In the British Channel 4 game show 'Countdown' how many letters are chosen in each word round?

'Countdown' is a British game show on Channel 4. Two contestants compete to achieve the highest score by forming words out of random letters. Contestants take turns to randomly select nine letters from stacks of consonants and vowels, which the assistant places upon a board for all to see. The contestants are given 30 seconds to form the longest single word using the nine letters.

There is also a numbers round where contestants choose six random numbers. A three-digit target number is then generated by an electronic machine, known as 'CECIL' ('Countdown's Electronic Calculator In Leeds'). During the following 30 seconds, the contestants aim to reach the digit by multiplying, adding, dividing and subtracting the six numbers.

The game began on 2nd November 1982 and was the first television programme ever shown on Channel 4. It was originally hosted by Richard Whiteley until his death in 2005. Des Lynam took over from 2005 to 2006 before being replaced by Des O'Connor from 2007 to 2008. From its inception until 2008, the mathematician Carol Vorderman was the assistant.

From 2009, Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley replaced O'Connor and Vorderman respectively. Later, Nick Hewer hosted the show from 2012 to 2021, until Anne Robinson took over on 28th June 2021.