Countdown octochamp admits job search struggle

A 21-year-old man who won eight games of Countdown has admitted he is struggling to find a job.

Callum Ridley, who does not have a GCSE in either English or maths, earned octochamp status on the Channel 4 programme earlier this month.

The Essex man, who lives in Witham, said he was struggling to find jobs in retail.

But he told the BBC: "Maybe now that I've won eight shows on Countdown, I'll put that on the CV [and] maybe they'll look at that and think 'he's actually quite good'."

The Channel 4 game show first aired in 1982, and it tests contestants on their arithmetic and vocabulary skills under the pressure of a 30-second timer.

"I'll keep looking and hopefully something will come of it soon," said Ridley, who is a match-attending fan of Isthmian Football League club Witham Town.

"[It's nice] to find something I'm good at, because obviously you'd think that if I'm good with maths, [and] good with the letters and numbers, you'd think I'd have done well at school."

Speaking to Sonia Watson on BBC Essex, he said he discovered his hidden flair for the games five years ago while channel hopping.

"I was playing along and thought 'I'm doing well', so I thought I'll start watching that," he explained.

Ridley said he was not expecting this degree of success on the show.

"[I] thought, if I can win one [game], that'd be great, get a teapot, but to go and win eight; it's just crazy," he said.

"It was a really good experience, and to win eight shows was just amazing.

"Lots of old teachers from primary school were watching, lots of friends, family."

He said he received a flurry of cards from supporters and made a point to thank Chelmsford College for helping him become more independent.

Ridley expects to be invited to the finals in April because of his high scores.

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