Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:05APPLAUSE
00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio.
00:34Now, we talk a lot on this show about theatre.
00:36We have actors coming on, actresses coming along,
00:39so the theatre is, you know, sort of a theme
00:42that runs through the Countdown repertoire, I guess.
00:45But there was a big discussion not that long ago
00:48and the discussion revolved around
00:50should eating be allowed at the theatre?
00:52And apparently that wonderful actress Imelda Staunton
00:55once made her voice very distinctly heard
00:58when she called the production to a halt
01:00because somebody was munching away in the audience.
01:02And apparently, Rachel, I think this is extraordinary,
01:04although I come from a generation
01:06where you could smoke in the theatre,
01:08but eating in the theatre, come along.
01:10Do you know that apparently some people
01:12take their fish and chips and their Chinese chicken wings
01:15into the theatre and happily munch their way through?
01:18It's extraordinary. What's your view?
01:20Are you prepared to chew a toffee in the theatre?
01:23Um, I guess it kind of depends what you're watching, doesn't it?
01:27If it's something serious, you don't want to hear
01:29the rustling of anything to distract you.
01:32But you can't distract the actors in the cinema, can you?
01:34But you can at the theatre.
01:36I don't know what it is. All right.
01:38Now then, Rachel, we've got Wesley.
01:40Wesley's here seeking his OctoChampdom today.
01:43Seven great wins and, you know, you've done so very well.
01:47Strong, strong performer.
01:49Particularly good with the maths, I think.
01:51Now, let's see whether you can get past Joe Oliva,
01:54an economics and mathematics student from Guildford.
01:58Yep. Is that right?
02:00Enjoy speedcubing. What is speedcubing?
02:03It's, you know, the old Rubik's Cube
02:05and there's now variations of it with, like, more or less layers
02:09and solving as fast as possible.
02:11How fast is fast in your case?
02:13For me, I can solve a cube on average in around 30 seconds.
02:17World records go below five seconds.
02:20Do they? Yeah. How could you do it in under five seconds?
02:23It's a lot of finger tricks and... Whoa, I should say.
02:26..remembering hundreds of algorithms.
02:28Fantastic. Under five seconds, it's... Yeah.
02:31Well, that is extraordinary.
02:33Well, good luck, Joe, and good luck, Wesley.
02:35Good luck to you both. Big round of applause.
02:43And over in the corner, of course, Susie,
02:45joined once again by the hilarious Richard Arnold.
02:50You know, the showbiz guru.
02:54Did you know that? You're a guru. A guru?
02:56You're a guru on the showbiz front, yeah. Am I?
02:59Yeah, of course you are. You shouldn't hang on my word at all.
03:02You tell some great, great stories,
03:04all of which are completely entertaining.
03:06More to come a little bit later on,
03:08but now it's time to get down to business with Wesley.
03:10Good luck, Wesley. Big day for you. Thank you. Take it away.
03:13Hi, Rachel. Hi, Wesley.
03:15Start with a consonant, please. And he starts today with C.
03:19And another.
03:22And a vowel.
03:25And another.
03:29A consonant.
03:32And another.
03:36A vowel.
03:40A consonant.
03:45And I'll finish with a consonant, please.
03:48And I'll finish with P.
03:49And here comes the Countdown Clock.
04:19Yes, Wesley?
04:21I'll risk a seven.
04:23Joe? Six.
04:25Your six? Unclip.
04:27Unclip and?
04:29Might be making this up, but tunical?
04:32Tunical? How are you spelling it?
04:34T-U-N-I-C-L-E.
04:36You are not making it up at all.
04:39It is a short liturgical vestment
04:42traditionally worn by a subdeacon at celebrations of mass.
04:46Very good. Amazing. Well done.
04:49And what have we got in the corner?
04:51Cutline is also there.
04:53It's a North American term for the caption to a photograph in journalism.
04:56Is that right? All right. Thank you very much.
04:59Wesley, off to a rapid start.
05:01There's seven points and it's Joe's letters game. Joe?
05:04Hi, Rachel. Hi, Joe.
05:05Could I have a consonant, please? You can, thank you. Start with T.
05:08And another one, please.
