Returning contestants

Though the Countdown application form officially states that applicants must not have appeared in the televised stages of the Programme on any previous occasion, there is a long history of contestants returning to the show to make a second appearance. More than 20 contestants have become Octochamps on their second attempt at the show after failing to win a single match first time round, while series champions Dinos Sfyris, Zarte Siempre, Martin Hurst, Jonathan Wynn, Tom Cappleman, Dan McColm, Mark Murray, Paul James and Kirk Bevins all achieved the feat when making their second appearance.

Unofficially, the advice is to wait for 10 years before re-applying to the show after a first appearance; however a handful of contestants have returned sooner. The shortest gap between distinct appearances on the show, excluding those who were specially invited back due to administrative errors in their first episodes, is just 1 year 102 days, a record held by Karyn Cooke. The record for longest gap between appearances is held by Andy Bruno, who waited almost 38 years for his second attempt.

A successful first appearance on the show is no barrier to making a second appearance. Octochamps John Hadfield, Anthony Jenkin and Julia Wilkinson returned to the show for a second try... though notably all of them failed to win a match second time around. Series 5 semifinalist June Madell returned for a second appearance in Series 69, winning one episode.

Around 20 contestants are thought to own two teapots, having won at least one episode on multiple appearances since teapots were first awarded as prizes. The Series 85 semi-final between Matt O'Connor and Steve Hyde is thought to have been the first match between two contestants who both owned multiple teapots.

Steve Hyde is, to date, the only returning contestant whose "second debut" occurred on the same date as their first - though Michael Hastings, Martyn Simpson and June Madell all came very close.

Contestants with three distinct appearances

A select group of contestants have made three appearances on the show - they are listed below, ordered by the date of their most recent appearance.

Jodine Lawrence

First appearance	Series 67	Episode 5565	11/10/2012	0 wins
Second appearance	Series 79	Episode 6855	26/06/2018	3 wins
Third appearance	Series 84	Episode 7592	10/09/2021	2 wins

Lawrence appeared in series 67 and 79 before returning for, and winning, the special "Black to Front" episode of Series 84.

Andy Hewitt

First appearance	Series 26	Episode 1631	02/03/1995	0 wins
Second appearance	Series 62	Episode 4957	14/01/2010	0 wins
Third appearance	Series 82	Episode 7314	27/04/2020	0 wins

Hewitt made three appearances from three separate applications, failing to win a match on each occasion.

Barbara Wylde

First appearance	Series 24	Episode 1284	28/07/1992	0 wins
Second appearance	Series 25	Episode 1369	02/03/1993	0 wins
Third appearance	Series 81	Episode 7216	29/11/2019	0 wins

Wylde was invited back for a second try in Series 25 after an incorrectly-disallowed word denied her victory in Episode 1284. Her third appearance came some 26 years later.

Martin May

First appearance	Series 56	Episode 4282	29/01/2007	1 wins
Second appearance	Series 56	Episode 4412	09/08/2007	4 wins
Third appearance	Series 79	Episode 6932	17/10/2018	8 wins

May won two episodes early in Series 56 before retiring for personal reasons. He returned later in the series to record 4 more wins, then re-appeared in Series 79 to become an octochamp.

Mick Purdie

First appearance	Series 8	Episode 362	06/02/1986	0 wins
Second appearance	Series 36	Episode 2061	31/07/1997	1 wins
Third appearance	Series 78	Episode 6840	05/06/2018	3 wins

Purdie made three appearances from three separate applications, winning matches on two occasions. However he only owns one teapot, as they only started being awarded as a prize the year after his first victory.

