Countdown | Friday 10th March 2023 | Episode 7971
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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:05APPLAUSE
00:31Hello, everybody. We have officially made it to the end of another week of Countdown.
00:35If you've been with us all week, we never take it for granted.
00:38Thank you so much. Here we go.
00:40Rach, another Friday afternoon of Countdown.
00:42And what, let's get it out of the way, it's a special day today.
00:45It is. It's International Wig Day.
00:48Is it always International Wig Day on your birthday?
00:50Yeah, I demand it. Oh, right, OK.
00:52Well, happy birthday. I'm wearing a jumper in your honour.
00:55Thank you. You're rubbing off on me.
00:57Thank you. Yes, my jumpers are an acquired taste.
01:01Let's just say that. Do you know what I would love?
01:04I'd love someone that's watching who's a proper knitter.
01:08I'll pay for it.
01:10I'll pay for the world to knit a Countdown jumper
01:12that I could then wear from a viewer.
01:14So you're requesting a Countdown clock in the middle, or a teapot,
01:17or maybe an arm could be a teapot.
01:19Yeah, maybe Susie's face.
01:22Susie's face. The possibility is endless.
01:25Why just one jumper?
01:26Everyone who can knit, please knit Colin a different Countdown jumper.
01:29Listen, I'm a medium, just so you know, if you are choosing to knit that.
01:33Right on cue, then, we can say hello to Susie Dent,
01:36and beside her this week, the actor and presenter, Aurya Duba.
01:40Thank you.
01:42Right, our champion, Simon Higgins, from Cornwall,
01:45two wins in nine.
01:47We know you love the sci-fi, we know you love the heavy metal.
01:50Let's get to the boring bit, then. What do you do for a living?
01:53I work in customer services for a mobile phone company.
01:55All right, good stuff.
01:57Well, from now on, when I've got a problem with my phone,
01:59I'll just ring up and say, put me through to Simon Higgins.
02:01As long as you're on the right network.
02:03Yeah. You're up against Tom Elliott today,
02:05who's originally from Stroud in Gloucestershire,
02:08lovely part of the world.
02:10Didn't move too far to get to Reading, my friend.
02:12How are you today? Yes, good, thank you.
02:14Yeah, good. Listen, too much football chat in this show for my liking.
02:17You're a rugby boy, aren't you? I am, yeah.
02:19I'm guessing... He's definitely a back, Aurya, isn't he?
02:22A full-back. Yeah, I'd say centre full-back, yeah.
02:25I actually play scrum half. Oh, really?
02:27Oh, they get bigger and bigger, these rugby players.
02:30In my day, the scrum half wasn't allowed to be over four foot nine.
02:34Oh, well, there you go. Well, listen, good luck to you.
02:36Thank you very much.
02:38Let the scrimmage begin. It's Simon against Tom.
02:43Go on, then, Simon, let's have nine letters.
02:45Hi, Rachel. Hi, Simon.
02:47Consonant, please. Thank you. Start today with L.
02:51And another one.
02:53B.
02:55And a third.
02:57S.
02:59And a vowel. O.
03:01Another vowel.
03:03E.
03:05And a consonant.
03:07R.
03:09Another consonant.
03:11T.
03:13And a vowel.
03:15A.
03:18And finish with a consonant, please.
03:21Finish with S.
03:23OK, at home and in the studio, let's play Countdown.
03:47MUSIC PLAYS
03:56That's time. Simon? Eight.
03:58And Tom? Eight.
04:00And eight. Two eights there. What have you got?
04:02Bolsters. And Tom? Lobsters.
04:05Lobsters. Bolsters and lobsters.
04:07You're both thinking, what a great start.
04:09Eight points each. Excellent.
04:11Pretty sure there's a nine in there. Let's go over to Dictionary Corner.
04:14Well, no, we're going to disappoint you. We had lots more eights.
04:16Right, there you go. And then for first round, Tom,
04:18your first time picking those letters.
04:20Hi, Rachel. Hi, Tom.
04:22Please may I have a consonant? You may indeed.
04:24Y. And a vowel.
