Ruth’s teapot trophy takes pride of place

Ruth’s interest in Countdown started when she was a child and used to play along with the show at her Granny’s house.

Her interest was revived when at University she happened to move in with some guys who like her, loved Countdown.

“Then a friend suggested I should apply to go on the show, so we went online, found the fairly straightforward application form and filled it in.

“I received a phone call and then had to do a phone audition based on word and number games. I was told that yes, I’d passed so I would be called soon.”

After that Ruth said there was not much she could do to get ready for the competition.

Ruth enjoyed her time at the show in spite of feeling a little nervous.

“At the start when I was getting my make-up done I was sitting right next to Rachel Riley and I thought - ‘this is all really lovely’. But then when they came and fitted my mic I started to think - ‘this is getting a bit real’. Then when the theme music started to play I felt really nervous. “I was playing against a guy who had already won two games and I kept thinking oh no, he’s going to beat me too and things weren’t going great.

“But then I don’t know what happened, something in me just switched and I thought to myself - ‘I’m here for the fun, so no more nerves’.

“All the opponents I faced were all really lovely, even Cliff who beat me on my third game.

“I was just pleased I won my first two games. I didn’t expect to win at first, but then I thought, ‘I want that teapot!’”

And collect that tea-pot, she did. Ruth who is studying in Scotland, explained how she is keeping her trophy safe while she’s away. She said: “Right now the teapot is locked up safely in my kitchen in Dundee”.