up Jonathan Rawlinson on a second conundrum, after drawing 94 – 94.

In 2012, he attended his first Countdown tournament, finishing in 2nd place at the CobliviLon tournament, losing in the final to Innis Carson. In September 2016, he secured his first tournament victory by prevailing over Dan McColm in the final of Countdown in Dublin 2016.

Preceded by Jack Hurst

Series winner Series 64

Followed by Graeme Cole

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
5196	2/02/2011	P	Dave Dyer	83 – 115	Edward McCullagh	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Gregg Wallace	Susie Dent	132
5197	3/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	97 – 28	David Clerkin	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Gregg Wallace	Susie Dent	119
5198	4/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	120 – 45	Judy Baynes	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Gregg Wallace	Susie Dent	130
5199	7/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	108 – 24	Paul Walsh	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	117
5200	8/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	118 – 38	Harold Sanditen	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	119
5201	9/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	106 – 76	Andrew Mossford	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	116
5202	10/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	121 – 27	Lalitha Thyagarajan	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	127
5203	11/02/2011	P	Edward McCullagh	111 – 40	Terry O'Hanlon	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	119
5273	27/05/2011	QF	Edward McCullagh	101 – 36	Andrew McNamara	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Alistair McGowan	Susie Dent	119
5277	2/06/2011	SF	Edward McCullagh	120 – 41	Mary Adie	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Gregg Wallace	Susie Dent	131
5278	3/06/2011	GF	Adam Gillard	94 – 113	Edward McCullagh	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Gregg Wallace	Susie Dent	127
S35	30/07/2012	S	Graeme Cole	71 – 107	Edward McCullagh	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley					Mark Foster	Susie Dent	119
5623	17/01/2013	30BP	Ed McCullagh	94 – 104*	Jonathan Rawlinson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Martin Lewis	Susie Dent	117

* includes 10 points from a tie-break conundrum