04:26E.
04:28And a consonant.
04:30W. And a vowel.
04:32O.
04:34Another vowel.
04:36A. Consonant.
04:38R.
04:40A consonant.
04:42P.
04:44A vowel.
04:46I.
04:48And a consonant, please.
04:50Lastly, S.
04:5230 seconds.
05:14MUSIC PLAYS
05:24That's your lot. Tom? Just a six.
05:26That's OK. And Simon? Six, not written down.
05:28There you go. What have you got, Simon?
05:30Wipers. And Tom? Same.
05:32Good. Let's go over to Dictionary Corner.
05:34And I'm a bit sad, because all week, every round,
05:37I've been looking out for Time Warp.
05:39That's the closest we've been, two letters away.
05:42Two letters away. I'm so sorry.
05:44We've got ropeways.
05:46Yes, ropeways, transport systems for materials or people.
05:49They're used in mines and mountainous areas, for example,
05:52and they're essentially platforms suspended from moving cables.
05:55Ropeways. Ropeways, it is.
05:57First numbers of the day, 14 points all
05:59between Champion and Challenger.
06:01Simon, you're picking? Six small, please.
06:03Six small. He senses a threat, Tom.
06:05This is a good position to be in.
06:07Six little ones. See if this will separate you two.
06:09First numbers of the day.
06:11One, five, three, six.
06:15Two and one, all fairly small.
06:18And the target, massive, 966.
06:21966, numbers up.
06:42MUSIC CONTINUES
06:54966, Simon.
06:56Nowhere near. Now, Tom?
06:58Nowhere near. I didn't even bother.
07:00I didn't even bother. There was no point.
07:02If you add the two ones together and times them all together,
07:05you get 360, so just the 606 away.
07:08Right, and let me work that out. Yeah, no points at all.
07:11No points. No points at all. Right.
07:13There's 14 points apiece as we get our first tea time teaser of the day.
07:16True loss. True loss.
07:18What a clue this is.
07:20Aretha was this, and a true loss to music.
07:22Aretha was this, and a true loss to music.
07:34APPLAUSE
07:39MUSIC STOPS
07:41Welcome back. True loss becomes Solstir.
07:44Aretha Franklin was this, and a true loss to music.
07:47Reference, of course, is Aretha Franklin.
07:49Respect is a seven-letter word.
07:51Tom's got that so far.
07:53Challenger, 14 points each, and you're picking the letters.
07:56Can I get a vowel, please? Thank you, Tom.
07:58E. And a consonant.
08:01L. And a vowel.
08:05A. And a consonant.
08:08R. And another consonant.
08:11G. A vowel.
08:14U. A consonant.
08:17T. Another consonant.
08:21N. And a vowel.
08:24Lastly, I. Thank you, Rachel.
08:38MUSIC CONTINUES
08:58That is time. How many did you manage, Tom?
09:00I got a six not written down.
09:02How did you get on, Simon? I'll try an eight.
09:04OK, so the six not written down, Tom?
09:06Luring. Luring.
09:08And, Simon, for a big eight points.
09:10Tanglia.
09:12I think it can be tanglia, especially if it's mine.
09:15Oh! I'm sure this used to be in, but it's not now.
09:19Tanglia is there, but the comparative is not specified.
09:23Oh, sorry.
09:24There would have been better in there.
09:26It is still in the dictionary, so reveal all, please, Susie and Ori.
09:30Well, we were happy with triangle, an eight,
09:33before granulite came in at nine.
09:37Oh, very good indeed. Granulite.
09:39Granulite. Oh, no, granular and...
09:41Yeah, geological terms.
09:43You might expect a fine-grained granular metamorphic rock.
09:46Brilliant.
09:47APPLAUSE
09:49Very good indeed.
09:51But it's a six that scores. Great news for Mr Elliot.
09:54Mr Higgins, more letters.
09:56Consonant, please. Thank you, Simon.
09:58D.
10:00And a vowel.
10:02C.
10:04And a consonant.
10:06C.
10:08And another one.
10:10S.
