A teenage brainbox has become a record-breaker on legendary Channel 4 gameshow Countdown.
Dylan Taylor, 17, from Hampton, near Malpas, made it to the final of the 69th series of the programme on December 20.
Although the talented wordsmith was pipped at the post on the conundrum round, he has the honour of being the player with the highest cumulative score over a series of the long-running show, which has aired more than 5,000 episodes.
Dylan, who is currently looking for full-time work, scored an impressive total of 974 points, which smashed the previous record by nine points.
‘Immensely proud’ dad Simon Taylor said: “It is a tremendous achievement at such a young age.
“Dylan has been playing Countdown since he was about six. He used to come home from school and ask to put it on. It just captures his imagination.”
While Dylan’s quick thinking saw him smash records, his boyband good looks earned him some attention from co-presenter and numbers geek Rachel Riley, who said he was ‘Countdown’s answer to One Direction’.
Dylan said: “It was great to go on the show, and it was semi-nerve-racking, especially in the final.”
When he’s not solving brain teasers, he enjoys working out and football.
Dylan moved to the UK from Honduras with his parents and brother following Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
