I was watching(ok, I record it to cut out all the garbage...sad I know!) recently and this came up- had to take a photo!
Well- I'd say she's still got it, so a big YAY from me!
I don't wanna take this off topic, but here's some interesting facts about Countdown, one of which deals with the issue of rude words.
Does Carol really do the numbers in the 30-second time limit? Yes. Carol has the same amount of time as the contestants and for every show there is an audience of 150 people who are witnesses to this.
How come we never see rude words on the programme? Due to the time of transmission and the nature of the programme, we consider it inappropriate to allow vulgarities or swear words. If a selection is found to contain an obvious rude word, we scrap the round and start again. If during a round a contestant finds a winning word that is deemed to be vulgar or too risqué to broadcast, we will replace the selection and give that contestant a winning word of the same length as the rude one, so that the scores are not affected.
Do they use a computer to find the longest words? No. All words offered by Dictionary Corner are found within the 30 seconds and come from the brain. No computers or electronic devices are used. All words are checked manually with the Oxford Dictionary of English, by both the lexicographer and the producer behind the scenes.
Why is the last round called the Conundrum when it is an anagram? The last round, the ‘Conundrum’ is so called because it sounds a lot better than Countdown anagram. It has the alliteration and the word ‘Conundrum’ is also 9-letters long. The Oxford Dictionary of English describes the word ‘Conundrum’ as being ‘a confusing or difficult problem or question’. So technically the question in this case could be ‘What is the hidden 9-letter word formable from these letters?’ There is some justification for naming it ‘Conundrum’!
Why is only one half of the Countdown clock ever used? When the show was in its embryonic stages, the producers had no idea how long to allow for each round. They were unsure whether 30 seconds would be long enough but time pressures meant that they had to have the clock built. So they decided on a 60-second clock – thus allowing them to make their decision about the length of time per round at a later date. The second 30 seconds are never used but had 30 seconds proved to be too short a time for the contestants, the facility to increase it to 45 or 60 seconds was there.
Has anybody ever scored nothing on the show? Yes, twice. The first time, Mr John Brooks was beaten 80-0 in August 1987. The second time was more recent, the victim here being Sylvia Pitman in 1998 who was beaten by 51 to 0. Both contestants offered legitimate words during the course of their shows, but it’s easy for confidence to drain once things don’t go to plan – and concentration can become affected.