10:12And another one, please.
10:14R.
10:16And a vowel.
10:18O.
10:20Another vowel, please.
10:22I.
10:24And a consonant.
10:26T.
10:29And I'll finish with a vowel.
10:31I'll finish with O.
10:33OK, half a minute.
11:02Time's up. Simon?
11:04Seven. And Tom?
11:06A six. A six, Tom?
11:08Scored. So a chance to get back in the lead, Simon?
11:10Scooted. And scooted.
11:12Let's scoot over to Dictionary Corner.
11:14Yep, scooted and scooter, both in.
11:16It's one of those rounds, there's sixes and sevens
11:19and there must be an eight and I've missed it. What is it?
11:22Well, there's no point in us saying anything really
11:24because my colleague has come up with a whopper.
11:27Yeah. Well, I thought it was fake,
11:29but apparently it's doctorised, so it's OK?
11:32It is OK and it means to award a doctorate. Brilliant.
11:35Fantastic.
11:37APPLAUSE
11:4121 plays 20.
11:43Second numbers round.
11:45Tom, six more last time, we all came a cropper.
11:48What are you going to do?
11:50One large, please.
11:51One large, five little coming up for you, Tom.
11:54Thank you very much.
11:57Is three, four, nine, eight, four and 25.
12:03Hopefully something more possible.
12:05117.
12:07117, numbers up.
12:27MUSIC CONTINUES
12:39117.
12:41I dare say a little easier than our first numbers round. Tom?
12:44117. Yeah. Simon?
12:46Yeah, 117. See what happens when you pick one large. Tom, off you go.
12:50Four times 25.
12:52100.
12:54Plus the eight. Straightforward, 117.
12:56Simon, do you go the same way? No, different way.
12:5925 plus four.
13:0129.
13:02Multiplied by the other four.
13:04116.
13:05Nine minus eight is one.
13:07Yeah. Lots of ways for this one.
13:09Well done.
13:10APPLAUSE
13:12Well, as we head over to Dictionary Corner
13:15to talk to Ori Richels in the lead.
13:17Right!
13:19Ori, you mentioned Bex yesterday, David Beckham.
13:22You say he's a bit of a hero of yours,
13:24so I thought to finish this week,
13:26who else is on that list where you've met them,
13:29either in a good way or a bad way?
13:31Well, this particular experience was definitely a good one.
13:35And it happened on Strictly,
13:37and I know you've had a lot of Strictly folk in this position,
13:40but this was a very unique experience,
13:42because it was 2016 when I won the show,
13:44and in the final, when you get to the final,
13:47they would invite all of the couples, so six of us as it was,
13:51to the Radio 2 Breakfast show,
13:53and at the time it was hosted by Chris Evans,
13:55and they had us six finalists, Dawn French,
13:58who was gorgeous, lovely, and John Legend.
14:01Wow.
14:02John Legend was in the studio to play live.
14:04Wow.
14:05Now, people pay hundreds of pounds to come watch John Legend play,
14:09and I felt incredibly lucky that he was about to, you know,
14:12play on the keys, just as close as you are to me, Susie.
14:15Yeah.
14:16And I remember I had my back to him because he was behind me,
14:19and we had danced a rumba to Ordinary People.
14:23He played that, which was stunning.
14:26And then I started welling up
14:28because I knew he was going to play All Of Me,
14:30which a lot of people is a very special song.
14:32I proposed to my wife to All Of Me,
14:35and I remember him playing it behind me,
14:37and I just thought, I have to record this.
14:39I started recording a little voice note of All Of Me to my wife,
14:43thinking... I was in tears, thinking,
14:46what an amazing moment to share with your spouse.
14:49You know, what on earth could she text back?
14:52Is she crying as well?
14:53Is she thinking, this is the most wonderful thing?
14:55Bringing back all the memories.
14:57All I got was, what's that?
14:59LAUGHTER
15:01What even is it? And I put it away.
15:03Don't ruin this moment for me.
15:05But it was, and I think, you know, you get lots of special experiences
15:08that have come from doing that show,
15:10because it's definitely changed my life,
15:12definitely changed the course of things that I was doing at the time.
