Sheffield Countdown sensation reveals secrets behind success after reaching series final of hit Channel 4 show

Dan Byrom, who graduated from university last year, has enjoyed a dream run on the popular Channel 4 game show during his year off and is due to return for filming in April to see if he can be crowned series champion.

Dan is a huge fan of the show, having played on a Countdown website for around five years, and has always dreamed of making an appearance.

"I initially started with seeing one guy who was really good on the TV show, and then finding a website to play on where all the people who have gone on in the past to win loads of games play on there,” said Dan.

"I have been part of that site for about five years now.”

Having a year out, Dan saw this as the perfect time to try to get on the show. After filling in an application form and completing a phone audition, where he was given practice rounds, he was given a date to start filming.

Dan says being in the studio is completely different to playing at home, but he was able to concentrate on the game at hand when put in the studio in front of the cameras.

"It was really nice actually – from the people that have been on, it is completely different to playing at home when you have got all the cameras pointing at you,” he said.

"I actually found that I was surprisingly able to settle down and be just in the moment, so as soon as the letters came up, everything else kind of disappeared.”

He is also a big fan of Anne Robinson, who he says, behind the cameras, is actually very nice and supportive – Dan says she really helped him “settle down.”

"I think she just has a persona on the television – she was actually really nice.”

Dan has done brilliantly, winning eight rounds of filming and qualifying for filming again in April when he will face off against the top eight players from the beginning of this year.

On his secrets to success, Dan explains: “One of them is playing a lot online, it is like my biggest hobby in my spare time – I will go onto the website and see who is online and play.

“For the last maybe two or three years, I have been doing flashcards on my phone. I have now learnt about 8,000 words through the flashcards.”

Dan will resume filming again for the next rounds of Countdown in April, with the episodes set to air sometime in July. His first appearance on the show aired on Thursday, January 27.

His mum, Ellen, is very proud of him, saying: “Dan thrived in his primary years at Bethany School and going on to seven fabulous years at Notre Dame High.

"And yes, he has been honoured to study at Cambridge, but Countdown was just something he did for fun, and I thought this was really rather special.”

Dan is currently unwinding in Uruguay, immersing himself in his Uruguayan family and culture before he prepares himself again for the next round of Countdown in April.