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'''Harvey Freeman''' first appeared on Countdown in [[Series 10]], and quickly earned a reputation as one of the greatest Countdowners of all time. As a 21-year old Cambridge University undergraduate from Enfield, Middlesex, he made his debut on 31 October 1986 against [[David Whiting]]. Harvey won that game and seven more to achieve [[octochamp]]dom with a then-record aggregate score of 523 points- a record that would stand for almost 14 years before it was beaten by [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]] in [[Series 43]]. In his second game, Harvey score 82 points- also a record at the time. Harvey returned for the final rounds as the clear #1 seed, and dominated his opponents [[Elisabeth Jardine]] and [[Les Martin]] in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, before going on to face [[Mike Percik]] in the grand final. Despite having {{word|OUTTAKES}} ☓ disallowed in the second round, Harvey would enter a commanding performance here too, running out the 96-52 winner. | '''Harvey Freeman''' first appeared on Countdown in [[Series 10]], and quickly earned a reputation as one of the greatest Countdowners of all time. As a 21-year old Cambridge University undergraduate from Enfield, Middlesex, he made his debut on 31 October 1986 against [[David Whiting]]. Harvey won that game and seven more to achieve [[octochamp]]dom with a then-record aggregate score of 523 points- a record that would stand for almost 14 years before it was beaten by [[David Williams (Series 43)|David Williams]] in [[Series 43]]. In his second game, Harvey score 82 points- also a record at the time. Harvey returned for the final rounds as the clear #1 seed, and dominated his opponents [[Elisabeth Jardine]] and [[Les Martin]] in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, before going on to face [[Mike Percik]] in the grand final. Despite having {{word|OUTTAKES}} ☓ disallowed in the second round, Harvey would enter a commanding performance here too, running out the 96-52 winner. | ||
− | Harvey returned for [[Championship of Champions III]], and after beating [[Michael Stephenson]] and [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]], he found a tough opponent in the grand final in the shape of [[David Trace]]. Harvey lost out in the first conundrum to David, putting him ten points behind, but he scored in every other round, including the final, [[crucial conundrum]] to win 115-107 - the highest ever score in a 14-round grand final and the only time anyone has ever scored over 110 under that format. | + | In February 1987, Harvey appeared on the [[Episode 495|special episode]] to celebrate Countdown's 500th show. Later the same year, he returned for [[Championship of Champions III]], and after beating [[Michael Stephenson]] and [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]], he found a tough opponent in the grand final in the shape of [[David Trace]]. Harvey lost out in the first conundrum to David, putting him ten points behind, but he scored in every other round, including the final, [[crucial conundrum]] to win 115-107 - the highest ever score in a 14-round grand final and the only time anyone has ever scored over 110 under that format. |
− | In 1996, Harvey returned to the Countdown studios one last time to participate in the [[series 33|Supreme Championship]]. Given a bye in the first round, Harvey defeated [[Ian Bebbington]] in the second round and [[Barry Grossman]] in a closely-fought group final to put himself into the series quarter-finals. There, he beat [[Andrew Perry]] before once again beating [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]] in the semi-final. In the final, he faced [[Allan Saldanha]] in what promised to be a true battle of the greats. However, as it turned out, Harvey managed to spot a 9 letter word in the first round that Allan didn't, and was able to hold on to his lead to win 82-79, winning the title of 'all-time supreme champion', and maintaining his winning streak at an unprecedented 19 games. | + | In 1996, Harvey returned to the Countdown studios one last time to participate in the [[series 33|Supreme Championship]]. Given a bye in the first round, Harvey defeated [[Ian Bebbington]] in the second round and [[Barry Grossman]] in a closely-fought group final to put himself into the series quarter-finals. There, he beat [[Andrew Perry]] before once again beating [[John Clarke (Series 11)|John Clarke]] in the semi-final. In the final, he faced [[Allan Saldanha]] in what promised to be a true battle of the greats. However, as it turned out, Harvey managed to spot a 9 letter word in the first round that Allan didn't, and was able to hold on to his lead to win 82-79, winning the title of 'all-time supreme champion', and maintaining his winning streak at an unprecedented 19 games (his only ever loss being against producer Mark Nyman in the separate [[Countdown Masters]] series in 1990). |
==Notable achievements== | ==Notable achievements== |
Revision as of 14:07, 4 March 2010
Harvey Freeman first appeared on Countdown in Series 10, and quickly earned a reputation as one of the greatest Countdowners of all time. As a 21-year old Cambridge University undergraduate from Enfield, Middlesex, he made his debut on 31 October 1986 against David Whiting. Harvey won that game and seven more to achieve octochampdom with a then-record aggregate score of 523 points- a record that would stand for almost 14 years before it was beaten by David Williams in Series 43. In his second game, Harvey score 82 points- also a record at the time. Harvey returned for the final rounds as the clear #1 seed, and dominated his opponents Elisabeth Jardine and Les Martin in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively, before going on to face Mike Percik in the grand final. Despite having OUTTAKES ☓ disallowed in the second round, Harvey would enter a commanding performance here too, running out the 96-52 winner.
