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Allan Saldanha

From Countdown
Revision as of 11:37, 23 January 2011 by The Doctor (talk | contribs)
Allan Saldanha.
Allan Saldanha at the 1993 UK Scrabble Championship.

Allan Saldanha is one of, if not the most famous Countdown contestant of all time. Allan, 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. Allan 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, Allan risked the word YOLKED, which was disallowed wrongly by the lexicographer Catherine Clarke. Whilst Allan would still have lost the game had it been allowed (the game went to a crucial conundrum, which Dick 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 Allan.

Allan 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 Allan to the final against Harvey Freeman. In the final, however, Harvey spotted a nine-letter word that Allan missed in the first round, taking a lead from which Allan was unable to recover. Allan was the only person to play six games in the Supreme Championship.

Allan also holds the record for most televised games of Countdown broadcast – 21 in total, including his special games and Countdown Masters games. Allan 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 Swannel
709 12/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 61 – 26 Billy Wright Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
710 13/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 57 – 26 Alan Brooker Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
711 14/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 65 – 23 Margaret Elliot Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
712 15/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 60 – 24 Antony Stafford Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
713 18/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 81 – 15 Katy Green Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
714 19/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 55 – 45 Nick Wilkes Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
715 20/04/1988 P Allan Saldanha 54 – 40 Danny Morris Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Clement Freud Julia Swannel
751 9/06/1988 QF Allan Saldanha 50 – 37 Paul Walker Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Gyles Brandreth Julia Swannel
755 15/06/1988 SF Allan Saldanha 42 – 38 Peter Pryer Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Gyles Brandreth Julia Swannel
757 17/06/1988 GF Allan Saldanha 70 – 81 Dick Green Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Karen Loughlin Richard Stilgoe,
Gyles Brandreth
Catherine Clarke
815 4/01/1989 CQF Allan Saldanha 45 – 53 Nita Marr Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Lucy Summers Tim Rice Catherine Clarke
M37 11/12/89-15/12/89 Masters 1 Tim Morrissey 83 – 100 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman N/A Freda Thornton
1003 2/07/1990 S Allan Saldanha 94 – 93 Tim Morrissey Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Gyles Brandreth,
Richard Stilgoe
Catherine Clarke
1523 4/07/1994 S Gareth Williams 62 – 99 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Denis Norden Mark Nyman
1884 19/11/1996 eQF Michael Wareham 20 – 69 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Barry Cryer Susie Dent
1886 21/11/1996 eSF Darryl Francis 24 – 83 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tom O'Connor Catherine Stokes
1887 22/11/1996 eF David Trace 34 – 45 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Tom O'Connor Catherine Stokes
1903 16/12/1996 SQF Joyce Cansfield 50 – 67 Allan Saldanha Richard Whiteley Carol Vorderman Nigel Rees Catherine Clarke 67
1906 19/12/1996 SSF Allan Saldanha 61 – 57 Tim Morrissey 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