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Series 79

From Countdown
The Prize Presentation in the Grand Final of Series 79.
Mike Daysley holding the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy after winning Series 79.

Series 79 ran from 25 June 2018 to 21 December 2018. The fourteenth of 18 series presented by Nick Hewer. It was won by number two seed Mike Daysley, who defeated the number one seed Martin May on a crucial conundrum in the Grand Final. This ended a run of five successive series won by the number one seed.

During the second quarter of the series, for the first time in Countdown history, three octochamps appeared in immediate succession, with Adam Rolston, Tony Manwani and Dave Ashton compiling successive eight-game runs. Two further octochamps, Robin Johnson and Mike Daysley, then each appeared after gaps of just one game. Furthermore, octochamp Martin May – the only 800 club member of this series – appeared after a gap of just two games. The highest score of this series was 117, the lowest ever for a "new" 15-round series.

Episode 6959 was broadcast on Saturday 24 November at 2:45pm, immediately following live coverage of the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying session, due to the practice sessions of the event instead being broadcast the day before. This makes it the first "Saturday Countdown" since 2006, when a handful of episodes in Series 54 aired on Saturdays due to increased ratings at the time. With the exception of the British Grand Prix, from 2019, Channel 4 lost the rights to show any Formula One practice sessions at all, meaning these interruptions would not be present in future series.

Seed table

Rank Name Wins Points
1 Martin May 8 839
2 Mike Daysley 8 786
3 Andrew Jackson 8 764
4 Dave Ashton 8 739
5 Tony Manwani 8 715
6 Alan Duval 8 674
7 Adam Rolston 8 650
8 Bob Lunt 7 726
NOTE: Robin Johnson, with eight wins and 745 points, had qualified for the finals as #4 seed but was unable to appear, so Bob Lunt took his place.
Since Series 60, players are sorted by number of wins, then by number of points. Points from both wins and losses count. Points from sudden death conundrums are not counted, and players with the same number of wins and points are sorted by the number of conundrums correctly guessed, then highest single-game score.

Finals progress

Martin May (1) vs Bob Lunt (8) Martin May (1) vs Tony Manwani (5) Martin May (1)
vs
Mike Daysley (2)
Tony Manwani (5) vs Dave Ashton (4)
Andrew Jackson (3) vs Alan Duval (6) Alan Duval (6) vs Mike Daysley (2)
Adam Rolston (7) vs Mike Daysley (2)
The winner of each game is displayed in bold.