Contestants with two appearances

The table below lists returning contestants whose return appearance was as far back as series 46; it is a work in progress

	First appearance				Second appearance				Gap between appearances
Contestant	Series	Episode	Date	Wins	Series	Episode	Date	Wins
Anthony Wilson	49	3482	14/05/2003	0	86	7802	11/07/2022	0	19y 058d
Edward Byrne	71	6036	20/11/2014	1	86	7797	04/07/2022	8	07y 226d
Chris Canham	49	3452	02/04/2003	0	86	7795	30/06/2022	0	19y 089d
Graham Harrison	69	5738	23/07/2014	0	86	7792	27/06/2022	0	07y 339d
June Knott	50	3532	05/08/2003	0	86	7791	24/06/2022	0	18y 324d
Alex McKenzie	48	3312	30/8/2002	1	85	7763	17/05/2022	0	19y 260d
Ryan Carlsen	66	5435	28/02/2012	0	85	7759	11/05/2022	8	10y 073d
Rick Warburton	60	4764	24/02/2009	0	85	7751	29/04/2022	0	13y 064d
Matt O'Connor	65	5288	17/06/2011	5	85	7741	15/04/2022	8	10y 303d
Leigh Workman	67	5606	10/12/2012	0	85	7738	12/04/2022	0	09y 123d
Steve Hyde	51	3662	10/03/2004	2	85	7715	10/03/2022	8	18y 000d
Alex Morton	65	5380	22/11/2011	3	85	7694	09/02/2022	0	10y 079d
Crispin Salfarlie	56	4311	09/03/2007	0	85	7684	26/01/2022	1	14y 323d
Tom Bolland	64	5268	20/05/2011	0	84	7655	08/12/2021	0	10y 202d
Stu Harkness	57	4499	10/12/2007	0	84	7645	24/11/2021	8	13y 350d
Adrian Lutman	56	4269	10/01/2007	0	84	7620	20/10/2021	0	14y 283d
Tamsin Macdonald Johnston	56	4336	19/04/2007	0	84	7607	15/10/2021	1	14y 179d
Matt Watts	56	4360	23/05/2007	0	84	7613	11/10/2021	1	14y 141d
Steve Gamble	47	3265	05/06/2002	0	84	7583	30/08/2021	2	19y 086d
Shireen Ahmed	65	5313	22/07/2011	0	84	7577	20/08/2021	0	10y 029d
Jeremy Slaney	47	3163	09/01/2002	3	84	7575	18/08/2021	8	19y 221d
Roy Gerrish	57	4404	24/07/2007	0	84	7573	16/08/2021	0	14y 023d
Carlos Da Silva	55	4138	03/07/2006	0	84	7546	07/07/2021	1	15y 004d
Rob Bosher	7	314	19/11/1985	0	83	7505	11/05/2021	1	35y 173d
Luke Boynton	51	3703	13/05/2004	0	83	7468	19/03/2021	8	16y 310d
Jamie Jones	38	2182	23/01/1998	1	83	7465	16/03/2021	0	23y 052d
Ian Simpson	70	5933	03/06/2014	0	83	7463	12/03/2021	0	06y 282d
Michael Hastings	64	5223	11/03/2011	0	83	7461	10/03/2021	0	09y 364d
Danny Webster	76	6507	27/01/2017	0	83	7454	01/03/2021	0	04y 033d
Martyn Simpson	61	4927	12/11/2009	0	82	7388	13/11/2020	6	11y 001d
Andy Bruno	1	15	25/11/1982	2	82	7383	6/11/2020	5	37y 346d
Rebecca Harraway	64	5261	11/05/2011	0	82	7382	5/11/2020	1	09y 178d
Richard Ellis	53	3927	13/05/2005	0	82	7347	17/09/2020	1	15y 127d
Phil Hulme	8	354	27/01/1986	1	82	7282	12/03/2020	8	34y 045d
Paul Varlaam	61	4865	21/07/2009	5	82	7272	27/02/2020	0	10y 221d
Ian Volante	56	4270	11/01/2007	3	82	7257	06/02/2020	8	13y 026d
Alan Byers	63	5129	11/10/2010	0	82	7256	05/02/2020	0	09y 117d