05:10G.
05:12And another.
05:15C.
05:16And a vowel.
05:18E.
05:19And another vowel.
05:21A.
05:23And another vowel.
05:25O.
05:27And a consonant, please.
05:29N.
05:30And another.
05:32T.
05:34And another.
05:36And lastly, D.
05:38Stand by.
05:46CLOCK TICKS
06:10Yes, Joe? Six.
06:12A six, Wesley? Seven.
06:15Joan? Deacon.
06:17No, Wesley? Decagon.
06:20Yes, excellent. Ten-sided figure. Very, very good.
06:23Very strong start there, Wesley.
06:26Now, Richard and Susie?
06:28Tangoed.
06:30Yeah.
06:32Tangoed the whole night through.
06:34Susie? Exactly.
06:36And notated is another seven, Nick. Notated.
06:39Thank you very much. All right.
06:41Now, Wesley, it's the first numbers game of the day.
06:44The bottom row, please, Rachel.
06:46Well, we can have one fewer. We've got seven down there.
06:49So six of the bottom row.
06:51And for this round they are three, seven, six, five, four and ten.
06:58And the target, 302.
07:00302.
07:14CLOCK TICKS
07:32Wesley?
07:34Just 303.
07:36One away. Joe?
07:38303.
07:40303 also. So, Wesley?
07:42Six fives.
07:44Six fives are 30.
07:46Times ten.
07:47300.
07:48Add three.
07:49And add the three for one away.
07:51Same.
07:52Same way? We happy? All right.
07:54So we turn to Rachel. Rachel, can you do it?
07:57Yes, if you split up this multiplication and say six times ten is 60,
08:03four minus three is one, take that away for 59,
08:07divide that by five for 295 and add the seven, 302.
08:12Fabulous.
08:16Well fixed up. Thank you, Rachel.
08:19So, 21 plays seven.
08:22Wesley in the lead as we turn to our first tea time teaser,
08:25which is chap is not.
08:28And the clue, the chap is not happy, it swallowed his card.
08:32The chap is not happy, it swallowed his card.
08:36APPLAUSE
08:52Welcome back. I left with the clue, this chap is not happy,
08:55it swallowed his card.
08:57What has? The cash point has swallowed his card,
09:01along with a lot of other people's cash point.
09:0421 plays seven. Wesley on 21.
09:06Jo, your letters game.
09:08Could I have a consonant, please?
09:10Thank you, Jo. L.
09:12And another?
09:14P.
09:16And a third?
09:18N.
09:20And a vowel?
09:22A.
09:24And another?
09:26I.
09:28And another?
09:30O.
09:32And a consonant?
09:34S.
09:36And another?
09:38L.
09:42And a vowel, please?
09:44And the last one?
09:46A.
09:48And the clock starts now.
10:02CLOCK TICKS
10:18Yes, Jo?
10:20Six. A six.
10:22Wesley? Yes, six.
10:24Jo? Missile.
10:26Missile and?
10:28Slalom. Slalom.
10:30Yeah, slalom, absolutely fine.
10:32I just wanted to check with Jo how you were spelling missile.
10:35There's only one S, never mind.
10:38Oh, sorry. No can do on that one, then.
10:41And?
10:43Type in lipoma and see if that comes up.
10:45Lipoma with a S. Lipomas.
10:48Excellent. Benign tumours of fatty tissue.
10:51Give you a seven. Very good.
10:53Well done. Anything else?
10:55That's it? Yes.
10:57All right. Well done.
10:59Well done indeed, Richard.
11:01So, 27, please. Seven. And, Wesley, your letters again.
11:04A consonant, please?
11:06Thank you, Wesley. Q.
11:08And another?
11:10M.
11:12And a vowel?
11:14E. And another?
11:16U.
11:18A consonant?
11:20R.
11:22And another?
11:24N.
11:26A vowel?
11:28I.
11:30A consonant?
11:32M.
11:34And now finish with a vowel, please.
11:37And finish with E.
11:39Stand by.
11:59MUSIC
12:12Wesley?
12:14A seven. Joe?
12:16Six. And that six?
12:18Equine.
12:20Yes, Wesley. Requiem.
