Countdown 30th Birthday Championship: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

The 30th Birthday Championship was a special mini-series of the British television game show Countdown, produced to mark the programme's 30 years on air. It brought together 41 former contestants from different eras of Countdown, including many well-known and highly regarded players from the first three decades of the programme. Its overall purpose was to showcase standout competitors from across the years and to identify the strongest performer among them.

The competition was structured as a staged tournament, beginning with preliminary rounds before progressing into a knock-out format. In addition to its commemorative focus, the mini-series also marked a change behind the scenes, as some episodes were recorded in a new studio location, reflecting a transitional moment in the show's production history.

Series details

• Title: Countdown 30th Birthday Championship
• Format: Game Show
• Language: English
• Premiere date: 2013-01-07
• Final broadcast date listed: 2013-03-01
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: Channel 4
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 50 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 89194

Cast and credited roles

• Nick Hewer — Host
• Rachel Riley — Rachel Riley
• Susie Dent — Susie Dent

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2013-01-07; final listed air date 2013-03-01.

Source and licence

Adapted from Countdown 30th Birthday Championship on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.