15:16But in that moment, it didn't get much more special.
15:19And then we went on to win it, and that turned a few things.
15:22I don't mean to criticise you at all. Love the story.
15:24Happy birthday, by the way.
15:26I never get... Don't try and butter me up when I'm about to criticise you.
15:29Go on.
15:30I never get people that record things that are on TV or radio.
15:33You're recording a voice note of something that's gone out in quality
15:36on radio too.
15:37It's like when people are recording at football matches,
15:39and I'm thinking, there's so many cameras here.
15:43That, I absolutely go...
15:44It's like recording fireworks on fireworks night.
15:47You're never going to watch those back.
15:49It's never going to be as good.
15:50But in that moment, to share with the other...
15:52I had to... I can't just go,
15:54can you go back to BBC Sounds?
15:57If you go back to 8.25 in the morning on Tuesday,
16:01you might find that... No, I had to share that.
16:04But it definitely fell on deaf ears that particular day.
16:07So, let's, you know, meet your heroes.
16:09One Nigel, two David Beckham, three Susie Dent, life gone.
16:12That's it, done. Top three.
16:14And everyone else within the room, of course.
16:16Meeting people, completed.
16:18Done. Right, love it. Thank you, Auri.
16:24Right, well, Simon and Tom giving all of themselves today.
16:27Another close game.
16:28We've been treated to a lot this week.
16:30Just one point in it.
16:31Let's get back and get more letters from Simon.
16:34Consonant, please.
16:35Thank you, Simon. L.
16:37And another one.
16:39T.
16:40And a vowel.
16:42E.
16:43Another vowel.
16:45A.
16:47And a consonant.
16:49N.
16:51Another consonant.
16:53T.
16:55And one more consonant.
16:57S.
16:59And a vowel.
17:01E.
17:04And we'll finish with a consonant, please.
17:07Finish with another S.
17:09Here we go.
17:33MUSIC PLAYS
17:42Simon, seven. And Tom?
17:44I'm going to risk an eight, not written down.
17:46OK, the seven, talents.
17:48But will it count? What are you risking, Tom?
17:50Lateness.
17:51Lateness. No risk at all. Right on time.
17:54APPLAUSE
17:58Anything to contribute?
18:00Can't do any better than that, Tom.
18:02I feel like a scrum-off going up the blind side
18:04and pull that one out of the bag.
18:06Very good. Let's keep going, then.
18:08Let's get nine more letters. Tom, on your own time, then.
18:11Consonant, please.
18:12Thank you, Tom. N.
18:14Another one.
18:16R.
18:17A vowel.
18:19I.
18:20Another vowel.
18:21E.
18:22Consonant.
18:23W.
18:25And another consonant.
18:27H.
18:29A vowel.
18:32Another vowel.
18:34E.
18:36And a consonant.
18:38Lastly, M.
18:40Countdown.
18:41MUSIC PLAYS
19:01MUSIC STOPS
19:11How many, Tom?
19:12Six.
19:13And Simon?
19:14No, sorry, completely.
19:16So, Tom, up and go for you here.
19:18I hope it's the word HEARING.
19:20H-E-R-E-I-N.
19:22Yes.
19:23Hearing, lies, whatever.
19:25Yeah, that's absolutely brilliant. Well done.
19:27Could he have done even better in that round?
19:29And a seven or two.
19:31Heroin.
19:32Yes.
19:33And nowhere.
19:34Yeah.
19:35Nowhere, we've got. Very good indeed. Very good.
19:37Right, 44 plus 31.
19:39Let's get our third numbers round.
19:41Simon, chance to bite back, cos you're in control.
19:44I'm going to have to go with six more, I think.
19:46Thought you might say that. Six from the bottom lot.
19:49And see if we can find a challenge that's possible.
19:51Let's get ten points from four, ten, three, five, six and one.
19:58And this time the target, 388.
20:01388, numbers up.
20:28MUSIC PLAYS
20:33388, the target. Simon?
20:35384.
