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My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:15 am
by Jason Larsen
Hi

I know it has been a very long time since I posted to this board, but I just had a thought

As many of you know, I was at Countdown in Huddersfield this past October. I know some of you have encouraged me to apply for Countdown. Since Damian Eadie already knows what I look like, I do not need to send them a picture of myself.

However, my mom does not want me to apply because she thinks it would be very stressful.

If she should have a change of heart and decide that I should apply, I think the easiest thing for me to do is have a phone audition.

Is this possible, and if so, how does it work?

Also, if I pass the audition, will they tell me I have to be there by a specific date? If so, should I be sure that I can go there before I even do the audition?

Re: My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 10:46 am
by Johnny Canuck
As far as I know, you still need to be a legal resident of the UK or Ireland at the time of filming, unless this has changed in the past two years. I have consulted a few government sites to see what the minimum amount of time you have lived in the UK to be considered resident is. Based on the taxation-policy site here, it seems that under certain circumstances, spending 91 days (3 months) there is enough. There have been a few exceptions, however; Ryan Vickers from Series 61 worked a Countdown appearance into a trip he took around the world in 2009/2010 and I think he was in the UK for fewer than three months.

Once you meet the eligibility requirements, you will, as far as I know, be allowed to apply for a phone audition (I don't know whether any in-person auditions are still done as well -- phone seems like the norm now). On your application form, you can list the specific dates that you will be available for recording. If you pass the phone audition, you may be invited to be a contestant in a recording that occurs during your dates of availability.

Not sure what, if anything, we North Americans could do to make Countdown popular without such massive consequences. Make our own version of Countdown? Start a petition? I feel that "geeky"/"nerdy" entertainment pursuits such as Countdown are somehow slightly less shunned in North America now than they were in 1990, when the show was tried over here for the first time. And Jeopardy! is an institution...

Re: My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 5:08 pm
by Jason Larsen
How come Ryan was able to be on then?

Re: My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 6:32 pm
by Thomas Carey
Phone auditions are definitely the norm. I got one and I lived like an hour away from the studio. I think they still do some in-person ones but you'd get a phone one definitely. Basically Dave the audience coordinator gave me a time via email, then called me at that time. Loads of people have said they had different amounts of each round so idk what they do now but for me it was 5 letters rounds, 2 numbers and 2 conundrums. He read them out while I wrote them down and then I had 30 seconds before I gave the answer (y'know, like they do on telly). The only difference really was that I got told 'if you have a word and you also have a longer word you're not sure about, you can declare both'. You should pass easily cause you're decent at the game.

You get your recording date a few months later - I'm sure you could email saying you can't make certain days if that happens

Re: My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 7:57 pm
by Jason Larsen
Dave used to be the audience coordinator before Yvonne? Wow!

Re: My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:47 pm
by Thomas Carey
Wait shit I think I gave him the wrong job title. He's like the researcher guy. Sorry

Re: My Countdown future

Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:56 pm
by Jason Larsen
He is.

I wish I could have met him, but I didn't. Apparently there's another one named James also.