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Series 54

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The Series 54 finalists with the presenters and Dictionary Corner.
Conor Travers shows off the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy.

Series 54 began on 31 October 2005, after 120 days off air, and ended on 26 May 2006. The first of two series and a COC hosted by Des Lynam was won by Conor Travers who, aged 14, became the youngest series winner in Countdown history as well as the first recipient of the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy.

Series 54 was the longest on record at the time with 153 episodes being filmed due to the passing of Richard Whiteley, which pushed back the series' originally planned starting date of 4 July 2005 by nearly four months (this would later be surpassed by Series 82 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak). As holding the final in December would have resulted in Series 54 containing only about 30 heats, it was decided that the series would be extended to cover the first half of 2006 as well. It was also decided that a trophy would be made in honour of Whiteley, with all the names of previous series winners engraved.

The opening title sequence was also changed, although the purple and orange cloudy background and logo were retained.

Series 54 featured 6 octochamps and for the first time ever, three players scored 850 or more during their run.

The show was broadcast at the later time of 3:30pm for this series; due to increased ratings, it was given an extra Saturday show in early 2006 which had varying transmission times, some as late as 4:35pm.

In the finals, Conor Travers thrashed Daniel Peake but Jon Corby had a very tense, close and low scoring game against Christine Armstrong, although he did win. Matthew Shore won his quarter-final by 19 points and Paul Howe beat Keith Maynard in a remarkable game. Howe spotted ISOGAMETE in the first round and after 5 rounds led 50 – 0. Maynard scored his first points in round 6 with VAULTED. In the semi-finals, another remarkable game occurred between Travers and Howe. Both players scored all maximums on the letters, also believe to be a unique occurrence, but Travers had the edge in two numbers games which meant that Howe couldn't win on the conundrum. Travers solved the conundrum and won 124 – 100, one of the highest scoring games ever, 7 points less than the two games in the Championship of Champions XI that finished 131 – 98 and 120 – 109 respectively. The second semi-final featured much lower scores, but the game was competitive and in the end Shore triumphed 94 – 78 on the crucial conundrum GASPFROWN.

The final was another close, high quality game and Shore beat Travers in one round, but couldn't beat him in any others and eventually was unable to win when it got to the conundrum. The conundrum was INTELIGGE which Shore solved as GELIGNITE to keep Travers to his lowest score (98), but it wasn’t enough to stop Travers from making history.

Contents

Seed table

Rank Name Wins Points
1 Conor Travers 8 890
2 Jon Corby 8 856
3 Matthew Shore 8 850
4 Paul Howe 8 815
5 Keith Maynard 8 785
6 Michael Bowden 8 739
7 Christine Armstrong 7 693
8 Daniel Peake 6 575
Between Series 38 and Series 59, players were sorted by number of wins, then by number of points. Points from both wins and losses count. Points from sudden death conundrums were not counted, and players with the same number of wins and points were sorted by highest score.

Finals progress

Conor Travers (1) vs Daniel Peake (8) Conor Travers (1) vs Paul Howe (4) Conor Travers (1)
vs
Matthew Shore (3)
Keith Maynard (5) vs Paul Howe (4)
Matthew Shore (3) vs Michael Bowden (6) Matthew Shore (3) vs Jon Corby (2)
Christine Armstrong (7) vs Jon Corby (2)
The winner of each game is displayed in bold.

