Fresher Countdown Kid Speaks

The Pembroke fresher who posted the highest ever score on Countdown last week has told The Tab that he works harder for the TV show than for his degree.

Jack Hurst notched up a massive 946 points over eight days on the teatime quiz – the most points in the show’s 28 year history.

Hurst with his coveted Countdown trophy.

Comments on Facebook group ‘Jack Hurst on COUNTDOWN!’ are full of praise for the first year maths boffin. One friend commented, “Reading the dictionary every night is the only reasonable explanation, but even that doesn’t go far enough to explain how you know some of those words – it’s superhuman stuff!”

But Jack says he’s nothing special. He told The Tab that “it’s just practise, really”.

“I learn lots of words but don’t necessarily know what they all mean, so in a way I’m a bit of a fraud”, he joked.

Asked whether getting into Cambridge was harder than getting on Coundown, Jack said, “Getting into Cambridge was definitely hard but actually I probably put a bit more effort into Countdown.”

On his chances of winning the grand final, he mused, “I’d say I’ve got a chance of winning, but I’m not confident.

“It all depends on whether I can pull out my A-game.”

Hurst has even managed to impress Queens’ alumni Stephen Fry, who tweeted on Friday: “Jack’s about to become a Countdown octochamp. I love afternoons off”.

Jack will now go through to compete in the Countdown series final on December 17.