h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi there,

Couldn't help noticing your excellent Countdown entry - and although I know you've listed it as being a work in progress I thought I'd throw in the following (dubious) facts which may bear checking out further. It's simply a desire to help out, not in any way an obsessiveness for trivia & minutiae, oh dear me no not at all...



Anyway, I believe that prior to starting on Ch 4, Countdown was produced either as an actual set of programmes or a non-broadcast pilot (still with Mr Whitely & still by Yorkshire). If it was broadcast, it must have been on Yorkshire only, I think. Can't really remember exactly but got it from a 'history of Countdown "documentary"' which I saw once. Also from the same source, I don't believe it has 'always' featured Carol - in the first (& second?) seasons she was one of 3 or 4 who were on rotation at the letters & numbers board.

Anyway, I do not have the enviable experience of being in the same studio as greatness so I will not presume to add anything else!

Hope this helps, if not - well I didn't attach it to the article so feel free to ignore it!

Cheers
rooftiler

Hi there

It's not really a work in progress - that was a mistake, really. I left that sentence there by accident!

I think you're right about the pilot episodes (especially the Yorkshire TV only bit), but I couldn't find any specific information anywhere about them. I'll have another go sometime soon.

I'm not sure about Carol too, that's why I hope the entry hasn't suggested that she has always featured on the show. I know there is old footage of shows with less of her; however, most of those that I remember had her just doing the numbers, and the other lady (whose name I don't remember) would put the letters up.

Enviable experience... well sort of. It was pretty frightening to tell the truth - that numbers game I described at the end of the entry was done in the show before I was due on. So as you can imagine, it made me pretty pessimistic - although, I have to say that Richard was very complimentary to me, saying that if I'd played anyone slightly worse then I might have beaten them. Particularly some of the other people who played the champion that day.