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Guest Lex Max
3960 31/10/2005 P Helen Mathieson 61 – 90 Colin Wreford Martin Jarvis Susie Dent 129
3961 1/11/2005 P Colin Wreford 72 – 57 Kelvin Taylor Martin Jarvis Susie Dent 119
3962 2/11/2005 P Colin Wreford 66 – 86 Arthur Mactier Martin Jarvis Susie Dent 130
3963 3/11/2005 P Arthur Mactier 95 – 58 Resh Mohangee Martin Jarvis Susie Dent 120
3964 4/11/2005 P Arthur Mactier 82 – 89 Maureen Sye Martin Jarvis Susie Dent 123
3965 7/11/2005 P Maureen Sye 84 – 55 Ian Thomson Keith Barron Susie Dent 131
3966 8/11/2005 P Maureen Sye 82 – 60 Julie Anne Thorley Keith Barron Susie Dent 122
3967 9/11/2005 P Maureen Sye 75 – 90 Stuart Coxshall Keith Barron Susie Dent 173
3968 10/11/2005 P Stuart Coxshall 82 – 35 Sylvia Taylor Keith Barron Susie Dent 121
3969 11/11/2005 P Stuart Coxshall 60 – 103 Daniel Peake Paul Zenon Susie Dent 122
3970 14/11/2005 P Daniel Peake 62 – 48 Audrey Nicholson Paul Zenon Susie Dent 131
3971 15/11/2005 P Daniel Peake 97 – 70 Paul Raymond Paul Zenon Susie Dent 127
3972 16/11/2005 P Daniel Peake 81 – 77 Eric Hannington Paul Zenon Susie Dent 151
3973 17/11/2005 P Daniel Peake 78 – 38 Matthew Goulding Philip Franks Susie Dent 120
3974 18/11/2005 P Daniel Peake 84 – 68 Cath Cheney Philip Franks Susie Dent 119
3975 21/11/2005 P Daniel Peake 70 – 78 Ray Oakley Philip Franks Susie Dent 123
3976 22/11/2005 P Ray Oakley 79 – 68 Sue Sheldon Philip Franks Susie Dent 118
3977 23/11/2005 P Ray Oakley 58 – 99 Conor Travers Jan Ravens Susie Dent 114
3978 24/11/2005 P Conor Travers 111 – 35 John Archer Jan Ravens Susie Dent 134
3979 25/11/2005 P Conor Travers 99 – 58 Geoff Alderman Jan Ravens Susie Dent 122
3980 28/11/2005 P Conor Travers 114 – 57 Jane Capie Jan Ravens Susie Dent 131
3981 29/11/2005 P Conor Travers 111 – 53 Steven Whitaker Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 129
3982 30/11/2005 P Conor Travers 124 – 69 Andrew Christley Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 139
3983 1/12/2005 P Conor Travers 115 – 53 Judy Bursford Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 124
3984 2/12/2005 P Conor Travers 117 – 61 Vicky Prime Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 128
3985 5/12/2005 P Robin Sutherland 91 – 96 Rosemary Ilsley Richard Digance Susie Dent 132
3986 6/12/2005 P Rosemary Ilsley 87 – 98 Clive Johnson Richard Digance Susie Dent 117
3987 7/12/2005 P Clive Johnson 107 – 44 Eileen Norris Richard Digance Susie Dent 121
3988 8/12/2005 P Clive Johnson 75 – 74 Brendan Duke Richard Digance Susie Dent 120
3989 9/12/2005 P Clive Johnson 83 – 62 Alan Woodruff Jilly Cooper Susie Dent 122
3990 12/12/2005 P Clive Johnson 87 – 52 Brian Burdett Jilly Cooper Susie Dent 122
3991 13/12/2005 P Clive Johnson 76 – 109 Marie Hayden Jilly Cooper Susie Dent 129
3992 14/12/2005 P Marie Hayden 104 – 58 Roy Davies Jilly Cooper Susie Dent 122
3993 15/12/2005 P Marie Hayden 98 – 82 Lilian Blyth Clare Balding Susie Dent 122
3994 16/12/2005 P Marie Hayden 89 – 86 Ian Pyefinch Clare Balding Susie Dent 131
3995 19/12/2005 P Marie Hayden 109 – 60 Paul Johnson Clare Balding Susie Dent 123
3996 20/12/2005 P Marie Hayden 84 – 89 Sue Alexander Clare Balding Susie Dent 143
3997 21/12/2005 P Sue Alexander 84 – 98 Nick Rafferty Eric Knowles Susie Dent 119
3998 2/01/2006 P Nick Rafferty 78 – 95 John Josephs Eric Knowles Susie Dent 122
