A north-east man has just missed out on scooping the top prize during his appearance on a beloved game show.
Earlier this year Andrew MacLeod, from Peterhead, applied to take part in the Channel 4 television series Countdown.
But after successfully reaching the 75th series final the 30-year-old wordsmith lost at the very last hurdle.
Mr MacLeod, who by day is a business analyst in Edinburgh, was only nine points away from picking up the trophy, missing out to eventual champion Martin Hurst.
Last night, Mr MacLeod, who attended Peterhead Academy before moving to Edinburgh, said: “I didn’t win it in the end, although given how close I was to losing in the very first episode, I’m pleased with how far I got.”
The runner-up had only beaten his first opponent, on the road to becoming an “octochampion”, by one point.
He added: “I’ve watched the show on and off since I was a child, with people at various times suggesting that I should apply.
“Towards the end of last year my work colleagues started encouraging me to apply – they even obtained the application form for me.
“In the end I thought ‘why not?’ and sent off the application.”
Mr MacLeod is one of a series of north-east people to have been featured on television in recent month.
Last year, Mintlaw couple Don Allan and Julie Rae got engaged during a recording of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway.
In the summer, they married at Peathill Kirk near Rosehearty before their reception at St Combs new community hall.
And in honour of their engagement, Don and school cook Julie chose two unusual ushers to aid them during the nuptials – cardboard models of the popular Geordie presenters.
Fraserburgh man Ajay West, meanwhile, appeared on hit show The Chase, where he scooped £3,000 after answering a series of general knowledge questions.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t really bothered about winning, I just wanted to be on TV,” he said.