Thomas Leeming	53	3913	22/04/2005	0	82	7249	27/01/2020	2	14y 280d
Dave Chapple	17	834	31/01/1989	0	82	7244	20/01/2020	2	30y 354d
Carole Bramwell	54	4078	10/04/2006	5	82	7234	06/01/2020	0	13y 271d
Ewen Alexander	21	1076	10/01/1991	0	81	7207	18/11/2019	0	28y 312d
Peter Williams	24	1274	14/07/1992	0	81	7177	7/10/2019	0	27y 085d
Paul Nixon	34	1937	07/02/1997	2	81	7172	30/09/2019	8	22y 235d
Peter Tarry	49	3491	30/05/2003	0	81	7153	03/09/2019	0	16y 096d
Roy Anderson	16	773	11/07/1988	0	81	7149	28/08/2019	0	31y 048d
David Nixon	34	1943	17/02/1997	0	81	7139	14/08/2019	0	22y 178d
Chris Evans	39	2333	24/08/1998	0	81	7134	07/08/2019	0	20y 348d
Liz Smith	38	2231	02/04/1998	1	80	7100	19/06/2019	0	21y 078d
Stephen Troop	63	5143	29/10/2010	0	80	7096	13/06/2019	0	08y 227d
Iain Cadogan	41	2581	16/08/1999	0	80	7095	12/06/2019	2	19y 301d
Chris Smith	34	1925	22/01/1997	0	80	7084	28/05/2019	1	22y 126d
John Hadfield	14	667	4/11/1987	8	80	7077	17/05/2019	0	31y 195d
Sandra Pilson	57	4489	26/11/2007	0	80	7068	06/05/2019	6	11y 162d
Gerry Buckley	60	4819	18/05/2009	0	80	7031	14/03/2019	0	09y 300d
Julia Wilkinson	47	3266	06/06/2002	8	80	7027	08/03/2019	0	16y 275d
Dinos Sfyris	57	4457	11/10/2007	3	80	7017	22/02/2019	8	11y 134d
Kerry Copland	50	3557	1/10/2003	0	80	7002	01/02/2019	5	15y 123d
Mark Jeary	39	2399	24/11/1998	1	79	6966	4/12/2018	3	20y 010d
Pete Clark	36	2049	15/07/1997	0	79	6965	3/12/2018	0	21y 141d
Sue Booton	51	3643	12/02/2004	0	79	6959	24/11/2018	0	14y 286d
Jane Capie	54	3980	28/11/2005	0	79	6952	14/11/2018	0	12y 351d
Susan Stones	54	4041	21/02/2006	0	79	6923	4/10/2018	0	12y 225d
Laura McDonald	54	4005	10/01/2006	0	79	6909	13/09/2018	0	12y 246d
Tony Manwani	41	2610	29/09/1999	2	79	6896	27/08/2018	8	18y 333d
Paul Harper	32	1799	23/07/1996	3	78	6822	09/05/2018	8	21y 290d
Simon Cluskey	42	2695	25/01/2000	0	78	6820	07/05/2018	0	18y 103d
Andy Christley	54	3982	30/11/2005	0	78	6805	13/04/2018	0	12y 134d
Anthony Jenkin	31	1721	04/01/1996	8	78	6781	12/03/2018	0	22y 068d
Zarte Siempre	69	5739	24/07/2013	5	78	6774	01/03/2018	8	04y 220d
John Eadie	34	1922	17/01/1997	0	78	6770	23/02/2018	0	21y 037d
John Owens	22	1161	08/08/1991	1	78	6760	09/02/2018	0	26y 185d
Shelagh Addis	47	3177	29/01/2002	0	78	6738	03/01/2018	0	15y 339d
James Kennedy	43	2843	20/09/2000	0	77	6690	18/10/2017	8	17y 028d
Ray Waddington	54	4008	13/01/2006	2	77	6666	14/09/2017	0	11y 244d
Andrew Booth	40	2480	17/03/1999	2	77	6657	01/09/2017	0	18y 168d
Chris Feetenby	26	1399	13/07/1993	5	77	6647	17/08/2017	0	24y 035d
Paul Ellis	43	2873	1/11/2000	1	77	6634	31/07/2017	0	16y 272d
David Marsh	57	4447	27/09/2007	1	77	6630	25/07/2017	0	09y 302d
