Countdown record-breaker reflects on dyslexia struggles

A woman who won a record-breaking number of games on Countdown has described her success as "crazy", after once fearing dyslexia would hold her back.

Hazel Drury, from Ramsey, became the highest scoring woman to win eight consecutive episodes of the Channel 4 programme.

The 29-year-old was diagnosed with dyslexia when she was 15 and said it meant she struggled to complete her exams.

She said she "really wasn't expecting" her winning run and that it meant "so much" to her.

The daytime quiz show, first broadcast in 1982, is hosted by Colin Murray and is in its 94th series.

The Ramsey resident previously appeared on the programme at 18, winning four shows before eventually being knocked out.

According to the show's rules, contestants can reapply after 10 years, and Drury said it was her mother who persuaded her to return.

"When I was diagnosed at 15, it felt like the end of the world," she said.

"I just felt like I wouldn't be able to achieve anything and I was finding school really hard at the time."

Reflecting on becoming an "Octochamp" and scoring 1,000 points in a single run, she said: "It just means so much to me."

Drury, who has autism, said years of practice had helped her develop techniques to spot patterns in words and numbers.

"I think my brain's quite methodical," she said. "From all this watching and playing Countdown, something just clicked in my brain."

"The reaction from fans of the show and my colleagues, friends and family has been amazing," she added.

Drury will return to screens later this year when Countdown's quarter finals are broadcast in December.

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