Martyn Simpson

Martyn Simpson, 11 years after his first appearance, in Series 82.

Martyn Simpson was a contestant in Series 61 and 82. As of his second appearance, he was an Area Sales Manager in the Mobility Sector from Kingswinford in the West Midlands. He has also been an Apterite since 2009.

On Simpson's original début appearance on 12 November 2009, he lost by a score of 68 to Ryan Taylor's personal best of 123. 11 years and 1 day later, Simpson made his "second début" on 13 November 2020. After having two words disallowed, Simpson maxed all the numbers rounds and raced away to beat previous Series 1 contestant Andy Bruno to end Bruno's second run in his sixth game. In his fifth game of his second stint, Simpson won with a score of 132, the highest score on the show in more than 10 months. This was followed by a second consecutive score above 125 in his sixth win which included three nine-letter words, equalling the record for the most nine-letter words in a "new" 15 rounder. In a reversal of fortune, however, his run was terminated in his seventh game courtesy of a crucial conundrum solve by Leo Smith. Simpson did not make the finals of the longest ever series despite winning 6 games and totalling 794 points (an average of just over 113), meaning he has the highest average score for a non-octochamp and non-finalist in Countdown history. He also has the highest aggregate point total for a non-finalist, despite the handicap of having played only seven games instead of eight. Combined with his 2009 appearance, Simpson's overall record of points is 862 points.

In 2021, Simpson won the Phil Collinge Memorial Tournament on Apterous.

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
4927	12/11/2009	P	Ryan Taylor	123 – 68	Martyn Simpson	Jeff Stelling	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Tim Vine	Susie Dent	137
7388	13/11/2020	P	Andy Bruno	57 – 102	Martyn Simpson	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Rufus Hound	Susie Dent	123
7389	16/11/2020	P	Martyn Simpson	106 – 42	Jonathan Partlin	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Rufus Hound	Susie Dent	134
7390	17/11/2020	P	Martyn Simpson	110 – 69	Kevin Hackett	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Rufus Hound	Susie Dent	134
7391	18/11/2020	P	Martyn Simpson	118 – 46	Michael Grahamslaw	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Tim Rice	Susie Dent	146
7392	19/11/2020	P	Martyn Simpson	132 – 63	Gaz Lang	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Tim Rice	Susie Dent	156
7393	20/11/2020	P	Martyn Simpson	131 – 60	Craig Thomas	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Tim Rice	Susie Dent	152
7394	23/11/2020	P	Martyn Simpson	95 – 104	Leo Smith	Nick Hewer	Rachel Riley				Lucy Summers	Tim Rice	Susie Dent	138