3999 3/01/2006 P John Josephs 63 – 83 Christine Armstrong Eric Knowles Susie Dent 133
4000 4/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 89 – 52 Irene Lewis Eric Knowles Susie Dent 132
4001 5/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 92 – 60 Mark House Nicholas Owen Susie Dent 139
4002 6/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 91 – 65 Robert Oldland Nicholas Owen Susie Dent 138
4003 7/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 83 – 25 Jean Garrod Nicholas Owen Susie Dent 131
4004 9/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 93 – 53 Alec Meadows Nicholas Owen Susie Dent 120
4005 10/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 86 – 55 Laura McDonald Ann Widdecombe Susie Dent 122
4006 11/01/2006 P Christine Armstrong 76 – 82 Douglas Clark Ann Widdecombe Susie Dent 119
4007 12/01/2006 P Douglas Clark 71 – 76 Mark Blackwell Ann Widdecombe Susie Dent 141
4008 13/01/2006 P Mark Blackwell 59 – 83 Ray Waddington Ann Widdecombe Susie Dent 131
4009 14/01/2006 P Ray Waddington 78 – 63 Caroline Langley Ann Widdecombe Susie Dent 124
4010 16/01/2006 P Ray Waddington 74 – 106 Keith Maynard Ken Bruce Susie Dent 129
4011 17/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 94 – 40 Barbara Allshire Ken Bruce Susie Dent 134
4012 18/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 110 – 66 John Ashley Ken Bruce Susie Dent 130
4013 19/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 86 – 53 Tony Amos Ken Bruce Susie Dent 111
4014 20/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 94 – 42 Elizabeth Mitchell Jo Brand Susie Dent 132
4015 21/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 88 – 48 Andy Garner Jo Brand Susie Dent 127
4016 23/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 105 – 52 Robert Biggins Jo Brand Susie Dent 141
4017 24/01/2006 P Keith Maynard 102 – 49 Geraldine Ellis Jo Brand Susie Dent 131
4018 25/01/2006 P Michael Bowden 93 – 85 Gary Watton Jo Brand Susie Dent 120
4019 26/01/2006 P Michael Bowden 93 – 84 Sheila Rudge Lesley Garrett Susie Dent 137
4020 27/01/2006 P Michael Bowden 91 – 32 Brian Oliver Lesley Garrett Susie Dent 123
4021 28/01/2006 P Michael Bowden 73 – 64 Christine Grant Lesley Garrett Susie Dent 142
4022 30/01/2006 P Michael Bowden 94 – 71 David Collier Lesley Garrett Susie Dent 134
4023 31/01/2006 P Michael Bowden 97 – 63 Linda Morton Barry Norman Susie Dent 127
4024 1/02/2006 P Michael Bowden 92 – 56 Joan Soothill Barry Norman Susie Dent 132
4025 2/02/2006 P Michael Bowden 106 – 59 Benjamin Bell Barry Norman Susie Dent 122
4026 3/02/2006 P Stephanie Perks 47 – 89 Keith Reading Barry Norman Susie Dent 126
4027 4/02/2006 P Keith Reading 83 – 102 Paul Howe Richard Digance Susie Dent 123
4028 6/02/2006 P Paul Howe 109 – 72 Judith Shade Richard Digance Susie Dent 133
4029 7/02/2006 P Paul Howe 95 – 77 Darren Wilks Richard Digance Susie Dent 127
4030 8/02/2006 P Paul Howe 93 – 56 Alison Campbell Richard Digance Susie Dent 131
4031 9/02/2006 P Paul Howe 105 – 49 Terence Reilly Richard Digance Susie Dent 118
4032 10/02/2006 P Paul Howe 107 – 61 Michael Jones Carol Thatcher Susie Dent 122
4033 11/02/2006 P Paul Howe 113 – 42 Alan Patient Carol Thatcher Susie Dent 122
4034 13/02/2006 P Paul Howe 91 – 47 Clare Hughes Carol Thatcher Susie Dent 121
4035 14/02/2006 P Andrew Gedney 96 – 68 Susan Yaffe Carol Thatcher Susie Dent 131