20:37Four away. Tom?
20:38No, not close enough.
20:40OK, could be seven points back. Simon?
20:42Six plus three.
20:43Six plus three, nine.
20:45Multiplied by ten.
20:4690.
20:47Plus the five, plus the one.
20:5096.
20:51And multiplied by the four.
20:53Multiplied by four, yep, 384 below.
20:56Very good. Was there ten points there?
20:58There was.
21:00You could have said six times five is 30.
21:03Take away one, 29.
21:05Times that by three for 87.
21:08Add the ten for 97.
21:10And then if you times that by four, you get 388.
21:13APPLAUSE
21:16Very good.
21:17We're definitely in the weekend mood today.
21:19And what a final part we've got coming your way.
21:21Why would you go anywhere?
21:22Here's the tea time teaser.
21:24Tuna, salt, tuna, salt.
21:27To avoid temptation, the sherry was kept under lock and key.
21:31To avoid temptation, the sherry was kept under lock and key.
21:36APPLAUSE
21:52Welcome back.
21:53Tuna, salt becomes tantalus.
21:55To avoid temptation, the sherry was kept under lock and key.
21:58Susie, that would be good origins of words, wouldn't it?
22:01Tantalus.
22:02It would.
22:03Yeah, linked to tantalise.
22:04Tantalus is a drinks cabinet where you can see the drink
22:07but you can't reach it.
22:08OK.
22:09Just as Tantalus, in Greek mythology,
22:12who killed his daughter, I think,
22:14he was condemned to sit within reach, or apparent reach,
22:18of wine and fruit and things,
22:20but it always receded every time he reached for it.
22:22Fantastic.
22:23There you go. Right, six rounds to play.
22:26And it's Tom Elliot who leads the way.
22:28And you, my friend, are picking the letters.
22:30Consonant, please.
22:31Thank you, Tom.
22:33Vowel.
22:35O.
22:36Consonant.
22:38G.
22:39Vowel.
22:41E.
22:42Another vowel.
22:45U.
22:46Consonant.
22:48J.
22:49Another consonant.
22:50N.
22:52Vowel.
22:54O.
22:55And a final consonant.
22:57A final S.
22:59Good luck.
23:03MUSIC PLAYS
23:30That'll do it, Tom.
23:32Five.
23:33And Simon?
23:34Six, not written down.
23:35OK, the five, Tom?
23:37Genus.
23:38Genus.
23:39And Simon for six?
23:41Sorry, I've used the U twice.
23:43So that'll be five points for Tom, Susie.
23:46Yes, genus, absolutely fine for five.
23:48Good.
23:49What else do we have, Ori?
23:50Turkey goujons.
23:51Chicken goujons.
23:53Just naming goujons.
23:54Any goujons would do.
23:56For seven.
23:57Nice.
23:58Right, 38 plays 49.
24:00Simon, nine more letters.
24:02Let's start with a consonant, please.
24:04Thank you, Simon.
24:05L.
24:07And another one.
24:09Z.
24:10And one more, please.
24:12B.
24:14A vowel.
24:15I.
24:17And another vowel, please.
24:19O.
24:21And one more vowel.
24:23A.
24:24A consonant.
24:27T.
24:30A vowel.
24:33E.
24:37And we'll finish with another vowel.
24:42Finish with U.
24:44All right, start the clock.
25:00CLOCK TICKS
25:16How many, Simon?
25:17Six, not written down.
25:18And how many, Tom?
25:19Five.
25:20What's the five, Tom?
25:21Bloat.
25:22And Simon?
25:23Oblate.
25:24Yes, a person dedicated to religious life.
25:26Well done.
25:27Anything else?
25:28Ablute.
25:29Ablutions to wash.
25:30OK.
25:31A boatie, a boat enthusiast.
25:33Yeah, I was thinking, I remember a Bawdy McBoatface,
25:35and they spelled it like that, B-O-A-T-I-E,
25:38but I didn't think it was going to be in,
25:40but boatie is in if anyone's got that at home.
25:42It is.
25:43They changed boatie back to something else more...
