Countdown Success: Adam Latchford

It may sound weird, but this was never supposed to happen, yet was always destined to happen. I loved Countdown for many years, and was always good at it, but I never thought I’d actually apply. Then lockdown struck. There was nothing to do, and rather than the office environment that I was used to, I was working with the TV on in the background. And thus my love affair with Countdown was reignited. I applied in the September, had an audition in the October and was filming by November. I can still remember how isolating the initial experience was: nobody allowed to travel with me, nobody allowed to watch from an audience. But, as I was led to the chair, to face winner of two games Conor Morgan, I started to really feel the nerves. We had one of Countdown’s all-time classic games. I was behind by ten points going into the conundrum, only to solve it to tie the scores at 72-72. Had he not buzzed in early, he would have solved it first and I’d have been out there and then. Another conundrum came up – NIGGLEDAZ – which I quickly solved in less than two seconds, realising was ‘deglazing’. The feeling was euphoric – all I wanted was an episode to be proud of and I’d had an all-time classic that people loved. Then I played another game, and another, and another, until I had won six games. This is where the true craziness began. I was on my fifth game on the day. There was no coffee allowed on the set, I was bereft of sleep, and I couldn’t carry on. I proceeded to play my worst game, but was still in touch by the time the conundrum rolled around. NATURALAT was the scramble. 11.5 seconds in, my opponent buzzed in; I knew I was out. Somehow I was granted a second reprieve as he incorrectly answered ‘unnatural’. Time continued to pass – I could not see it. At 29.5 seconds I buzzed in, as the lightbulb moment hit. ‘Tarantula!’ I proudly announced, to create another Countdown classic moment. That was game number seven under my belt, and it was incredible. Game eight was filmed a month later, and I won in anti-climactic fashion to become an ‘Octochamp’ (the name for someone who wins eight games of Countdown). This is where the hard work began. I knew I’d qualified for the series finals and knew the standard of opposition was about to increase. So I began to practise my maths and anagramming skills. Hours and hours of practice, learning factorisation and words that I have never learned before, harked back to my School years. I was never the best at Maths nor English, yet here I was on the show that showcased both. I’d have to pay homage to the teachers who tried to bring my skills out of me, Mr Holmes and Mrs Spencer-Jones in particular – the invaluable practice I gained here played a huge part in what was yet to come. After five months of additional practice, it was time to film the finals. I qualified as third seed, meaning I was against the sixth seed. The first time I could be considered a favourite. I took a very early lead and won 99-40, settling me down and qualifying me for the semi-finals. In the semi-final I played a national Scrabble champion. Again I entered with trepidation, but I managed to hold my nerve and beat him with my numbers skills to secure a narrow win.

This led to the final against the second-highest point scorer in Countdown history. His name was Luke-Boynton and he had scored 1,032 points in his ‘Octochamp’ run. I had scored 732. The gulf in class was clear for all to see, but I had set up with a plan. The way to stilt somebody in Countdown is to make the maximum possible word be as low as possible. So horrible letters, and making sure there weren’t lots of vowels had to be the tactic. I won the first round, I won the third round and I won the fourth round to give me a shock 30-7 lead. I couldn’t believe what was happening, but saw my hopes get dented (no pun intended) by him winning the fifth round with the word ‘ironical’. However, I managed to tie every round, using new words I’d learned in training, such as ‘guimpe’ and ‘metapode’, to take us to the final numbers round. A solve inside ten seconds secured me the victory – I collapsed onto the desk and struggled to say the answer. Rachel Riley commented that I was no longer dancing, but I was incredibly relieved. The parting shot of me and the trophy will live with me forever – and I’ve written myself into gameshow history. And to think, if it wasn’t for the pandemic this never would have happened. 2020 was crazy – but 2021 might just be crazier!