countdown

[saymakhan]

How do the people in dictionary corner manage to find the right words. Do they have some kind of special computer which tells them the words that can be made from the letters?

[rja211077]

i've been to a Countdown recording. yes i know that makes me very sad. I'm pretty sure there's no computer involved. You can be sure that it's nothing to do with the Z-list celebrity they have on and all the words are got by the person from the OED. Obviously the fact they always have a huge vocabulary is understandable but this does not explain their skill at spotting those words within 9 random letters. The only explanation I have is they work with letters and words all the time and therefore it comes naturally to them. By the way, don't you think Susie Dent is really fit? Even better in the flesh, I can assure you.

[ravenhair]

Hmmmm . . . not convinced. I work with letters and words all day long and I'm rubbish at Countdown. Except, strangely, the numbers game, which I'm quite good at. Are you sure they don't have a laptop with an anagram-generator thingy?

[joebananas]

The people in Dictionary Corner are in contact with "The Gallery" (where the director/producer etc run the show from). They can prompt them with some good words via their earpiece but they obviously get some themselves. The producers of Countdown are former Champions of the show are they not? One of them is also a former or current World Scrabble Champ I think. Dictionary Corner definitely don't use any kind of computer but "the Gallery" might.