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From Countdown

For other people called Michael Calder, see Michael Calder.

Michael Calder was an octochamp in and the champion of Series 42, and a participant in Championship of Champions XI. Although his name plate said Michael, he was referred to throughout as Mike.

He first appeared on Countdown on 31 January 2000, beating Peter Hindes 59 – 49 in a nail-biting game, only triumphing after a sudden death conundrum. Calder went on to win a further 7 games, including another via a sudden death conundrum, and returned for the final rounds as an octochamp and #2 seed.

He first beat Helen Wrigglesworth in the quarter-finals 55 – 29, with Calder spotting FLEAPIT, RANCHEROS and the conundrum DRIFTWOOD. In the semi-final, the words MORTICES and INJURED allowed him to avoid a crucial conundrum against Terence O'Farrell, which was all the less controversial because the solution to the conundrum was in fact an invalid word (SCRAPHEAP). This brought him to a final showdown with John Hastings. In the final, Calder got off to a roaring start, spotting the brilliant 9-letter word MYOGLOBIN to take an 18 – 0 lead, and never looked back. Calder eventually won by a score of 101 – 72, becoming a Xicount and the champion of the 42nd series in the process.

Calder was invited back for Championship of Champions XI in 2003, and had the distinction of playing the first ever game on the purple-and-pink set that would be used on Countdown for six years. Unfortunately, he was beaten by Loz Sands, with the main difference between the two being Sands' taking 30 points on the numbers game to Calder's 0.

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