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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:20APPLAUSE
00:32Hello, and welcome to Countdown.
00:34On this day in 1925, the first commercial flight had a film on it,
00:40but it was silent, so there was no need for cheap headphones.
00:45How about you, Rachel? I never, ever watch a movie on a flight.
00:50Why not?
00:52Because I don't think the sound is good and I might fall asleep.
00:57Well, I guess it depends where you're flying to,
00:59but that's kind of the aim for most people on a long flight.
01:02Well, it is for babies. Yes, definitely.
01:04But I guess, you know, speaking to teenagers these days,
01:07if you told them when I first got on a plane
01:10and you used to have to wait for that one screen
01:13you just watched and it was stuff that was on in the cinema,
01:15that would sound quite different to their experience of flying.
01:19Yeah, and now, of course, they've got a screen in front of them
01:23in a lot of the flights.
01:25Yeah, so the little kiddies haven't got to watch 18-rated stuff.
01:28I'm still scarred by some stuff that I saw when I was little.
01:31It doesn't show, Rachel.
01:33OK, let's meet our contestants.
01:37Andy is here for the sixth time.
01:40Quite hair-raising, that last game,
01:42because you were behind for quite a lot of it, weren't you?
01:45Yeah, I definitely thought I was going to lose that one.
01:48Yeah, but you came up on the conundrum.
01:50Yeah, it was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
01:53Yeah, and joining you today is Mike,
01:56who lives in Devon and is retired, yeah?
02:00I am, yes, I retired fully seven years ago,
02:04but I'd been in financial services before that
02:08and I was able to take temporary retirement,
02:11as it were, at the age of 57.
02:13Oh, that's because as a financial advisor you've got so rich.
02:17No, I was actually working for an insurance company
02:20and I used to call on independent financial advisors,
02:23giving them some technical training
02:25and hoping that they might be interested in my company's products.
02:28Oh, I see, OK.
02:30And since you retired from that, what else have you done?
02:34Oh, I'm basically now into my drama
02:37and in the summer cricket and bowls.
02:39Oh, so you didn't do any part-time job before you retired?
02:43Ah, I beg your pardon, yeah.
02:45I did work six years as a customer service person down at Tesco,
02:51working in the wine department and on the checkouts and the self-serve.
02:57So you must be a very patient sort of person.
03:00Oh, yes, Anne, yes, let everybody take their time in shopping.
03:04Round of applause!
03:08Hi, Susie. Hi, Anne.
03:10And I'm delighted he's back.
03:12John Thompson, with a very snazzy top on.
03:15Thank you.
03:16You're quite fond of stripes, aren't you?
03:18I do, I do like a stripe, yes.
03:20This is a bit of a 50s look and this is from Lansky's in Memphis.
03:24And have you got 50s shoes on?
03:26Yes, yeah, they're killing me.
03:28They're Winkle Pickers.
03:30Let's get going.
03:32Andy, your letters.
03:34Hi, Rachel. Hi again, Andy.
03:36Can I have a consonant, please?
03:38Thank you. Start today with P.
03:40And another.
03:41H.
03:42And a vowel.
03:44A.
03:45And a consonant.
03:47D.
03:48And another.
03:50Y.
03:52And a vowel.
03:54E.
03:55And another.
03:57U.
03:59And a consonant.
04:01T.
04:03And a final consonant, please.
04:06A final D.
04:08Off you go.
04:31MUSIC PLAYS
04:39Andy?
04:40Five.
04:42Mike?
04:43I've got a six.
04:44Good. Andy?
04:45Teddy.
04:46Mike?
04:47Deputy.
04:48Very nice.
04:50Yeah.
04:51Tough, this one.
04:53Not tough for John, presumably.
04:55No, I'm feeling smug.
04:57Updated.
04:58Very good.
05:01APPLAUSE
05:04Mike?
05:05Afternoon, Rachel.
05:06Afternoon, Mike.
05:07Could I have a consonant, please?
05:09Indeed. S.
05:11And another.
05:13C.
05:14And another.
05:16S.
05:17And a vowel, please.
05:19A.
05:20And another.
05:22A.
05:24And a consonant.
05:26W.