4036 15/02/2006 P Andrew Gedney 87 – 96 Alexia McCluskey Carol Thatcher Susie Dent 119
4037 16/02/2006 P Alexia McCluskey 87 – 57 Joe Randall Clarissa Dickson-Wright Susie Dent 134
4038 17/02/2006 P Alexia McCluskey 55 – 109 Matthew Shore Clarissa Dickson-Wright Susie Dent 120
4039 18/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 116 – 29 Brian Wilson Clarissa Dickson-Wright Susie Dent 143
4040 20/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 115 – 35 Greg Bell Clarissa Dickson-Wright Susie Dent 138
4041 21/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 98 – 60 Susan Stones Clarissa Dickson-Wright Susie Dent 125
4042 22/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 103 – 59 David McDougall Tom O'Connor Susie Dent 124
4043 23/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 88 – 65 Heather Phillips Tom O'Connor Susie Dent 129
4044 24/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 95 – 51 Roger Walker Tom O'Connor Susie Dent 119
4045 25/02/2006 P Matthew Shore 126 – 55 Inderjit Bedi Tom O'Connor Susie Dent 139
4046 27/02/2006 P Will Cantrell 58 – 82 Kate May Tom O'Connor Susie Dent 119
4047 28/02/2006 P Kate May 85 – 67 Sarah Devlin Paul Zenon Susie Dent 134
4048 1/03/2006 P Kate May 86 – 43 Harry Cohen Paul Zenon Susie Dent 118
4049 2/03/2006 P Kate May 96 – 50 Andy Watson Paul Zenon Susie Dent 122
4050 3/03/2006 P Kate May 53 – 72 Tony Foran Paul Zenon Susie Dent 126
4051 4/03/2006 P Tony Foran 95 – 59 Paul Johnston Paul Zenon Susie Dent 129
4052 6/03/2006 P Tony Foran 90 – 64 Yvette Campbell Julian Lloyd-Webber Susie Dent 128
4053 7/03/2006 P Tony Foran 65 – 76 Brian Hart Julian Lloyd-Webber Susie Dent 121
4054 8/03/2006 P Brian Hart 61 – 97 Ian Graham Julian Lloyd-Webber Susie Dent 119
4055 9/03/2006 P Ian Graham 81 – 63 Bernadette Keyton Julian Lloyd-Webber Susie Dent 118
4056 10/03/2006 P Ian Graham 87 – 47 Dave Welsh Julian Lloyd-Webber Susie Dent 117
4057 11/03/2006 P Ian Graham 97 – 48 Anna Southgate Philip Franks Susie Dent 123
4058 13/03/2006 P Ian Graham 108 – 34 Bernie Smith Philip Franks Susie Dent 138
4059 18/03/2006 P Ian Graham 77 – 82 Ian Alexander Philip Franks Susie Dent 116
4060 20/03/2006 P Ian Alexander 100 – 33 Barry Buckingham Philip Franks Susie Dent 134
4061 21/03/2006 P Ian Alexander 102 – 53 Linda Hinton Philip Franks Susie Dent 150
4062 22/03/2006 P Ian Alexander 80 – 77 Robert Cleary Paul Burrell Susie Dent 130
4063 23/03/2006 P Ian Alexander 78 – 101 Sheila Henderson Paul Burrell Susie Dent 120
4064 24/03/2006 P Sheila Henderson 68 – 70 Paul Henry Paul Burrell Susie Dent 123
4065 25/03/2006 P Paul Henry 70 – 48 Vivienne Gardner Paul Burrell Susie Dent 121
4066 27/03/2006 P Paul Henry 60 – 99 Tuck Broadbent Paul Burrell Susie Dent 126
4067 28/03/2006 P Tuck Broadbent 91 – 74 Ken Coney Geoffrey Durham Susie Dent 133
4068 29/03/2006 P Tuck Broadbent 88 – 72 Beryl Jump Geoffrey Durham Susie Dent 131
4069 30/03/2006 P Tuck Broadbent 95 – 101 Dan Webster Geoffrey Durham Susie Dent 127
4070 31/03/2006 P Dan Webster 72 – 90 Ella O'Donnell Geoffrey Durham Susie Dent 121
4071 1/04/2006 P Ella O'Donnell 92 – 87 Rae Durrant Geoffrey Durham Susie Dent 131
4072 3/04/2006 P Ella O'Donnell 77 – 84 David Kyte Pam Ayres Susie Dent 140
4073 4/04/2006 P David Kyte 63 – 84 Kate Strong Pam Ayres Susie Dent 121