Andrew Alden	47	3225	05/04/2002	0	77	6629	24/07/2017	0	15y 110d
Martin Smith	58	4527	28/01/2008	0	77	6619	07/07/2017	0	09y 161d
Ken Coney	54	4067	28/03/2006	0	76	6603	14/06/2017	1	11y 078d
Florence Forbes	55	4239	21/11/2006	0	76	6585	18/05/2017	0	10y 178d
Jonathan De Souza	51	3630	26/01/2004	0	76	6584	17/05/2017	0	13y 112d
Charlie Neill	45	3079	13/09/2001	0	76	6569	25/04/2017	3	15y 224d
Carl Gregory	55	4230	8/11/2006	0	76	6567	21/04/2017	0	10y 164d
Nick Smith	50	3536	12/08/2003	2	76	6566	20/04/2017	3	13y 252d
Mandy Spencer	24	1270	08/07/1992	1	76	6554	04/04/2017	2	24y 270d
Jeff Clayton	51	3711	28/05/2004	2	76	6546	23/03/2017	8	12y 299d
Bill Arnold	36	2040	02/07/1997	2	76	6540	15/03/2017	0	19y 256d
Alan Lewis	32	1796	18/07/1996	1	76	6533	06/03/2017	0	20y 231d
Peter Brinkley	47	3206	11/03/2002	0	76	6516	09/02/2017	1	14y 335d
Irene Wilson	62	4983	19/02/2010	0	76	6511	02/02/2017	0	06y 348d
Elliott Mack	61	4933	20/11/2009	0	76	6506	26/01/2017	8	07y 067d
Dave Ryan	44	2912	26/12/2000	1	76	6504	24/01/2017	2	16y 029d
Louise Wilson	67	5551	20/09/2012	0	76	6500	18/01/2017	1	04y 120d
John Shaw	63	5112	16/09/2010	0	75	6475	28/11/2016	8	06y 073d
Charlie Clarke	63	5134	18/10/2010	0	75	6473	23/11/2016	2	06y 036d
Peter Andrews	29	1623	20/02/1995	0	75	6450	20/10/2016	0	21y 242d
Adam Bevan	63	5168	3/12/2010	0	75	6446	14/10/2016	0	05y 315d
Gary McEnaney	53	3905	12/04/2005	0	75	6434	27/09/2016	0	11y 168d
Paul King	55	4146	13/07/2006	1	75	6430	20/09/2016	0	10y 069d
Alan Gillies	31	1738	29/01/1996	0	75	6420	26/08/2016	0	20y 210d
Martin Hurst	35	2022	06/06/1997	0	75	6419	25/08/2016	8	19y 080d
Roy Davies	54	3992	14/12/2005	0	75	6412	11/08/2016	0	10y 240d
Andrew Fenton	41	2606	23/09/1999	0	75	6385	27/06/2016	8	16y 278d
Ian Newman	37	2104	30/09/1997	0	74	6361	17/05/2016	0	18y 229d
Ann Dibben	18	900	23/08/1989	1	74	6342	12/04/2016	8	26y 232d
Ben Dali	51	3658	04/03/2004	1	74	6313	22/02/2016	0	11y 355d
Stuart Moore	44	3021	31/05/2001	1	74	6312	19/02/2016	0	14y 264d
Jane Kempton	47	3262	31/05/2002	0	73	6265	7/12/2015	1	13y 190d
Jim Anderson	53	3923	09/05/2005	0	73	6252	18/11/2015	0	10y 193d
Keith Kan	40	2449	02/02/1999	1	73	6243	5/11/2015	2	16y 276d
John Hardie	53	3881	01/03/2005	0	73	6221	5/10/2015	8	10y 218d
Brendan Duke	54	3988	08/12/2005	0	73	6215	24/09/2015	0	09y 290d
Jonathan Wynn	63	5072	01/07/2010	0	73	6194	24/08/2015	8	05y 054d
Stephen Briggs	43	2899	7/12/2000	3	73	6179	23/07/2015	8	14y 228d
Judy Bursford	54	3983	1/12/2005	0	73	6166	02/07/2015	7	09y 213d
Sue Picken	51	3661	09/03/2004	0	72	6131	29/04/2015	1	11y 051d
Kate Ritchie	43	2804	07/07/2000	6	72	6114	31/03/2015	2	14y 267d
Mike Pilkington	43	2832	05/09/2000	0	72	6111	26/03/2015	0	14y 202d