25:45I think they called, they went, who can we name it after,
25:47that everyone's not going to complain so much?
25:49I think it was David Attenborough, wasn't it?
25:51Attenborough, wasn't it?
25:52Top of my memory.
25:53Top of my memory.
25:54It's what happens when you give people the chance
25:56to vote for something.
25:57Yeah.
25:59Regrets across the nation.
26:01No, I'm happy with both of those. I really am.
26:04OK, five points in it, four rounds left.
26:07That means origins of words.
26:09And we are back to gaps in our language
26:12that we don't think we can fill, at least with an English word,
26:15as I say, one of my favourite subjects.
26:17I've been talking about this a little bit this week.
26:19One that I was asked was,
26:21is there a word for the itch or tickle that cannot be scratched?
26:26And, yes, there is, actually.
26:28We borrowed it from Greek, but it is in the dictionary,
26:30and that's acnestis.
26:32It doesn't exactly trip off the tongue,
26:34but it's the part of the back, between the shoulder blades,
26:36that you can't quite get.
26:38And a lovely email from Ruth Carter, who says,
26:41I had an appointment yesterday and needed to leave the house at 9.30.
26:44Being a general worrier, I think lots of people will relate to this,
26:47I was ready by nine,
26:48and so I had half an hour before I actually needed to leave.
26:51I couldn't relax or settle,
26:53and even the easiest or quickest task was difficult
26:55because I was in a heightened state of anticipation.
26:58Is there a word for this pre-departure inability to settle?
27:01And, well, the Scots Dictionary have a great word for this,
27:05and that is crookiprookles.
27:07Yes.
27:08Which is two things.
27:10Discomfort from sitting in a cramped position.
27:13I think a lot of us will know that one from Zoom meetings during lockdown.
27:17But also general restlessness and fidgetiness,
27:20and I think it covers the second one really good.
27:22And it's thought to be an altered version of crookiprickles.
27:25Yeah.
27:26And if that all becomes too much,
27:28you can borrow another wonderful Scots term, crinkywinky,
27:32which is a poor excuse for not achieving anything at all.
27:35Brilliant origins of words. Thank you, Suze.
27:38I love that. I get that all the time.
27:41I bought a back scratcher, though, for, like, five quid.
27:43One of the best things I've ever bought.
27:45Fantastic. Use it all the time to get it. There you go.
27:48That's loneliness summed up in a nutshell.
27:51Right, let's get letters from Tom.
27:54Slight lead at the moment. Let's go.
27:57Consonant, please.
27:59Thank you, Tom.
28:00R
28:01A vowel.
28:03A
28:04A consonant.
28:06T
28:07And another consonant.
28:09R
28:11A vowel.
28:13E
28:14Another vowel.
28:16U
28:17A consonant.
28:19M
28:20Another consonant.
28:22G
28:23And a vowel.
28:25And the last one, I.
28:27Let's play Kind Time.
28:50MUSIC PLAYS
29:00Tom?
29:01Six.
29:02And Simon?
29:03Six.
29:04OK, even Stevens here. What have we got, Tom?
29:06Greater.
29:07Yeah. And Simon?
29:08Mature.
29:09Mature and greater, six points each.
29:11Were there any sevens, eights?
29:13There was sevens. We had migrate.
29:16Yeah.
29:17Armiger. I'll give you the last one. Is that Latin?
29:19Erratum, yes.
29:21So, you often, well, in older books,
29:23you will have slips containing errata,
29:26which is a plural of erratum, and it's just errors,
29:28so they're corrections.
29:29Erratum.
29:30So, yeah, that's it.
29:31Sounds like something Vic Reeves might say.
29:33Yes. Erratum.
29:35Right, OK, Simon, last letters round. You're picking.
29:39Consonant, please.
29:40Thank you, Simon. P
29:42And a consonant.
29:45M
29:47And a consonant.
29:49D
29:51And another consonant, please.
29:53N
29:55And a vowel.
29:57A
29:59Another vowel.
30:00I
30:03A consonant.
30:05V
30:08A vowel.
