For the first time in twenty-six years, a woman has won Countdown.
Fiona Wood, a forensic accountant, won the Channel 4 quiz show on Friday, making her the first female champion since 1998.
Kate Ogilvie, who won the 39th series of the venerable numbers and words game show, was the last woman to win the contest.
In the final round, Mrs. Wood from Kinross, Scotland, overcame runner-up Chris Kirby by solving the final puzzle: lassitude, which is defined as a state of mental or physical exhaustion.
“I decided to apply after [host] Colin [Murray] appealed for older contestants with [lexicographer] Susie [Dent] adding that they wanted more women,” she said.
“I have absolutely no regrets about applying and would encourage other women to give it a go.”
Susie Dent, one of the show’s presenters, said: “Fiona delighted us all and gave us one of the very best moments in our 42-year history.
“This series also reminded us how much Countdown is a show for everyone, and we would encourage anyone who loves the game to apply.”
During the final, Mr Kirby was let down when when he tried to get an eight-letter word score with “promotee”, over Ms Wood’s “promote”, but was told that the result was not in the dictionary.
Mr Kirby came back by succeeding in another words round with “routeing”. And they both were unable to manage getting to the right total during the numbers section, before being shown the correct answer by Rachel Riley.
They continued to match each other, even getting the same word “opiates” during the tense 90th series final.
At the end, Ms Wood’s score was 96 to Mr Kirby’s 89.
After being presented with the trophy, she said: “I just can’t believe it. I’m not known for being decisive, and I thought long and hard before I decided to apply, and I’m just so glad that I did.”
It was not the first time Ms Wood competed in Countdown.
In 1991, she reached the semi-finals of the show’s 20th series but lost by 13 points to Liz Barber, the eventual winner.
She also competed in the 1993 Championship of Champions, a version of the show where competitors from recent series return to take part in a special tournament, and again reached the last four.
In the 51 series of Countdown filmed between 1998 and 2024, women reached the final eight times.
The closest a female contestant came to winning the game show during that period was Anita Freeland in series 56 in 2007, when she lost by just four points to champion Nick Wainwright, losing 89-85.
Last year, Northern Irish TV presenter Murray was named the permanent host of Countdown, taking over from Anne Robinson, the former The Weakest Link host .
Adapted from the French TV series Des Chiffres Et Des Lettres (Numbers and Letters), Countdown was originally hosted by Richard Whiteley.
Nick Hewer, Des Lynam, Des O’Connor and Jeff Stelling have also served as presenters.
Countdown is on Channel 4 from Monday to Friday at 2.10pm.
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