12:23Requiem is excellent, actually.
12:25And equine was still absolutely fine.
12:27But very, very good for seven.
12:29Rest.
12:31All right. Now, Richard and Susie.
12:34Anything else?
12:36Enquire.
12:38Enquire. Yeah, that was our seven.
12:40Couldn't get to the eight, though, Nick.
12:42All right. Requiem.
12:4434, please. Seven. And, Joe?
12:47The, er...
12:49The mathematics student.
12:51Numbers.
12:53Four large and two from the bottom row, please.
12:55Thank you, Joe. Four large and two little ones.
12:58Good numbers games today.
13:00These two small ones are seven and nine.
13:02And then the four bigs...
13:0450, 100, 75 and 25.
13:07And the target to reach...
13:09669.
13:11669.
13:13MUSIC
13:21MUSIC
13:43Joe? 669.
13:45And Wesley?
13:47Er, 666.
13:49Joe?
13:51OK, 75 multiplied by nine is...
13:54675.
13:56100 plus 50...
13:58150.
14:01Yeah, divided by 25...
14:03Is just six.
14:05Is six, and subtract it.
14:07Well done. 669.
14:09Well done, Joe.
14:11APPLAUSE
14:13Well done, Joe. 17 points to Wesley's.
14:1534 as we turn to Richard.
14:17Richard, tell us in a deep...
14:19about your Texan ranch experience, but there's more.
14:23Yeah, to recap, I went to Texas for the summer on a road trip.
14:27And while I'd been to Dallas and various other places before,
14:31I'd never been to the Gulf Coast,
14:33which is an extraordinary part of the world.
14:36So, obviously, you kick off in Houston, which is the gateway to it.
14:39I took myself off to Galveston,
14:41and it's through bayous and RVs and Baptist churches.
14:44You know, you really are the only person on the road
14:46and the only person on the freeways.
14:48And I went into this gas station.
14:50It really was like the lone Englishman abroad,
14:52where I sort of walked and I went,
14:54there's a guinea in it for you, if you could fill her up, good man.
14:57You know, you just think Dorothy's not in Kansas anymore.
14:59But it really is the most remarkable part of the world.
15:01But on a more poignant note, the reason I took the trip
15:04was because, sadly, I lost my father at the beginning of the summer.
15:07So I thought I'd dedicate this trip,
15:09because he always gave me the wings and the courage
15:11to fly off and, you know, fulfil my dreams.
15:13So this is probably the campest tribute
15:15that a son could ever lay for his father.
15:17I drove to Dallas. He'd have loved this.
15:19I can hear him laughing now with a bourbon in his hand.
15:21I drove to the gates of South Fork Ranch
15:23and lay a single yellow rose for the old man.
15:25And I know he would have really appreciated that, actually,
15:28because, as I say, he was the one who gave me the spirit
15:31and the gusto and the bombast to take to the road, you know?
15:34Brilliant. It was a really, really lovely trip.
15:36I urge you, if you're in the thrust of a middle-youth crisis,
15:39hit the road.
15:41Good.
15:43APPLAUSE
15:45Well done.
15:47Here's one to Dad, too. Fantastic.
15:49Thanks, Nick. He was a big fan of this show. He used to love it.
15:52Thank you, Richard. Now, 34-17, Joe on 17,
15:55and it's Wesley's letters game.
15:57Wesley.
15:59Consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, Wesley.
16:01J
16:02And another.
16:04P
16:05And a vowel.
16:07A
16:08And another.
16:10E
16:12A consonant.
16:14S
16:15And another.
16:17L
16:19A vowel.
16:21O
16:24Consonant.
16:26N
16:28And I'll finish with a vowel, please.
16:31And finish with I.
16:33Stand by.
16:40WHISTLE BLOWS
17:05Yes, Wesley?
17:07A seven.
17:09Thank you, Wesley.
17:11Epsilon.
17:13Epsilon indeed. Joe?
17:15C line.
17:17Ooh.
17:19Erm...
17:21Oh, Joe, it's two words.
17:23That is bad luck.
17:25I would have gone all the way, Joe.
17:27I'm sorry.
17:29Bad luck.
