Galwayman back on Countdown after summer of stardom

Galway’s ‘Countdown king’ returns to the small screen next week for the finals of the British television game show.

Liam Moloney (37) from Renmore in the city is back on Channel 4’s Countdown next Wednesday, December 16, where he is competing in the quarter-finals of the popular letters and numbers quiz programme with the distinctive signature tune.

A self-professed ‘biggest fan ever’ of Countdown, Liam’s dream of taking part came true earlier this Summer when he made it through to the televised shows.

Now, having done so well in July, Liam is one of eight contestants returning to compete in the finals, which will be screened for a week with the ‘grand final’ going out on December 23.

The shows were pre-recorded in November but Liam is tight-lipped about how he got on.

“You’ll have to tune in on Wednesday. But let’s just say, what I lacked in knowledge I made up for in heart,” he chuckles.

Liam broke Countdown records during a remarkable run of results in July when he won six games on the trot. He is the third highest points scorer in the history of the game show for contestants on six rounds of the show. His average score was 111, for six games and he almost hit 700 points, and achieved the highest points earned by any contestant not to have won eight games.

“It’s a small bit of history,” he says.

Liam says the reaction to his participation on the show has been “incredible”.

“It was unbelievable the reaction I got. And it swelled when I had an article in the Tribune and it was on Galway Bay FM. A lot of people were coming up to me saying they read about it or heard it on the radio. There was a huge following then of people who watched the show. It was like a mini celebrity status. Irish people have thing about begrudging but there wasn’t a whiff of it. Everyone was so pleased to see me do so well,” he says.

During his stint this Summer, Liam broke the highest score so far this season, with a tally of 118. He then went and broke his own record, with another season best of 121 points. He scored two nines in the letters’ game – practised and departing – which is the top mark. But he’s also come up with some humdingers sevens and eights, including ‘inchoate’ (just begun or not formed), ‘soigneur’ (a masseuse for cyclists), and ‘meiosis’ (cell-division).

Liam says many of the other contestants were ‘eccentric’ and that he was “proud to be just a normal guy” who did so well on the show.

“It was like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoos’ Nest’ at times in there!; they have just got massive brains – you’d want to see them . . . I was just so proud to have done so well and I just want to thank people for all the support they have shown me,” adds Liam.

Liam is seeded seventh in the finals and in the quarter-final he is paired-off against the second seed. His quarter-final, presented by Nick Hewer and assistants Rachel Riley and Susie Dent in the ‘dictionary corner’, is televised on Wednesday, December 16 at 3.10pm and is repeated early the following morning.