Episodes

# Date Type Contestant 1 Score Contestant 2 Presenters Guest Lex Max
6854 25/06/2018 P Diane Cordery 91 – 46 Toby Young Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 123
6855 26/06/2018 P Diane Cordery 53 – 117 Jodine Lawrence Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 135
6856 27/06/2018 P Jodine Lawrence 75 – 33 Marty Dunlop Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 117
6857 28/06/2018 P Jodine Lawrence 82 – 66 Derek Marner Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jon Culshaw Susie Dent 123
6858 02/07/2018 P Jodine Lawrence 60 – 84 Lewis Carson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jon Culshaw Susie Dent 124
6859 03/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 88 – 53 Tom McDonald Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jon Culshaw Susie Dent 120
6860 04/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 95 – 68 Khana Kayembe Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jon Culshaw Susie Dent 144
6861 05/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 91 – 41 Joe Hawkes Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jon Culshaw Susie Dent 134
6862 09/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 66 – 64 Ciaran Thompson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adam Henson Susie Dent 123
6863 10/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 88 – 75 Joe Roscow Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adam Henson Susie Dent 131
6864 11/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 92 – 64 James Bell Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adam Henson Susie Dent 131
6865 12/07/2018 P Lewis Carson 61 – 66 Sarah Harper Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adam Henson Susie Dent 120
6866 13/07/2018 P Sarah Harper 81 – 59 Philip Whitehead Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adam Henson Susie Dent 133
6867 16/07/2018 P Sarah Harper 60 – 80 John Mason Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anita Rani Susie Dent 123
6868 17/07/2018 P John Mason 75 – 47 Ellie Davidson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anita Rani Susie Dent 127
6869 18/07/2018 P John Mason 93 – 47 Ian Adams Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anita Rani Susie Dent 142
6870 19/07/2018 P John Mason 78 – 47 Anne Marrs Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anita Rani Susie Dent 133
6871 20/07/2018 P John Mason 72 – 100 Bryan Harrison Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anita Rani Susie Dent 132
6872 23/07/2018 P Bryan Harrison 94 – 61 Joe Chan Nick Hewer Rachel Riley John Inverdale Susie Dent 121
6873 24/07/2018 P Bryan Harrison 69 – 54 Liz Lear Nick Hewer Rachel Riley John Inverdale Susie Dent 134
6874 25/07/2018 P Bryan Harrison 79 – 82 Bob Lunt Nick Hewer Rachel Riley John Inverdale Susie Dent 133
6875 26/07/2018 P Bob Lunt 78 – 58 Chris Kilbride Nick Hewer Rachel Riley John Inverdale Susie Dent 122
6876 27/07/2018 P Bob Lunt 98 – 77 Alex Eyre Nick Hewer Rachel Riley John Inverdale Susie Dent 125
6877 30/07/2018 P Bob Lunt 101 – 73 Jonathan Greener Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Tim Rice Susie Dent 121
6878 31/07/2018 P Bob Lunt 91 – 42 Myra Cope Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Tim Rice Susie Dent 126
6879 01/08/2018 P Bob Lunt 99 – 69 Will Ferns Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Tim Rice Susie Dent 129
6880 02/08/2018 P Bob Lunt 97 – 76 Emily Woodford Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Tim Rice Susie Dent 124
6881 03/08/2018 P Bob Lunt 80 – 104 Matthew Bass Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Tim Rice Susie Dent 135
6882 06/08/2018 P Matthew Bass 64 – 94 Eddie Glass Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Griff Rhys Jones Susie Dent 123
6883 07/08/2018 P Eddie Glass 74 – 66 Jim Freeman Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Griff Rhys Jones Susie Dent 144
6884 08/08/2018 P Eddie Glass 72 – 56 Sally King Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Griff Rhys Jones Susie Dent 125
6885 09/08/2018 P Eddie Glass 73 – 77 Steve Rush Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Griff Rhys Jones Susie Dent 124
6886 10/08/2018 P Steve Rush 75 – 57 James Billington Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Griff Rhys Jones Susie Dent 135
6887 13/08/2018 P Steve Rush 93 – 71 Tim Danton Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Julia Bradbury Susie Dent 147
6888 14/08/2018 P Steve Rush 66 – 75 Adam Rolston Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Julia Bradbury Susie Dent 153
6889 15/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 76 – 59 Leonora Fleming Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Julia Bradbury Susie Dent 121
6890 16/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 94 – 60 Jimmy Donnelly Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Julia Bradbury Susie Dent 144
6891 17/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 73 – 43 Peter Dooley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Julia Bradbury Susie Dent 144
6892 20/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 99 – 71 Mike Grundy Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Raj Bisram Susie Dent 122
6893 21/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 68 – 40 Fiona O'Reilly Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Raj Bisram Susie Dent 135
6894 22/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 76 – 75 Paul Watkins Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Raj Bisram Susie Dent 124
6895 23/08/2018 P Adam Rolston 89 – 39 Craig Lumsden Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Raj Bisram Susie Dent 143