05:28And a vowel.
05:30O.
05:32And a consonant.
05:34T.
05:36And a vowel.
05:38And lastly, A.
05:4130 seconds.
05:43MUSIC PLAYS
05:59MUSIC STOPS
06:12Mike?
06:13Just a five.
06:15Andy?
06:16Six.
06:17What's your five?
06:18Stoes.
06:19Andy?
06:20Coasts.
06:22Very good.
06:24John?
06:25Coasts as well.
06:27Would you better, Susie?
06:29Yes, you can go to a seven with a really delicious cassata,
06:33which is ice cream, Neapolitan ice cream,
06:35so it's got dried fruit and nuts in it.
06:37Yeah.
06:38Delicious. Cassata.
06:40Andy, your numbers?
06:42Could I have one from the top and five from the bottom, please, Rachel?
06:45Your favourite. Pick just the one large.
06:47Five littlens.
06:49First numbers of the day for you two.
06:51Eight, nine, one, five,
06:55four, and the big one, 100.
06:57And your target, 861.
07:00861.
07:02MUSIC PLAYS
07:26MUSIC STOPS
07:33Andrew?
07:34862.
07:36Mike?
07:37862.
07:38OK.
07:39Andrew?
07:40So 100 plus nine is 109.
07:43109.
07:44Times eight is 872.
07:46Yeah.
07:47And then minus five, four and one.
07:50Five, the four and the one, for one above, lovely.
07:53Yeah.
07:54And Mike?
07:55Exactly the same way.
07:57Rachel?
07:59This one was possible with 100 less four, for 96.
08:04Times that by nine for 864.
08:08And then you have eight minus five, for three to take away, for 861.
08:12APPLAUSE
08:16Fantastic.
08:18First teaser.
08:20A cash win, a cash win.
08:22I left you with the clue, it's not about a cash win,
08:25it's about severe cutbacks.
08:27It's not about a cash win, it's about severe cutbacks.
08:31See you in a minute.
08:40APPLAUSE
08:47I left you with the clue, it's not about a cash win,
08:50it's about severe cutbacks.
08:52And the answer is chainsaw.
08:55Now, if you'd like to become a Countdown contestant,
08:58you can email Countdown at channel4.com
09:01to request an application form,
09:03or you can write to us at contestantapplications,
09:07Countdown, Leeds, LS31JS.
09:13Now, the scores yet again are even.
09:16Quite an interesting game.
09:20Could I start with a consonant, please?
09:22Thank you, Mike.
09:24And another.
09:28And a third.
09:32And a vowel.
09:35And another vowel.
09:37And another.
09:40And a consonant.
09:44And a vowel.
09:46O.
09:48And a final consonant, please.
09:51Final, N.
09:53Start the clock.
10:16CLOCK TICKS
10:26Mike?
10:27I think I'll stay with a seven.
10:29Andy?
10:30Yeah, I think a seven as well.
10:32Mike?
10:33Tonking.
10:34Uh, tanking.
10:36They're both in, yes.
10:38To tonk is to hit hard, so both in the dictionary.
10:41John?
10:42I had tanking, too.
10:43I had tonking, so we're all matched.
10:45Very good.
10:46It's interesting.
10:4720, 20.
10:48Andy?
10:49Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
10:51You can have an L.
10:53And another.
10:55S.
10:56And a third.
10:58L.
10:59And a vowel.
11:01A.
11:02And another.
11:04E.
11:05And a consonant.
11:07R.
11:09And another.
11:11D.
11:12And a vowel.
11:14E.
11:15And a final consonant, please.
11:17A final P.
11:19Off you go.
11:44MUSIC
11:52Andy?
11:53Seven.
11:54Good. Mike?
11:55Seven.
11:56Andy?
11:57Leaders.
11:58Mike?
11:59Pleased.
12:00Yes, very nice.
12:02Yeah.
12:03I've got a seven, lasered.
12:05Very good.
12:06Yeah, excellent.
12:07And you can push it to an eight with relapsed.
12:10Relapsed.
12:11Oh, good, yeah.
12:13Still level pegging.
12:15Mike?
12:16One large and five small, please, Rachel.
