Allan Saldanha

Allan Saldanha

Allan Saldanha at the 1993 UK Scrabble Championship.

Allan Saldanha is one of, if not the most famous Countdown contestants of all time.

Saldanha, from London, first appeared in the first heat of Series 15 aged just nine, and he quickly rattled off eight wins, becoming an octochamp with a staggering total score of 490. Saldanha was #1 seed for the final rounds, and made short work of Paul Walker and Peter Pryer on his way to the final against Dick Green.

The final was one of the most controversial games in Countdown history. In the penultimate letters game, trailing by three points, Saldanha risked the word YOLKED, which was disallowed wrongly by the lexicographer Catherine Clarke. Whilst Saldanha would still have lost the game had it been allowed (the game went to a crucial conundrum, which Green solved in 6 seconds), it was felt that the wrongful disallowing of YOLKED had had a psychological effect on the young man, and then-producer John Meade relented and bought another complete set of the OED for Saldanha.

Saldanha played in Championship of Champions IV, but was knocked out in the first round by Nita Marr. He returned twice in subsequent years for special shows celebrating Countdown's longevity, beating Tim Morrissey in the '1000th' show and Gareth Williams in the '1500th' show.

He would make his final competitive appearance on Countdown in 1996, aged 18, to participate in the Supreme Championship. In the first round, he beat Michael Wareham, and equalled Steve Balment's record of 83 points in one game in the second round, crushing Darryl Francis 83 – 24 in a classic encounter. Further victories over David Trace, Joyce Cansfield and Tim Morrissey brought Saldanha to the final against Harvey Freeman. In the final, however, Freeman spotted a nine-letter word that Saldanha missed in the first round, taking a lead from which Saldanha was unable to recover. Saldanha was the only person to play six games in the Supreme Championship.

Saldanha also holds the record for most televised games of Countdown broadcast – 21 in total, including his special games and Countdown Masters games. Saldanha would also make a cameo appearance before his brother's special game against Kate Ogilvie, recorded in 2002.

See also

Richard Saldanha, Allan's younger brother who reached the final of Series 39.

Preceded by Joel Salkin

Series runner-up Series 15

Followed by Roger Wales

Preceded by Dennis Fearon

Series runner-up Series 33

Followed by Harshan Lamabadusuriya

Episodes

#	Date	Type	Contestant 1	Score	Contestant 2	Presenters				Guest	Lex	Max
708	11/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	57 – 28	Bridgette Lagden	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	83
709	12/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	61 – 26	Billy Wright	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	73
710	13/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	57 – 26	Alan Brooker	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	73
711	14/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	65 – 23	Margaret Elliot	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	74
712	15/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	60 – 24	Antony Stafford	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	76
713	18/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	81 – 15	Katy Green	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	84
714	19/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	55 – 45	Nick Wilkes	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	69
715	20/04/1988	P	Allan Saldanha	54 – 40	Danny Morris	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Clement Freud	Julia Swannell	73
751	9/06/1988	QF	Allan Saldanha	50 – 37	Paul Walker	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Gyles Brandreth	Julia Swannell	74
755	15/06/1988	SF	Allan Saldanha	42 – 38	Peter Pryer	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Gyles Brandreth	Julia Swannell	74
757	17/06/1988	GF	Allan Saldanha	70 – 81	Dick Green	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Karen Loughlin	Richard Stilgoe, Gyles Brandreth	Catherine Clarke	115
815	4/01/1989	CQF	Allan Saldanha	45 – 53	Nita Marr	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman			Lucy Summers	Tim Rice	Catherine Clarke	84
M37	11/12/89-15/12/89	Masters 1	Tim Morrissey	83 – 100	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman					N/A	Freda Thornton	138
1003	2/07/1990	S	Allan Saldanha	94 – 93	Tim Morrissey	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Gyles Brandreth, Richard Stilgoe	Catherine Clarke	121
1523	4/07/1994	S	Gareth Williams	62 – 99	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Denis Norden	Mark Nyman	129
1884	19/11/1996	eQF	Michael Wareham	20 – 69	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Barry Cryer	Susie Dent	75
1886	21/11/1996	eSF	Darryl Francis	24 – 83	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Tom O'Connor	Catherine Stokes	85
1887	22/11/1996	eF	David Trace	34 – 45	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Tom O'Connor	Catherine Stokes	70
1903	16/12/1996	SQF	Joyce Cansfield	50 – 67	Allan Saldanha	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Clarke	67
1906	19/12/1996	SSF	Allan Saldanha	61 – 57	Tim Morrissey	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Clarke	71
1907	20/12/1996	SGF	Allan Saldanha	79 – 82	Harvey Freeman	Richard Whiteley	Carol Vorderman				Lucy Summers	Nigel Rees	Catherine Clarke	127