30:11E
30:14And finish with a consonant.
30:16Finish with G.
30:18Last letters.
30:47MUSIC STOPS
30:49What are you going to go for, Simon?
30:51Eight, not written down.
30:53Tom?
30:54I'm going to try a seven.
30:55OK, so the seven is, Tom...
30:57Vamping.
30:58What has Simon spotted near the end?
31:00Depaving.
31:02Depaving. He's taking a risk. He needs to.
31:04He's five points behind.
31:05Is this going to be the moment that makes or breaks our champion?
31:08I'm afraid repaving is in the dictionary, but not depaving.
31:11Sorry about that, Simon.
31:12Anything else?
31:14Damping goes with vamping.
31:16And I think we'll go with that.
31:18Yes, we will.
31:19I think we'll go with damping and vamping.
31:21Lovely.
31:22Last chance saloon, then, for champion Simon.
31:2512 points in it.
31:26So he needs to better Tom in this numbers round.
31:28And, Tom, you're choosing.
31:30Too large, please, Rachel.
31:31And you want something easy.
31:33Right.
31:34Let's see if we end up with a crucial conundrum
31:36at the last hurdle this week.
31:38Final numbers.
31:39Five, ten, two, seven.
31:43And the large ones, 75 and 100.
31:46And the target, 423.
31:49423, numbers up.
32:13MUSIC
32:21423 for your first win, Tom.
32:24Did you get it?
32:25423.
32:26And, Simon?
32:27Yeah, 423.
32:28Off you go, Tom. Deep breath.
32:30Five times 100.
32:32Five times 100, 500.
32:35Minus 75.
32:36425.
32:37Minus the two.
32:38And I saw Simon get that really early
32:40and then death stare you for 29 seconds.
32:43But you did get it, well done.
32:44He did, didn't he?
32:46Wishing it away.
32:47Simon, how do you do it?
32:49Yeah, yeah.
32:50Well done to both of you.
32:51APPLAUSE
32:54Your competition will start Monday with a new champion,
32:57but let's finish up this week's business first.
32:59Fingers on buzzers, Simon and Tom,
33:01let's reveal today's Countdown Conundrum.
33:04MUSIC
33:11BUZZER
33:17Simon, go out with a bang.
33:19Nightgown?
33:20Nightgown, let's have a look.
33:21Hey!
33:22APPLAUSE
33:25Nice way to go out, right?
33:27Absolutely.
33:28Good. You've been great to have here.
33:29Thank you.
33:30Good.
33:31Just got the weekend to get that blood pressure back down.
33:34You were very nervous today, weren't you?
33:36A little bit, yeah, definitely.
33:37Yeah, I could tell.
33:38But that's it.
33:39You've lived every moment,
33:40and then you'll settle into that chair when we get back on Monday
33:42and we'll get to know you better.
33:43Thank you, mate.
33:44Thank you very much.
33:45Well done.
33:46Ori, your debut is over. How do you find it?
33:47I've had an absolute joy and a pleasure with all of you this week.
33:50Lovely to meet you, Simon.
33:51Tom, all the best for next week.
33:53I can't be your lucky charm.
33:55I'm sorry, it'll be someone better, so you'll be smashing.
33:57But, no, thanks for having me.
33:58It won't be anyone better, it's Pat and Evan.
34:00LAUGHTER
34:02You can say that, you can say that.
34:04You fill in the gaps where you have to.
34:06Between the real stars, that's you, John Cooper-Clark,
34:09put Pat in the middle.
34:10We'd wasted the money on you and John Cooper-Clark, so there you go.
34:14Colin, I'm gutted.
34:15You know, I thought,
34:16what do you get the 46-year-old who has everything?
34:18I spent five whole quid on a back scratcher
34:20and you've already got one.
34:22I'll have to send it back.
34:24I'll be three days older when I see you again.
34:26We can't wait.
34:27See you on Monday, Rachel, Susie and I.
34:29You can count on us.
34:30APPLAUSE
34:31You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com.
34:35You can also find our web page at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:40APPLAUSE
35:05Thank you.