Fourth win for Countdown youngster

7 October 2008 05:34pm

One of Countdown's youngest contestants won his fourth show in a row today, making it halfway to becoming an "Octochamp".

Eleven-year-old Kai Laddiman from Broad Oak, East Sussex, beat Customs and Excise officer Don Walker from Gateshead by 91 points to 68.

He continued his run of conundrum triumphs when he took just 3.5 seconds to solve the anagram puzzle, turning CLINKGRIT into TRICKLING.

Kai needs to win four more shows to become an Octochamp.

Speaking after the show, he said: "I was very happy to win. It wasn't the easiest of games.

"My opponent was good, so I was a bit scared at first."

He grinned excitedly after his fourth victory.

The schoolboy, who wants to be a footballer or an inventor when he grows up, learnt his letters and numbers from watching Countdown at the age of two.

He has been beating his parents and grandparents at Scrabble from the age of six and has already obtained a B grade in AS level maths.

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