6896 27/08/2018 P Paul Beever 77 – 98 Tony Manwani Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Raj Bisram Susie Dent 136
6897 28/08/2018 P Tony Manwani 105 – 58 Pamela Threlfal Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anne Hegerty Susie Dent 136
6898 29/08/2018 P Tony Manwani 99 – 62 Joe Sinclair Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anne Hegerty Susie Dent 122
6899 30/08/2018 P Tony Manwani 90 – 26 Chris Davidson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anne Hegerty Susie Dent 126
6900 31/08/2018 P Tony Manwani 84 – 38 Nick Fisk Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anne Hegerty Susie Dent 123
6901 03/09/2018 P Tony Manwani 67 – 43 Tom Kistell Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Anne Hegerty Susie Dent 132
6902 04/09/2018 P Tony Manwani 90 – 74 Sam Klineberg Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Mark Pougatch Susie Dent 121
6903 05/09/2018 P Tony Manwani 82 – 73 Duncan Hill Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Mark Pougatch Susie Dent 120
6904 06/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 95 – 68 Joe Harris Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Mark Pougatch Susie Dent 134
6905 07/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 105 – 34 Tricia Lea Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Mark Pougatch Susie Dent 134
6906 10/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 84 – 49 Dan Martin Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Mark Pougatch Susie Dent 125
6907 11/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 82 – 62 David O'Neill Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Charlie Stayt Susie Dent 135
6908 12/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 87 – 36 Kim Wilson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Charlie Stayt Susie Dent 134
6909 13/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 87 – 47 Laura McDonald Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Charlie Stayt Susie Dent 121
6910 17/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 100 – 78 Stephen Holford Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Charlie Stayt Susie Dent 126
6911 18/09/2018 P Dave Ashton 99 – 58 Mark Garfield Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Charlie Stayt Susie Dent 142
6912 19/09/2018 P Daniel Singleton 63 – 86 Greg Purling Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Janet Street-Porter Susie Dent 146
6913 20/09/2018 P Greg Purling 47 – 57 Robin Johnson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Janet Street-Porter Susie Dent 132
6914 21/09/2018 P Robin Johnson 86 – 66 Chris Hague Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Janet Street-Porter Susie Dent 125
6915 24/09/2018 P Robin Johnson 96 – 61 Jack Healy Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Janet Street-Porter Susie Dent 126
6916 25/09/2018 P Robin Johnson 99 – 24 Danielle Watson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Janet Street-Porter Susie Dent 123
6917 26/09/2018 P Robin Johnson 110 – 27 Shannon Pocock Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Madeley Susie Dent 136
6918 27/09/2018 P Robin Johnson 91 – 50 Molly Huxley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Madeley Susie Dent 131
6919 28/09/2018 P Robin Johnson 94 – 82 Colm Griffin Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Madeley Susie Dent 132
6920 01/10/2018 P Robin Johnson 112 – 67 Matt Rynn Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Madeley Susie Dent 144
6921 02/10/2018 P Jethro Colmer 65 – 91 Tealin Glenn Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Madeley Susie Dent 144
6922 03/10/2018 P Tealin Glenn 87 – 110 Mike Daysley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Arnold Susie Dent 133
6923 04/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 99 – 78 Susan Stones Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Arnold Susie Dent 116
6924 05/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 96 – 74 Eamonn Mullen Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Arnold Susie Dent 126
6925 08/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 108 – 62 Debbie Berwick Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Arnold Susie Dent 135
6926 09/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 98 – 63 Alex Harrison Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Arnold Susie Dent 143
6927 10/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 95 – 73 Chris Allen Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Richard Arnold Susie Dent 123
6928 11/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 79 – 73 Lee Bettinson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Clive Anderson Susie Dent 118
6929 12/10/2018 P Mike Daysley 101 – 57 Sarah Merrifield Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Clive Anderson Susie Dent 122
6930 15/10/2018 P Eddie Andersson 68 – 79 Andy Wedlake Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Clive Anderson Susie Dent 142
6931 16/10/2018 P Andy Wedlake 75 – 77 Paul Hollidge Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Clive Anderson Susie Dent 123
6932 17/10/2018 P Paul Hollidge 52 – 96 Martin May Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Clive Anderson Susie Dent 135
6933 18/10/2018 P Martin May 117 – 52 Chris Stableford Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 124
6934 19/10/2018 P Martin May 103 – 54 Seamus Bradley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 134
6935 22/10/2018 P Martin May 108 – 59 Leanne Heath Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 145