4074 5/04/2006 P Kate Strong 29 – 86 Heather Culpin Pam Ayres Susie Dent 119
4075 6/04/2006 P Heather Culpin 106 – 83 Steven Kidner Pam Ayres Susie Dent 139
4076 7/04/2006 P Heather Culpin 79 – 55 Morag Chaney Pam Ayres Susie Dent 128
4077 8/04/2006 P Heather Culpin 92 – 75 Peter Hunt Alan Carr Susie Dent 119
4078 10/04/2006 P Heather Culpin 77 – 80 Carole Bramwell Alan Carr Susie Dent 120
4079 11/04/2006 P Carole Bramwell 95 – 35 David Frost Alan Carr Susie Dent 122
4080 12/04/2006 P Carole Bramwell 83 – 41 Len Chubb Alan Carr Susie Dent 127
4081 13/04/2006 P Carole Bramwell 83 – 77 Johanna Scott Alan Carr Susie Dent 131
4082 14/04/2006 P Carole Bramwell 96 – 63 Phil Batty Jeremy Beadle Susie Dent 132
4083 17/04/2006 P Carole Bramwell 66 – 84 Tony Downing Jeremy Beadle Susie Dent 148
4084 18/04/2006 P Tony Downing 66 – 40 Pat Ridley Jeremy Beadle Susie Dent 118
4085 19/04/2006 P Tony Downing 74 – 65 Andy Nisbet Jeremy Beadle Susie Dent 119
4086 20/04/2006 P Tony Downing 73 – 45 Lyn Sivyer Jeremy Beadle Susie Dent 128
4087 21/04/2006 P Tony Downing 56 – 69 Trevor Hancock Henry Blofeld Susie Dent 131
4088 24/04/2006 P Trevor Hancock 64 – 74 Jan Gates Henry Blofeld Susie Dent 125
4089 25/04/2006 P Jan Gates 90 – 76 Pauline Billing Henry Blofeld Susie Dent 140
4090 26/04/2006 P Jan Gates 86 – 85 Julie Cameron Henry Blofeld Susie Dent 140
4091 27/04/2006 P Jan Gates 69 – 83 Helen Shutler Henry Blofeld Susie Dent 144
4092 28/04/2006 P Helen Shutler 42 – 110 Jon Corby Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 135
4093 1/05/2006 P Jon Corby 95 – 65 Margaret Hillman Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 121
4094 2/05/2006 P Jon Corby 109 – 51 Andy Willets Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 117
4095 3/05/2006 P Jon Corby 97 – 82 Jack Welsh Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 122
4096 4/05/2006 P Jon Corby 118 – 57 Carol Parker Rick Wakeman Susie Dent 131
4097 5/05/2006 P Jon Corby 128 – 61 Chris Bailiffe Richard Stilgoe Susie Dent 141
4098 8/05/2006 P Jon Corby 102 – 44 Len Oakes Richard Stilgoe Susie Dent 131
4099 9/05/2006 P Jon Corby 97 – 51 Terry Norman Richard Stilgoe Susie Dent 126
4100 10/05/2006 P Tony Warren 88 – 55 Jenny Turner Richard Stilgoe Susie Dent 130
4101 11/05/2006 P Tony Warren 100 – 47 Sheila Goodwin Richard Stilgoe Susie Dent 142
4102 12/05/2006 P Tony Warren 96 – 58 Sophi Harrison Diarmuid Gavin Susie Dent 124
4103 15/05/2006 P Tony Warren 71 – 64 Michael Gordon Diarmuid Gavin Susie Dent 139
4104 16/05/2006 P Tony Warren 98 – 86 Richard Green Diarmuid Gavin Susie Dent 140
4105 17/05/2006 P Tony Warren 72 – 58 Richard Knight Diarmuid Gavin Susie Dent 122
4106 18/05/2006 QF Daniel Peake 38 – 107 Conor Travers Richard Digance Susie Dent 130
4107 19/05/2006 QF Jon Corby 77 – 66 Christine Armstrong Richard Digance Susie Dent 128
4108 22/05/2006 QF Michael Bowden 69 – 88 Matthew Shore Richard Digance Susie Dent 112
4109 23/05/2006 QF Keith Maynard 49 – 118 Paul Howe Richard Digance Susie Dent 134
4110 24/05/2006 SF Conor Travers 124 – 100 Paul Howe Richard Digance Susie Dent 130
4111 25/05/2006 SF Jon Corby 78 – 94 Matthew Shore Richard Digance Susie Dent 122
4112 26/05/2006 GF Conor Travers 98 – 83 Matthew Shore Richard Digance Susie Dent 118

External Links

Retrieved from "https://wiki.apterous.org/Series_54"
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