17:31Now, anything else in the corner?
17:34We had opaline for seven,
17:37opalescent, one of my favourite words,
17:39showing many small points of shifting colour
17:41against a pale background.
17:43Thank you.
17:45So, Joe, your letters game.
17:47Could I have a consonant, please?
17:49Thank you, Joe. H
17:51And another.
17:53N
17:55And a third.
17:57T
17:59And a vowel.
18:01A
18:03And a second. I
18:06And another vowel.
18:08U
18:10And a consonant.
18:12G
18:14And another consonant.
18:17R
18:19And a final...
18:23..consonant.
18:25And a final T.
18:27Stand by.
18:35MUSIC PLAYS
18:58Yes, Joe?
19:00Erm, I'll risk a seven.
19:02Wesley?
19:04A seven, yeah.
19:06Thank you, Joe.
19:08Ratting.
19:10Ratting and...?
19:12Hurting.
19:14And hurting.
19:16Erm, I think...
19:18Absolutely fine.
19:20To hunt or kill rats is to rat, as a verb,
19:22so ratting is absolutely fine.
19:24Yep.
19:26And Richard?
19:28Susie?
19:30Gratin. I got six.
19:32Thank you for noticing.
19:34Not you.
19:36Yeah, we were with hurting and seven as well.
19:38Very good.
19:40All right. 48 plays 24,
19:42and it's numbers...
19:44..for Wesley.
19:46Wesley?
19:48For the last time, I'll have six from the bottom row, please.
19:50Thank you, Wesley. And there are six for you here.
19:52Six little ones for the last time from you for a while, as you say.
19:54And this time they are six,
19:56five, four,
19:58ten,
20:00one and another one.
20:02And the target...
20:04611.
20:066-1-1.
20:30MUSIC
20:38Wesley?
20:40610.
20:42And Joe?
20:44610.
20:46Yes, Wesley?
20:48Six times ten.
20:5060.
20:52Plus one.
20:5461.
20:56Five plus four plus one.
20:58There we are.
21:00Now, let's see whether we can get there.
21:02Rachel, can we?
21:04No, the two ones limit you, so 610 is the best.
21:06That's it. Well done. Well done, guys.
21:08So, 55 plays 31.
21:10Wesley in the lead,
21:12as is his wont,
21:14as we turn to our last
21:16tea time teaser, which is Neil Daley.
21:18And the clue.
21:20Neil would argue with his neighbour
21:22daily over the size of this.
21:24Neil would argue with his neighbour
21:26daily over the size of this.
21:28MUSIC
21:44Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
21:46Neil would argue with his neighbour
21:48daily over the size of this.
21:50And they were arguing over
21:52his Leylandi.
21:5455 plays 31.
21:56Joe. Letters.
21:58Could I have
22:00a consonant, please?
22:02Thank you, Joe. B.
22:04And another?
22:06R.
22:08And
22:10a vowel?
22:12A.
22:14And a consonant?
22:16V.
22:18And a vowel?
22:20E.
22:22And a consonant?
22:24P.
22:26And a vowel?
22:28I.
22:30And a consonant?
22:32W.
22:36And another consonant?
22:38And lastly, N.
22:40Time.
22:42MUSIC
22:52MUSIC
22:54MUSIC
22:56MUSIC
22:58MUSIC
23:00MUSIC
23:02MUSIC
23:04MUSIC
23:06MUSIC
23:08MUSIC
23:10MUSIC
23:12Joe.
23:14Five.
23:16A five from Joe. Wesley?
23:18Six. Yes, Joe.
23:20Raven.
23:22And Wesley?
23:24Wavier.
23:26Yeah, absolutely fine.
23:28Wavier, very good.
23:30Very good. And the team in the corner.
23:32What has Dick Shree-Corner got to tell us?
23:34I think she's making up words again. Hold on.
23:36Porner.
23:38Oh, yeah, somebody who pawns an item is a porner.
23:40My point. There you go.
23:42Wavier for six, yes. We stopped at six as well.
23:44Well done. Thank you.
23:46A porner. 61 to 31.
23:48And it's Wesley's letters game. Wesley.
23:50A consonant, please, Rachel.