Tom Cappleman	59	4707	7/11/2008	0	72	6106	19/03/2015	8	06y 132d
Lou Marriott	44	2930	19/01/2001	2	72	6090	19/02/2015	0	14y 031d
Lee Worth	26	1393	05/07/1993	1	72	6089	18/02/2015	0	21y 228d
Gus Aaron	53	3877	23/02/2005	0	72	6086	13/02/2015	0	09y 355d
Terry Stapleton	22	1182	06/09/1991	0	72	6085	12/02/2015	0	23y 159d
Tracey Mills	47	3165	11/01/2002	0	72	6069	21/01/2015	8	13y 010d
John Taylor	21	1114	05/03/1991	0	72	6065	15/01/2015	0	23y 316d
Jacky Pinkney	19	973	19/02/1990	0	71	6048	8/12/2014	1	24y 292d
Emma Brown	40	2426	31/12/1998	1	71	6043	1/12/2014	0	15y 335d
Josephine Keane	44	2917	02/01/2001	0	71	6032	13/11/2014	0	13y 315d
Gweni Sorokin	24	1296	13/08/1992	0	71	6025	4/11/2014	1	22y 083d
Ita Moynihan	44	2958	28/02/2001	0	71	6019	27/10/2014	0	13y 241d
Samantha Cooper	51	3626	20/01/2004	0	71	6011	14/10/2014	0	10y 268d
Dan McColm	64	5212	24/02/2011	0	71	6007	8/10/2014	8	03y 226d
Elisabeth Jardine	10	467	12/11/1986	2	71	5999	25/09/2014	0	27y 317d
Michael McDowell	46	3114	1/11/2001	0	71	5998	24/09/2014	4	12y 327d
David Morgans	52	3809	4/11/2004	0	71	5994	18/09/2014	0	09y 318d
Tricia Pay	29	1636	09/03/1995	0	71	5962	23/07/2014	8	19y 136d
Ian Linton	44	2934	25/01/2001	0	71	5954	09/07/2014	2	13y 165d
Brian Boonham	38	2233	06/04/1998	0	70	5931	30/05/2014	0	16y 054d
Simon Gillam	23	1232	14/02/1992	0	70	5927	26/05/2014	0	22y 102d
Harold Blythe	38	2236	09/04/1998	0	70	5926	23/05/2014	0	16y 044d
Stuart McQuitty	38	2256	07/05/1998	3	70	5917	02/05/2014	0	15y 360d
Glyn Linder	19	951	18/01/1990	0	70	5913	28/04/2014	0	24y 100d
Neil Green	50	3594	21/11/2003	0	70	5912	24/04/2014	6	10y 155d
Julie Devine	44	2970	16/03/2001	0	70	5910	22/04/2014	1	13y 037d
Mark Murray	41	2630	27/10/1999	0	70	5902	10/04/2014	8	14y 166d
Bobby Johnson	40	2544	15/06/1999	2	70	5899	07/04/2014	3	14y 297d
Cliff Lee	22	1177	30/08/1991	0	70	5887	18/03/2014	5	22y 200d
Sue Babb	51	3638	05/02/2004	1	70	5881	04/03/2014	0	10y 027d
Andy Naylor	49	3466	22/04/2003	0	70	5872	19/02/2014	8	10y 303d
Christopher Jones	29	1617	10/02/1995	1	70	5870	17/02/2014	0	19y 007d
Priscilla Munday	48	3316	10/09/2002	1	70	5851	21/01/2014	6	11y 133d
June Madell	5	212	21/11/1984	3	69	5817	20/11/2013	1	28y 364d
Sarah Taylor	5	196	30/10/1984	1	69	5808	7/11/2013	3	29y 008d
Bradley Cates	56	4267	08/01/2007	3	69	5794	18/10/2013	8	06y 283d
Eric Emslie	23	1203	06/01/1992	0	69	5787	9/10/2013	0	21y 277d
John Blaker	41	2631	28/10/1999	0	69	5781	1/10/2013	0	13y 339d
Alex Fish	50	3582	5/11/2003	0	69	5769	13/09/2013	8	09y 313d
Raymond Tate	34	1959	11/03/1997	0	69	5763	05/09/2013	0	16y 178d
Peter Etherington	24	1271	09/07/1992	2	69	5758	29/08/2013	1	21y 051d
Brenda Widger	10	458	30/10/1986	0	69	5741	26/07/2013	0	26y 269d