12:19Yeah, see if this can separate you two.
12:21Not breaking ranks from the one large.
12:23We have, this time,
12:25ten, four, six, one, three,
12:29and the big one, 50 this time.
12:31And your target, 614.
12:34614.
12:36MUSIC
12:43MUSIC
13:07Mike?
13:08614.
13:09Good. Andy?
13:10Yeah, 614.
13:11Mike?
13:12Three minus one is two.
13:14Yeah.
13:15Multiplied by six is 12.
13:17It is.
13:18Multiplied by 50 is 600,
13:20and then add on the ten and the four.
13:22Yep, fell out quite nicely, this one. 614.
13:25Andy?
13:26Yes, I did it the same way.
13:29Good.
13:32John, did you do it the same way?
13:34No, I did it the wrong way.
13:37That's good.
13:41John, you know we were talking about you being an impressionist?
13:45Yes.
13:46What's the most difficult voice to do?
13:49One that's quite unusual is Christopher Walken,
13:52because what Christopher Walken does
13:56is he puts the pauses in the strangest places,
14:01and, you know, it's kind of weird to hear him talk.
14:08Where's he from?
14:09New York.
14:10His real name's Ronald, actually.
14:12Ronald Walken.
14:13And he's a dancer.
14:15He's a very good huffer, is Christopher Walken.
14:18And his wife, Georgiana, is a casting director.
14:22Oh, well, that's good.
14:24She casts The Sopranos.
14:26Ah.
14:27And how difficult is it to switch from a New York accent
14:31to, say, a Los Angeles accent?
14:34Well, the thing about Los Angeles, you know, they always say,
14:37like, and everything's like, you know,
14:39I was like, you know, out in the bar,
14:41and I like it down at the beach, like, you know,
14:43and it's kind of like, you know, like the Kardashians,
14:45they're kind of like, you know, and like, like, like, like.
14:48But New York is kind of like, come on, I was mad at you, you know.
14:52You know.
14:53They're very different.
14:54You know, there's a lot of attitude in New York,
14:56and I'm going to throw up.
14:59And tell me, regional accents here.
15:03Well, I grew up in Preston.
15:05Now, Lancashire's very interesting,
15:07because if you just go, like, 20 miles,
15:12if you go towards Preston up Blackburn that way,
15:15you get a thing called what we call a curly R.
15:17So the sentence,
15:21go and park your car in the car park over there, are you hungry?
15:26Do you fancy a Mars bar?
15:28Is go and put your car in the car park over there.
15:31That's right.
15:32Do you fancy a Mars bar?
15:34And then if you come down the East Lanx Road towards Liverpool,
15:39there is a point somewhere where it swaps
15:43between Lancastrian and Scouse.
15:47Yeah, it is.
15:48Yeah, yeah, that can't get out of Warrington into Liverpool.
15:51But those are different Scousers.
15:53There's the ones that are very sort of slow and very measured,
15:56you know.
15:57And there's the old ones, like, yeah, you know,
15:59we're in, just like, yeah, you know.
16:02And the girls always go,
16:04there's something cognitive about girls from Liverpool,
16:06where they have to really process the question and go,
16:09all right, did you have a good night the other night?
16:11And they go...
16:15Are you being rude about my city?
16:18It's all right.
16:19You know what I'm talking about.
16:21Come on, play fair, all right.
16:23Yeah.
16:24It takes a lot of education not to talk like that.
16:27LAUGHTER
16:30And any others you can't do?
16:32I mean, you can do Scouse, actually.
16:34The hardest, too, I think, at Geordie, that's really hard,
16:37because there's lots of different parts of North East, you know.
16:41So I'm not even sure if that's a proper Newcastle accent,
16:44you know, that I'm doing.
16:46It might be, like, Middlesbrough or something like that, you know.
16:49But the hardest, like...
16:51I think the hardest one to do in the world is Stedfrican,
16:55because it's Dutch, but it counts, you see.
16:57Someone said to me, have you got a grudge?
16:59I said, yes, of course I've got a grudge, I keep my car in it.
17:02LAUGHTER
17:04John Thompson. Thank you.
17:09No letter up.
17:11Twins scores still.
