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April's featured article Susie Dent is a lexicographer on Countdown. Her first appearance in Dictionary Corner was on 29 June 1992, aged 24. At the time, the role of lexicographer rotated regularly between a group of members of the Oxford University Press (OUP) – most commonly Richard Samson and later Alison Heard – and occasionally members of the Countdown production team, Mark Nyman and Damian Eadie. For Series 50, Dent became a recurring member of the on-screen team, appearing in all but 15 episodes. She adjudicated every episode from 24 August 2004 until 9 May 2007, when the late Michael Wylie stepped in under the pseudonym "Susie Gent" to cover a bout of illness. Later in 2007, she took three months' maternity leave, allowing Heard to return for the last two months of Series 57, including the series final. She returned to the programme in February 2008, and has performed all lexicography work since. She oversaw the final episodes presented by Richard Whiteley, Des Lynam, Des O'Connor, Jeff Stelling and Carol Vorderman. In total, Dent has appeared on over 5,000 episodes of Countdown, and if 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown is included, has appeared more than anyone else, overhauling Vorderman's total in 2021. Beginning in Series 72 in 2015, Dent has been credited as a co-presenter alongside Rachel Riley. She has also appeared as the lexicographer in every episode of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, and in 2015, she finally appeared as a contestant in Episode Cats41. Dent's close association with Countdown has been acknowledged through variations of her name having featuring as conundrums on four occasions: the Series 31 final used the scramble SUSISDENT; on 22 March 2005 the conundrum was SUSIEDANT; the episode broadcast on 27 August 2015 had the similar scramble SUSIADENT; and the episode broadcast on 15 December 2017 had the slightly more adapted SUSIFENNT. Moreover, many other episodes' conundrum scrambles have incorporated her first name (e.g. SUSIEPONG) or surname (e.g. DENTSCENE). Indeed, in the 13 January 2017 edition of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, the conundrum was DENTPOOPS, solved by Series 70 champion Mark Murray. Since Series 57, Dent has been given a regular slot called Origins of Words, in which she explains the derivations of well-known words or phrases. As well as being a native English speaker, she is fluent in French and German and often makes comments on the etymologies of words derived from those two languages. She has also on occasion been called upon to assist Dictionary Corner guests Geoffrey Durham and Paul Zenon during their magic tricks. Away from Countdown, Dent authored a series of annual Language Reports for the OUP between 2003 and 2007, and continues to write about the ongoing evolution of the English language. She lives in Oxford with her husband Paul, and her daughters Lucy (born 11 February 2000) and Thea (born 22 October 2007). On 29 June 2017, Dent celebrated her 25th anniversary as Countdown lexicographer, and that day's programme featured several tributes and gifts to her, with that day's Dictionary Corner guest Colin Murray reading a poem on her behalf and Nick Hewer presenting her with a postcard signed by Arsène Wenger, the manager of her favoured football club Arsenal. (more...) More featured articles... Did you know... ...that in round 2 of Episode 4145, had contestant Phil Watkins chosen a final consonant instead of a final vowel, the longest available word in the selection would have been COUNTDOWN? ...that Richard Whiteley's Gotcha game and the Championship of Champions XI final (group photo, pictured) had identical maximum scores, despite one being a 9 rounder and the other a 15 rounder? ...that two sets of Countdown contestants have had names which were anagrams of each other: Jane Smith and Jean Smith, and Dave Roome and Dave Moore? ...that Conor Travers achieved three consecutive perfect games en route to the final of the 30th Birthday Championship? Nominate an article Today in Countdown history edit  2021: Adam Posner beat James Notton, with the game finishing 89 – 83. 2020: Jez Noble beat Gemma Geoghegan, scoring 73 – 67. 2019: Huw Davies beat Dave Butt with scores of 71 – 65. 2018: Dougie Mackay beat Gary Tanner in a game that ended 101 – 53. 2015: Gerry Tynan beat Anne Lewin, by a score of 108 – 52. 2014: Mark Murray beat David Jameson with final score 115 – 48. 2013: Giles Hutchings beat Nick Holland with a score of 111 – 58. 2012: Hilary White beat Nathan Steggles in a 80 – 73 game. 2010: Claudia Tyson beat Bill Langton, scoring 69 – 65. 2009: Shane Roberts beat Stephen Parkes with scores of 101 – 47. 2008: Diana Coull beat Peter Davey in a game that ended 77 – 68. 2007: Pam Smith beat Robin Scott with final score 82 – 76. 2004: Nicole Hutchings beat Dennis McGarry, by a score of 92 – 71. 2003: Ric Morgan beat David Wilson in a 83 – 80 game. 2002: David Stainer beat Leslie Ellison, scoring 100 – 73. 2001: Neil Cycon beat Wendy Coy with a score of 55 – 26. 1999: Jim Allen beat Perry Fung with scores of 41 – 37. 1998: John Jones beat Garry Mitchell in a game that ended 40 – 23. 1997: Natascha Kearsey beat Alan Davison with final score 61 – 42. 1987: Stephen Balment beat Helen Pitt, by a score of 53 – 45. 1986: David Trace beat Gloria Jones, scoring 59 – 20. 1984: Peter Skiba beat Cheryl Owen with a score of 68 – 30.

Popular articles edit  A brief overview of Countdown and some of its records and terminology. The team: Colin Murray, Rachel Riley, and Susie Dent. The show's institutions: The conundrum, the pencam, and the Teatime Teaser. Harry Savage, the reigning series champion, and his series grand final against Viraj Seelam. The most recent Championship of Champions Final between James Haughton and Ahmed Mohamed. The 30th Birthday Championship final between Conor Travers and Jack Hurst. Richard Whiteley, Des Lynam, Des O'Connor, Carol Vorderman, Jeff Stelling, Nick Hewer and Anne Robinson - the show's former permanent presenters. The highest ever score: 154, achieved by Tom Stevenson in Episode 7860 and Cillian McMulkin in Episode 7943. Editors edit  Everyone can edit the Countdown Wiki, just register and then click the edit link at the top of any page (except this one!) and start editing. Here are some useful links: Learn about this wiki and how to use it. Episode style guide - if you want to help us edit the episode pages, this style guide gives comprehensive help. Suggest a featured article which will in turn be featured on the Main Page. Other Countdown websites edit  Apterous, an online game from the same people that run this site. The Countdown Android App, created by Series 63 champion Jack Hurst. The Countdown Database, detailed statistics and round-by-round details of over 7,800 episodes. FOCAL, regular in-person events that anyone can enter. c4countdown, Countdown's main online forum, populated by many past octochamps. Quantum Tombola, a numbers game solver designed by Series 65 champion Graeme Cole. A mobile version of the above. Greem, a website listing nearly all Co-event scores until early 2020. The Countdown Page, the original site of Countdown stats, by Mike Brown. Upcoming Countdown tournaments edit  The full list of FOCAL tournaments for 2024 is here. The next scheduled event is Countdown in Reading on 20 April 2024. Almost all online tournaments are now held on Apterous: the list of ongoing tournaments is here.

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