23:52Thank you, Wesley. S.
23:54And another.
23:56G.
23:58And a vowel. E.
24:00And another.
24:02U.
24:04Consonant. R.
24:06And another.
24:08D.
24:10A vowel.
24:12I.
24:14A consonant.
24:16Y.
24:20And I'll finish with a consonant, please.
24:22And finish with D.
24:24Well done.
24:46MUSIC PLAYS
24:56Yes. Wesley.
24:58Six. A six, Joe?
25:00A risky six.
25:02Mm-hm. Wesley?
25:04Ridged. Now, what's his risk, Joe?
25:06Dirges?
25:08No, absolutely not. D... How are you spelling it?
25:10D-I-R-G-E-S.
25:12Very good. Absolutely fine.
25:14Dirge. Yes.
25:16The less we hear of those, the better, I guess. Yes.
25:18Richard Arnold.
25:20Drudges.
25:22Drudges. Drudges.
25:24Not something you run into very often, I imagine. No.
25:26Occasionally on this show.
25:28But we're a work in progress, aren't we, Suzy?
25:30We are. There we go.
25:3267 to 37.
25:34And, Suzy, what have you
25:36for us today
25:38in your wonderful
25:40list of origins of words?
25:42We're going to look back to
25:44the sort of fairly early days
25:46of English, when terms were particularly
25:48fluid.
25:50I'm going to start with the word husband,
25:52because husband once had nothing to do
25:54with marriage. Instead,
25:56it denoted the head of a household.
25:58It comes from an Old Norse word, so a Viking word.
26:00Husbandi,
26:02which simply meant the master
26:04of the house.
26:06The man who was bonded to
26:08or attached to a house, and who
26:10owned his own home and his land.
26:12But not until the 13th century,
26:14quite a while later, did husband
26:16begin to denote the man to whom a woman is
26:18married. And it was thought to be a
26:20logical extension, then, of the
26:22idea of the keeper of the house,
26:24because men in those days were also
26:26seen as being the keeper of women.
26:28And so it seemed to make absolute
26:30sense. Up until
26:32that time, the word for husband had
26:34actually been were, W-E-R.
26:36Now, that was also,
26:38where it gets complicated, the general term
26:40for a man, too.
26:42Were eventually became
26:44redundant, but that W-E-R,
26:46the were, which was
26:48made extinct in all other areas,
26:50did survive. It did hang on in
26:52one word, which, of course, you probably have known
26:54by now, and that is, of course,
26:56werewolf. And that belongs to the
26:58Anglo-Saxon period and came to describe
27:00a man who, by popular belief,
27:02was able to turn himself into a wolf.
27:04So werewolf was man-wolf.
27:06APPLAUSE
27:12Excellent.
27:14Excellent.
27:1667-37, Wesley is
27:18certainly in charge at the moment.
27:20Joe, letters game.
27:22Penultimate letters game for you.
27:24Could I have a consonant, please?
27:26Thank you, Joe. R.
27:28And another?
27:30X.
27:32And a better one?
27:34R.
27:36And a vowel, please?
27:38E.
27:40And another?
27:42A.
27:44And another?
27:46U.
27:48And a consonant?
27:50S.
27:52And another?
27:54H.
27:56And a final
27:58consonant, please?
28:00And a final T.
28:02MUSIC
28:32Yes, Joe?
28:34Seven.
28:36Seven, but not written down.
28:38Not written down? Let's hear it, Wesley.
28:40Exhaust.
28:42Thank you. Exhaust and?
28:44Exhaust.
28:46There we go. Cool. That was just in time, wasn't it?
28:48Well done. All right.
28:50Anything else there, Richard and Susie?
28:52Er, urethras.
28:54Yes?
28:56Very, very good, yes.
28:58Anatomical term, obviously the duct by which
29:00blood is conveyed out of the body from the bladder.
29:02It's urethra.
29:04Yeah. Well done.
29:06APPLAUSE
29:08Thank you for that one, Richard.
29:10And it's 74-44.
29:12We turn for the last letters game
29:14to Wesley.
29:16Start with a consonant, please.
29:18Thank you, Wesley. S.
29:20And another?
29:22K.