17:13Andy, your letters.
17:14Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
17:16Thank you, Andy. R.
17:18And another?
17:20F.
17:21And a third?
17:23N.
17:24And a vowel?
17:27O.
17:28And another?
17:30O.
17:31And a third?
17:33I.
17:34And a consonant?
17:36L.
17:37And another?
17:40D.
17:41And a final vowel, please?
17:43A final B.
17:45Time starts now.
17:56MUSIC PLAYS
18:17Andy?
18:19Um, six.
18:21Mike?
18:22A seven.
18:23Andy?
18:24Foiled.
18:25Mike?
18:26Floored.
18:27Very good, yes.
18:29Very nice.
18:31In the corner.
18:32Two sixes, foiled and fooled.
18:34Ah, yes.
18:36My favourite was a noodler,
18:38and a noodler's got lots of different meanings.
18:41In Australia, it's someone who gathers opals, so precious jewels,
18:45and in jazz, it's a vocalist who kind of improvises quite a lot.
18:49So that was F7, but there is an eight there, which is roofline.
18:53Ah!
18:54Roofline.
18:55APPLAUSE
18:59Well, there's finally a break in the scores.
19:02Mike's steamed ahead.
19:04Well, not that much ahead, but it's not even any more.
19:07Mike, your letters.
19:09Constant, please, Rachel.
19:10Thank you, Mike. S.
19:12And another?
19:14R.
19:15And another?
19:17M.
19:18And a vowel?
19:20I.
19:22And another, please?
19:24A.
19:25And a consonant?
19:27S.
19:28And a vowel?
19:30E.
19:32And a consonant?
19:34R.
19:36And a final consonant, please?
19:38A final N.
19:4030 seconds.
19:51CLOCK TICKS
20:11Mike?
20:12An eight.
20:13Oh, good. Andy?
20:15I think I have a nine.
20:17Do you?
20:18Let's hear Mike's eight.
20:20Mariners.
20:21And Andy?
20:23I don't think I have got it, actually, but I was going to go for Mannerisms.
20:26Oh, you two Ns for Mannerisms, yeah.
20:28Sorry, Andy.
20:30In the corner...
20:32I've got a tasty eight.
20:33Have you?
20:34Seminars.
20:35Oh, good.
20:36Very nice.
20:38No advance.
20:39OK.
20:40Andy, Mike is now 15 points ahead.
20:43It's your numbers.
20:45Could I have one from the top and five small, please?
20:47Yeah, not gambling.
20:48You're sticking with what you know, playing the slow game.
20:51Hopefully slow and steady wins the race.
20:53We'll see.
20:54This round is one, eight, six, two, five and the big one, 25.
21:01And your target this time around, 743.
21:04743.
21:18MUSIC PLAYS
21:37Andy?
21:38743.
21:39Good.
21:40Mike?
21:41743.
21:42Andy?
21:43Six times five is 30.
21:45Yep.
21:46Times 25...
21:47Minus the eight and then plus the one.
21:49Perfect.
21:50743.
21:51Mike?
21:52Exactly the same way.
21:59Second teaser coming up.
22:01Muted bar, muted bar and the clue,
22:05hands, feet and skin combine to make this.
22:09Hands, feet and skin combine to make this.
22:12See you in a minute.
22:17APPLAUSE
22:28Welcome back.
22:29I left you with the clue, hands, feet and skin combine to make this
22:33and the answer is drumbeat.
22:36Mike has gone ahead.
22:3947-62.
22:42And it's your letters.
22:44Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
22:46Thank you, Mike.
22:47T.
22:48And another?
22:50M.
22:51And another?
22:52L.
22:53And a vowel?
22:55E.
22:56And another?
22:58U.
23:00And a consonant?
23:02S.
23:03And a vowel, please?
23:05A.
23:07And a consonant?
23:10D.
23:13And a final vowel, please?
23:15A final E.
23:17Start the clock.
23:46CLOCK CHIMES
23:49Mike?
23:50An eight.
23:51Good.
23:52Andy?
23:53Just a six.
23:54What's your six?
23:55Melted.
23:56Good.
23:57Mike?
23:58Emulated.