In February 1987, Harvey appeared on the special episode to celebrate Countdown's 500th show. Later the same year, he returned for Championship of Champions III, and after beating Michael Stephenson and John Clarke, he found a tough opponent in the grand final in the shape of David Trace. Harvey lost out in the first conundrum to David, putting him ten points behind, but he scored in every other round, including the final, crucial conundrum to win 115-107 - the highest ever score in a 14-round grand final and the only time anyone has ever scored over 110 under that format.
In 1996, Harvey returned to the Countdown studios one last time to participate in the Supreme Championship. Given a bye in the first round, Harvey defeated Ian Bebbington in the second round and Barry Grossman in a closely-fought group final to put himself into the series quarter-finals. There, he beat Andrew Perry before once again beating John Clarke in the semi-final. In the final, he faced Allan Saldanha in what promised to be a true battle of the greats. However, as it turned out, Harvey managed to spot a 9 letter word in the first round that Allan didn't, and was able to hold on to his lead to win 82-79, winning the title of 'all-time supreme champion', and maintaining his winning streak at an unprecedented 19 games (his only ever loss being against producer Mark Nyman in the separate Countdown Masters series in 1990).
Notable achievements
- Most wins on Countdown.
- Highest score for a 14-round game (115).
- Second highest score for a 9-round game (82). It was the highest score at the time he made it. It's also the highest score by a champion, neither the score by Allan Saldanha nor by Stephen Balment were made whilst they were the sitting champion.
- Second highest 8-game total (523). It was the highest score at the time he made it.
- Highest debut score of Series 10.
- Series 10 winner.
- Championship of Champions III winner.
- Series 33 (Supreme Championship) winner.
Episodes
# | Date | Type | Contestant 1 | Score | Contestant 2 | Presenters | Guest | Lex | Max | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
459 | 31/10/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 65 – 45 | David Whiting | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Lee Peck | Freda Thornton | ||
460 | 3/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 82 – 30 | Rita Meston | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Lee Peck | Freda Thornton | ||
461 | 4/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 60 – 29 | Anilkumar Shah | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Lee Peck | Freda Thornton | ||
462 | 5/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 57 – 33 | Michael Sim | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Lee Peck | Freda Thornton | ||
463 | 6/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 64 – 28 | John Wesley | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Lee Peck | Freda Thornton | ||
464 | 7/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 49 – 21 | Frances Kitsall | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Lee Peck | Freda Thornton | ||
465 | 10/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 71 – 17 | Martin Reed | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Bill Tidy | Freda Thornton | ||
466 | 11/11/1986 | P | Harvey Freeman | 75 – 10 | Roy James | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Bill Tidy | Freda Thornton | ||
488 | 11/12/1986 | QF | Harvey Freeman | 65 – 29 | Elisabeth Jardine | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Bill Tidy | Catherine Clarke | ||
492 | 17/12/1986 | SF | Harvey Freeman | 76 – 36 | Les Martin | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Bill Tidy | Catherine Clarke | ||
494 | 19/12/1986 | GF | Harvey Freeman | 96 – 52 | Mike Percik | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Gyles Brandreth, Bill Tidy | Della Thompson | ||
595 | 22/06/1987 | CQF | Harvey Freeman | 44 – 36 | Michael Stephenson | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Sally James | Della Thompson | ||
599 | 26/06/1987 | CSF | Harvey Freeman | 45 – 38 | John Clarke | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Sally James | Della Thompson | ||
601 | 30/06/1987 | CGF | Harvey Freeman | 115 – 107 | David Trace | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Cathy Hytner | Sally James | Della Thompson | ||
M45 | 5/2/90-9/2/90 | Masters 1 | Mark Nyman | 76 – 68 | Harvey Freeman | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | N/A | Catherine Clarke | |||
1872 | 1/11/1996 | CSF | Ian Bebbington | 54 – 72 | Harvey Freeman | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Geoffrey Durham | Susie Dent | |||
1874 | 5/11/1996 | CF | Barry Grossman | 37 – 44 | Harvey Freeman | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Geoffrey Durham | Susie Dent | |||
1902 | 13/12/1996 | SQF | Andrew Perry | 44 – 54 | Harvey Freeman | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Jenny Hanley | Susie Dent | |||
1905 | 18/12/1996 | SSF | John Clarke | 48 – 65 | Harvey Freeman | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Nigel Rees | Catherine Clarke | |||
1907 | 20/12/1996 | SGF | Allan Saldanha | 79 – 82 | Harvey Freeman | Richard Whiteley | Carol Vorderman | Nigel Rees | Catherine Clarke |
Championship of Champions Winners | |
---|---|
I : Mark Nyman | II : Clive Freedman | III : Harvey Freeman | IV : Nic Brown | V : Tim Morrissey | VI : Wayne Summers | VII : Don Reid | VIII : Chris Rogers | IX : Natascha Kearsey | X : Scott Mearns | XI : Graham Nash | XII : Paul Gallen | XIII : Steve Briers | XIV : Dylan Taylor | XV : Zarte Siempre | XVI : Ahmed Mohamed |
Preceded by David Trace |
Series winner Series 10 |
Followed by John Clarke (Series 11) |
Preceded by Alan Sinclair |
Series winner Series 33 |
Followed by Huw Morgan |
Preceded by Clive Freedman (Series 6) |
Champion of Champions Championship of Champions III |
Followed by Nic Brown |