Editing Countdown (game show) (section)

===Character===
[[File:Teapot (levelled).jpg|thumb|right|A ''Countdown'' teapot is awarded to any contestant who wins a game.]]
''Countdown'' quickly established [[cult television|cult]] status within British television<ref name="scotsman">[http://business.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=871&id=1939292005 Scotsman.com] on ''Countdown'' establishing cult status</ref> – an image which it maintains today,<ref name="bbcrwobit">{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4102712.stm|title=Obituary: Richard Whiteley|date=26 June 2005|access-date=30 May 2022|website=News.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> despite the loss of key presenters. The programme's audience comprises mainly students, homemakers and pensioners,<ref name="scotsman" /> because of the "teatime" broadcast slot and inclusive appeal of its format and presentation.<ref name="bbcrwobit" /> ''Countdown'' has been one of Channel 4's most-watched programmes for over twenty years, but has never won a major television award.<ref>''Spreading the Word'' (Granada Media, 2001), p. 74</ref>

On each episode, the prize for defeating the reigning champion (or for claiming the championship when two new contestants compete) is a teapot that is styled to resemble the renowned clock used in each round. Introduced in December 1998, the teapot is custom-made and can only be obtained by winning a game on the programme.<ref>[http://www.nebagram.co.uk/countdownprizes.htm Nebagram.co.uk] on the prizes—page Retrieved 24 June 2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728085237/http://www.nebagram.co.uk/countdownprizes.htm |date=28 July 2009}}</ref> Defeated contestants and retiring undefeated champions receive an assortment of ''Countdown''-themed merchandise as a parting gift.

At first, the prize for the series winner was a leather-bound copy of the twenty-volume ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', worth over [[Pound sterling|£]]4,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=To the victor, the spoils... |url=http://www.nebagram.co.uk/countdownprizes.htm |website=nebagram.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728085237/http://www.nebagram.co.uk:80/countdownprizes.htm |archive-date=28 July 2009 |date=January 2003 |url-status=dead}}</ref>  David Acton (winner of Series 31) opted for a [[CD-ROM]] version of the dictionaries, not wanting to accept leather-bound books owing to his strict [[veganism]], and donated the monetary difference in the prices to charity.<ref>''Countdown: Spreading the Word'' (Granada Media, 2001) p. 147.</ref> Between 2011 and 2021, the prize consisted of ordinary hardback twenty-one-volume dictionaries, a laptop computer and a lifetime subscription to Oxford Online (replaced by a [[MacBook Pro]] laptop by Series 68). The physical dictionaries were discontinued as a prize after Series 83, as they were deemed obsolete. As of Series 54 in 2006, the series champion also receives the Richard Whiteley Memorial Trophy in memory of the show's original presenter.

Runner-up prizes in the finals increased over the years from a £100 book voucher to £250, later to £500 and then £1,000. Beginning with Series 68, the runner-up in the finals wins a laptop.