Derek Coombs

Derek Coombs first appeared on Countdown on 16 July 1990, beating his opponent Richard Hooke 42-37 in the 10th heat of series 20. he beat a further seven opponents to become the only octochamp of the series, and duly returned for the final rounds as #1 seed. After inflicting a heavy defeat on Denys Hollis in the quarter-finals and beating Maurice Binks in the semis, he faced Liz Barber in the final. Trailing by one point going into the conundrum, Derek buzzed in on 18 seconds and looked to have won it, but his answer was incorrect. Liz also answering the conundrum incorrectly later on proved to be academic- Derek had lost the game, and the series, by a single point. oddly, Derek did not return for Championship of Champions V at the start of the next series, instead returning in 1993 for Championship of Champions VI, where he was beaten in the first round by Fiona Willis. derek would return to Countdown once more in 1996 for the supreme championship, where he was beaten in the first round by John Clarke.