23:59That is all there.
24:00That's excellent.
24:01Well done.
24:02Very good.
24:03APPLAUSE
24:04A good eight in the corner.
24:06Amulets are there for a seven and you can also be measled
24:10if you are unfortunate enough to have the measles.
24:13Can you be steamed?
24:15You can be steamed as well, excellent.
24:17If you wish.
24:18Very good.
24:19So unusual.
24:20Andy, your letters.
24:22Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
24:24Thank you, Andy.
24:25B.
24:26And another?
24:28S.
24:29And a third?
24:31W.
24:32And a vowel?
24:34A.
24:36And another?
24:37U.
24:39And another?
24:41I.
24:42And a consonant?
24:44G.
24:45And another?
24:48F.
24:49And a final vowel, please?
24:51A final A.
24:5330 seconds.
25:13MUSIC
25:26Andy?
25:27I only got a fourth.
25:28Oh, Mike?
25:29Four.
25:30Wow.
25:31Andy?
25:32Er, six.
25:33Mike?
25:34Swag.
25:36Yes.
25:37Was it that difficult?
25:38Two fives.
25:40Oh.
25:41Well done.
25:42Oh, there's no E, but waifs is really good.
25:45So you got one wrong.
25:47Well, I've got backup.
25:49You have got backup.
25:50Waifs is great for five, and then there is a sixth there.
25:53Wasabi, if you like your Japanese horseradish taste.
25:57Wasabi.
25:58Ah.
25:59I thought you said westarby.
26:01Westarby.
26:02FC.
26:04And over to Susie.
26:06I'm going to talk about the word miniature today,
26:08because it's always really tricky to spell,
26:11which is why we shorten it to mini, I think, most of the time.
26:14But also, etymologically, it's quite interesting,
26:16because in Roman times, it was all about colour.
26:19And I'll try and explain.
26:20So before the printing press was invented, as we know,
26:24everything was a manuscript.
26:25Manuscript comes from the Latin, written by hand.
26:29And it took a very, very long time
26:32to just literally compose the books.
26:35So somebody would press a pigmented point, a nib, for example,
26:39to a surface, leave marks, et cetera.
26:41They were beautifully illuminated.
26:43You only have to look at an old manuscript
26:45in something like the Bodleian Library,
26:47and you will see this beautiful gold reflecting from the page
26:50and see how many hours were put into it.
26:52But it was mostly black pigment that was used, to be fair,
26:56because that was the cheapest.
26:57But when it came to initial letters,
26:59that's when they really lavished their money,
27:02at least as much money as they could,
27:04particularly in monasteries where monks were doing this.
27:07And they would draw these incredible decorative illustrations
27:11using this gold paint, but also red paint very often.
27:14And the red paint was something we now call cinnabar, or red lead.
27:19But in Latin, it was called minium.
27:21And there was a verb as well that meant to colour with that pigment,
27:25which was miniare.
27:26So it was all about this beautiful, beautiful colour.
27:29But in early Italian,
27:31these decorative drawings became associated so strongly
27:35with the beautiful red colour that was used
27:37that miniare actually came to mean something
27:41that was beautifully illustrated, very, very rich,
27:44but also quite often because these initial letters
27:47were still quite small, given the size of the page,
27:50in relative terms, it became associated with the size as well.
27:54And miniatura, which first referred to the art of illuminating,
27:58actually then began to mean quite small
28:01because of the size of these initial letters.
28:03So miniatura obviously then came into English to mean exactly that,
28:07to mean something that was quite small and dinky
28:09compared with everything else.
28:11And the redness was long forgotten.
28:13But as I say, it goes all the way back to that Latin minium
28:16and that beautiful red pigment that we call something else today.
28:19But when you're driving a mini car, it doesn't have to be red,
28:22but if it does, it's perfect etymologically.
28:25Thank you, Suzy.
28:2951-74.
28:31You're 23 points ahead.
28:33He finished strongly yesterday, Anne, though.
28:36Choose your letters.
28:38Consonant, please, Rachel.
28:39Thank you, Mike. B.
28:41And another.
28:43T.
28:44And a third.
28:46M.
28:47And a vowel.
28:49I.