Steve Grimble	11	506	17/02/1987	0	69	5723	02/07/2013	3	26y 135d
Glen Webb	23	1202	03/01/1992	2	68	5708	05/06/2013	8	21y 154d
Eileen Taylor	22	1145	17/07/1991	0	68	5686	24/04/2013	8	21y 282d
John Gardner	14	697	14/12/1987	0	68	5682	18/04/2013	1	25y 126d
Philip Jarvis	47	3180	01/02/2002	0	68	5656	05/03/2013	2	11y 032d
Paul James	38	2250	29/04/1998	0	67	5522	06/07/2012	8	14y 068d
Monica Sutcliffe	14	670	9/11/1987	0	66	5467	20/04/2012	1	24y 163d
John Bird	12	562	06/05/1987	0	66	5453	02/04/2012	3	24y 332d
Peter Lee	47	3181	04/02/2002	0	66	5429	20/02/2012	8	10y 016d
Marcus Hares	32	1821	22/08/1996	2	63	5144	1/11/2010	8	14y 071d
Bruce Lambert	43	2798	26/06/2000	1	63	5096	25/08/2010	0	10y 060d
Ross Mackenzie	39	2381	29/10/1998	0	61	4877	03/09/2009	0	10y 309d
Andrew Hulme	42	2706	09/02/2000	0	61	4857	09/07/2009	8	09y 151d
Chris Bergman	20	1034	14/08/1990	0	61	4854	06/07/2009	0	18y 326d
Mike Moran	39	2319	04/08/1998	0	61	4852	02/07/2009	0	10y 332d
Hamish Williamson	40	2487	26/03/1999	0	60	4806	29/04/2009	4	10y 034d
Karyn Cooke	58	4515	10/01/2008	0	60	4800	21/04/2009	0	01y 102d
James Robinson	49	3454	04/04/2003	0	60	4800	21/04/2009	2	06y 017d
Kirk Bevins	51	3642	11/02/2004	0	60	4768	02/03/2009	8	05y 019d
Garry Preston	18	883	31/07/1989	0	59	4712	14/11/2008	0	19y 106d
Junaid Mubeen	39	2342	04/09/1998	0	59	4673	22/09/2008	8	10y 018d
Tony Durrant	10	475	24/11/1986	0	58	4560	19/03/2008	3	21y 116d
Terry Rattle	47	3171	21/01/2002	0	57	4428	31/08/2007	0	05y 222d
Margaret Read	38	2284	16/06/1998	0	57	4398	16/07/2007	0	09y 030d
Amey Deshpande	42	2693	21/01/2000	0	56	4273	16/01/2007	8	06y 361d
Ola Odutola	41	2603	20/09/1999	0	53	3901	06/04/2005	0	05y 199d
James Squires	24	1281	23/07/1992	0	40	2531	27/05/1999	0	06y 308d

Contestants invited for a second appearance due to administrative errors

	First appearance				Second appearance				Gap between appearances	Reason
Contestant	Series	Episode	Date	Wins	Series	Episode	Date	Wins
James Hall	64	5224	21/03/2011	0	65	5283	10/06/2011	0	81 days	Invited back after having a word incorrectly disallowed
Andrew Mossford	63	5091	11/08/2010	0	64	5201	09/02/2011	0	182 days	Invited back after opponent had a word incorrectly allowed
Phill Thorne	62	4973	05/02/2010	0	63	5124	4/10/2010	0	241 days	Invited back after controversy surrounding an invalid declaration
Carl Dundas	57	4483	16/11/2007	1	58	4603	19/05/2008	3	185 days	Invited back after "an incident"
John Britton	50	3551	23/09/2003	0	51	3692	28/04/2004	0	218 days	Invited back after having a word incorrectly disallowed
Helen Wrigglesworth	41	2666	16/12/1999	4	42	2717	24/02/2000	1	0y 70d	Invited back after having a word unfairly disallowed