29:24And a vowel, please?
29:26A.
29:28A consonant?
29:30F.
29:32And another?
29:34D.
29:36A vowel?
29:38A.
29:40A consonant?
29:42S.
29:46And I'll finish with another consonant, please.
29:48And finish with M.
29:50Stand by.
29:58CLOCK TICKS
30:22Wesley?
30:24A six.
30:26A seven. Wesley?
30:28Masked. Joe?
30:30Amassed.
30:32How are you spelling that, Joe?
30:34A-M-A-S-S-E-D.
30:36Perfect. Thank you.
30:38Amassed, yeah.
30:40Amassed a vast fortune.
30:42Yeah, very good.
30:44Richard?
30:46Er, damasks.
30:48Yes. Can you have more than one damask?
30:50Of course you can. They're rich and blousy.
30:52LAUGHTER
30:54Well, damask can also be short for damask rose,
30:56which is a beautiful, red, velvety, sweet-scented rose.
31:00So it's fine to add the S on that one.
31:02Thank you. All right.
31:0474-51. Joe, final numbers game for you. Take it away.
31:07And four large and any other two, please.
31:09You can. No easy selection today.
31:11Four large and two little ones for the final numbers game of the day.
31:14And these two small ones.
31:16Three and eight.
31:18And the big four.
31:20175, 50 and 25.
31:23And the target, 136.
31:25136.
31:52Yes, Joe?
31:54136.
31:56136. And Wesley?
31:58136.
32:00Let's go, Joe.
32:0275 plus 50.
32:04125.
32:06Plus eight, plus three.
32:08Eight and three. Yeah, simple as that. Well done.
32:10And Wesley?
32:12I did the 100 plus the 25.
32:14Yeah.
32:16All right.
32:18APPLAUSE
32:20Well done, Wesley.
32:24Well done to both of you.
32:26So here we are. 84 playing 61.
32:28Well played, Joe.
32:30As we go into the final round, conundrum time.
32:33Fingers on buzzers.
32:35Let's roll today's Countdown Conundrum.
32:37MUSIC
32:50MUSIC CONTINUES
33:08Did I hear a buzz?
33:10Joe?
33:12Wait. No, never mind, sorry.
33:14No?
33:16Rest of the time is...
33:19You have to be pretty queening at that one.
33:21No, we were stumped here.
33:23But who in the audience can beat an OctoChamp?
33:26Yes, sir.
33:28Crocodile?
33:30Crocodile. Let's see whether you're right.
33:32There it is. Crocodile.
33:34Well done. Well done.
33:38And well done to you, Wesley. I'll come to you in a second.
33:41Joe, you put up a brave fight there, 61.
33:43Thank you. Good score, good score.
33:45Gilford, back to your Economics and Maths degree.
33:47You're in your first year. You're a young chap.
33:49You're what, 18? 19.
33:5119. Well done. You take the scooty bag with you.
33:53With our best wishes. Thank you.
33:55And also, we send you our best wishes, too,
33:57because you've been a great player.
33:59Very fast, sure-footed player.
34:02And you're our number three seed,
34:04so we say farewell to you until you come back in June for the finals.
34:07You're a tremendous player. Thank you. See you soon.
34:10There we are. There's another good OctoChamp there.
34:14And we've got two new contestants tomorrow.
34:17Richard, are you up for it?
34:19All back to mine, Nick.
34:21All right.
34:23We'll see you tomorrow. And Susie, too.
34:25All right. And you'll be back tomorrow.
34:27Will indeed. All right. Join us then.
34:29Same time, same place. Two new contestants.
34:31You'll be sure of it. A very good afternoon.
34:34Contact us by email at countdown at channel4.com,
34:38by Twitter at C4Countdown,
34:40or write to us at Countdown, Leeds, LS3, 1JS.
34:44You can also find our web page at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:51It's a dog day afternoon or evening for the super vet tonight at eight
34:54as his surgery is full of canines needing his urgent assistance.
34:58And at nine, Trevor Phillips asks,
35:00has political correctness gone mad,
35:02arguing that liberalism and fear of offence
35:05might be stifling legitimate debate.
35:0715 to 1, next.