28:50And another.
28:51O.
28:52And another.
28:54I.
28:56And a consonant.
28:58S.
29:01And a vowel.
29:04E.
29:05And a final consonant, please.
29:07A final N.
29:09Off you go.
29:26MUSIC PLAYS
29:40Mike?
29:41A seven.
29:42Good. Andy?
29:43A seven.
29:44Mike?
29:45Moisten.
29:46Andy?
29:47Same. Moisten.
29:48OK.
29:50Same. Moisten.
29:52Same. That's it.
29:54All round. Yes.
29:56OK. Well done.
29:58Andy, plenty of time.
30:00You've caught up before.
30:02Your letters.
30:04Could I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
30:06Thank you, Andy. P.
30:08And another.
30:09H.
30:10And another.
30:12G.
30:13And a vowel.
30:15I.
30:16And another.
30:17O.
30:18And a consonant.
30:20C.
30:21And another.
30:23T.
30:24And a vowel.
30:26I.
30:28And a final consonant, please.
30:30A final N.
30:32Let's play Countdown.
30:34MUSIC PLAYS
30:54MUSIC CONTINUES
31:05Andy?
31:06Risky seven.
31:08Mike?
31:09A six.
31:10What's your six?
31:11Coping.
31:12Andy?
31:13Is Piction a word?
31:15It's not.
31:16There's Paction and Diction, but not Piction, I'm afraid.
31:19Oh!
31:20In the corner.
31:21In the corner?
31:22I've got an eight. Pitching.
31:24Very good. Pitching.
31:25Yeah.
31:26Very nice indeed.
31:28OK, round 14, penultimate round.
31:31Mike, you are 29 points ahead.
31:35And it's your numbers.
31:37One large and five small, please, Rachel.
31:39Yeah, this is a victory dance now, just for fun.
31:42Sorry, Andy.
31:43Last numbers of the day are...
31:45..four, seven, nine, eight, one, and the large one, 100.
31:51And this target, 763.
31:54763.
31:56MUSIC PLAYS
32:16MUSIC STOPS
32:27Mike?
32:28763.
32:29Good. Andy?
32:30Yeah, 763.
32:31OK, Mike?
32:33Seven times 100 is 700.
32:35Seven times 100 is 700.
32:37Eight minus one is seven.
32:39Eight minus one, another seven.
32:41Times the nine is 63.
32:43Yep.
32:44Lovely. Well done. Andy?
32:46100 plus nine... 109.
32:48..times seven.
32:49Straight there, 763.
32:51APPLAUSE
32:55Well done.
32:56We are into the final round.
32:58The scores are 68-97,
33:01but, Andy, you're very good at the conundrum.
33:05And it's an achievement on its own.
33:08Fingers on buzzers.
33:10Please reveal today's Countdown Conundrum.
33:15BELL RINGS
33:19Mike?
33:20Insisting.
33:22Let's have a look.
33:24Oh, well done.
33:28That was very, very, very quick.
33:31I saw it fairly quickly, obviously.
33:33Were you nearly there, Andy?
33:35Yeah, maybe.
33:37OK.
33:39Can I say you've been a fabulous contestant?
33:42Oh, thank you.
33:43You're a great ambassador for Christianity,
33:45cos you've never stopped smiling since you got here.
33:48Thank you very much indeed.
33:50And well done playing six games.
33:52Cheers, thank you.
33:53APPLAUSE
33:58Mike from Devon, congratulations.
34:00We'll see you tomorrow.
34:01Thank you, Mike.
34:02Well done.
34:03Thanks, Susie. Thanks, Anne.
34:05Thanks, John. You're getting better, aren't you?
34:07I am, yes.
34:08I'm not doing too badly at the game, either.
34:10LAUGHTER
34:13Rachel?
34:14I will echo what you said. Andy hasn't stopped smiling
34:16the whole time he's been in.
34:17Been lovely, so very well done. Enjoy your teapot.
34:20Thank you.
34:21Thank you for watching. See you again tomorrow. Bye.
34:26You can contact the programme by email at countdown at channel4.com
34:30or write to us at countdownleads ls31js.
34:34You can also find our web page at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
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