6936 23/10/2018 P Martin May 101 – 15 Vicki Griffiths Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 120
6937 24/10/2018 P Martin May 89 – 42 Maria Michaels Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Gloria Hunniford Susie Dent 129
6938 25/10/2018 P Martin May 108 – 67 Alan Tubbert Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 155
6939 26/10/2018 P Martin May 117 – 49 Dover Dubosarsky Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 137
6940 29/10/2018 P Georgia Goulding 85 – 24 Heather Chisholm Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 134
6941 30/10/2018 P Georgia Goulding 68 – 89 Chris Sturdy Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 125
6942 31/10/2018 P Chris Sturdy 84 – 65 Michael Coulthread Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 134
6943 01/11/2018 P Chris Sturdy 85 – 49 Alex Brundritt Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Paul Zenon Susie Dent 122
6944 02/11/2018 P Chris Sturdy 98 – 55 Tom Nearney Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Colin Murray Susie Dent 124
6945 05/11/2018 P Chris Sturdy 94 – 33 Jane Burns Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Colin Murray Susie Dent 121
6946 06/11/2018 P Chris Sturdy 80 – 84 Alan Duval Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Colin Murray Susie Dent 130
6947 07/11/2018 P Alan Duval 68 – 67 Bethan Lycett Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Colin Murray Susie Dent 122
6948 08/11/2018 P Alan Duval 82 – 63 Rich Murray Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Colin Murray Susie Dent 119
6949 09/11/2018 P Alan Duval 93 – 40 Peter Wilkes Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adrian Chiles Susie Dent 121
6950 12/11/2018 P Alan Duval 89 – 41 Ian Kennedy Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adrian Chiles Susie Dent 132
6951 13/11/2018 P Alan Duval 82 – 19 Lisa Skidmore Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adrian Chiles Susie Dent 124
6952 14/11/2018 P Alan Duval 87 – 64 Jane Capie Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adrian Chiles Susie Dent 135
6953 15/11/2018 P Alan Duval 89 – 62 Lewis Jones Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Adrian Chiles Susie Dent 133
6954 16/11/2018 P Rod Jermy 39 – 63 Paul Copeland Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 135
6955 19/11/2018 P Paul Copeland 72 – 65 Ellie Sherwood Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 131
6956 20/11/2018 P Paul Copeland 64 – 80 Andrew Jackson Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 135
6957 21/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 98 – 50 Chris Harlow Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 124
6958 22/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 82 – 49 Sam Warren Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 131
6959 24/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 103 – 42 Sue Booton Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dr Phil Hammond Susie Dent 124
6960 26/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 116 – 10 Lewis Edgeley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jenny Eclair Susie Dent 123
6961 27/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 97 – 33 Abby Whatley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jenny Eclair Susie Dent 125
6962 28/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 78 – 65 Steve Rose Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jenny Eclair Susie Dent 119
6963 29/11/2018 P Andrew Jackson 110 – 82 Archie Crane Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jenny Eclair Susie Dent 141
6964 30/11/2018 P John Broderick 60 – 72 Julie Gray Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Jenny Eclair Susie Dent 137
6965 03/12/2018 P Julie Gray 80 – 60 Pete Clark Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Nicki Chapman Susie Dent 155
6966 04/12/2018 P Julie Gray 46 – 88 Mark Jeary Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Nicki Chapman Susie Dent 130
6967 05/12/2018 P Mark Jeary 77* – 67 Amy Nott Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Nicki Chapman Susie Dent 125
6968 06/12/2018 P Mark Jeary 85 – 62 Martin Storie Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Nicki Chapman Susie Dent 125
6969 07/12/2018 P Mark Jeary 85 – 110 Brendan Whitehurst Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Nicki Chapman Susie Dent 126
6970 10/12/2018 P Brendan Whitehurst 96 – 59 James Fenn Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 133
6971 11/12/2018 P Brendan Whitehurst 104 – 50 Sam Reilly Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 117
6972 12/12/2018 P Brendan Whitehurst 92 – 83 David Rutherford Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 124
6973 13/12/2018 QF Martin May 115 – 86 Bob Lunt Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 141
6974 14/12/2018 QF Mike Daysley 104 – 58 Adam Rolston Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Dan Walker Susie Dent 125
6975 17/12/2018 QF Andrew Jackson 60 – 62 Alan Duval Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Phill Jupitus Susie Dent 131
6976 18/12/2018 QF Dave Ashton 79 – 114 Tony Manwani Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Phill Jupitus Susie Dent 129
6977 19/12/2018 SF Martin May 93 – 83 Tony Manwani Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Phill Jupitus Susie Dent 147
6978 20/12/2018 SF Mike Daysley 97 – 69 Alan Duval Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Phill Jupitus Susie Dent 121
6979 21/12/2018 GF Martin May 80 – 82 Mike Daysley Nick Hewer Rachel Riley Phill Jupitus Susie Dent 120
* includes 10 points from a tie-break conundrum

External Links

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