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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:05APPLAUSE
00:31Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown Studio.
00:36Coming up this weekend on Sunday, why, it's World Judo Day.
00:41It started in 2010, I think, and it's celebrated each year
00:46on the birthday of the founder of judo way back in 1860,
00:50none other than Kano Jigoro.
00:52And every day, something like 28 million people, Rachel,
00:56practise their judo, which, of course, translated means
01:00the gentle way, the gentle way.
01:03I know nothing about judo, or of any martial art, but you and I know.
01:08A karate black belt.
01:10None other, of course, than our studio director, Derek.
01:14And occasionally, and very few people know this,
01:17but on our earphones, we can hear a crash upstairs
01:20as Derek throws our producer round the room on the choir.
01:24Oh, is that what that is?
01:26Yeah, he's a black belt.
01:28Yes. That's garringsome.
01:30Have you ever been thrown around by Derek?
01:33Not by Derek. I think there'd be a lawsuit if he came.
01:36I mean, obviously, there's the, you know, the distance
01:39that he has to stay by law.
01:41But I do have some friends who were, I think, second or third
01:45and fifth or sixth black belt dans in taekwondo.
01:49OK. So they taught classes.
01:51So I went along with them.
01:52And it feels more like dancing than what I thought martial arts would be
01:55because you have to learn certain routines as you go up the belts.
01:58But I was just tagging along and watching mostly.
02:00But Putin's big on judo, isn't he? That's all I know about judo.
02:03Yes, he is.
02:04Some of my friends have got some Putin judo T-shirts
02:07because he hands them out for different clubs and all the rest of it.
02:09Extraordinary. He, of course, he loves the bare-chested stuff.
02:11I'm not sure whether Derek and our producer are bare-chested
02:14when they're playing around upstairs.
02:16I imagine not. I hope not.
02:18I'll never get that image out of my head. Thanks, Nick.
02:20I hope and pray.
02:21Who's with us going for the OctoChamp belt today?
02:24Martin May. Welcome back, Martin. Good luck to you.
02:28You've played an absolute blinder to date.
02:30But you've been a real pleasure and a great player.
02:33I've enjoyed it.
02:34And you're joined by Dover Dubasarsky,
02:36a maths teacher from London, originally from Sydney.
02:38Yep.
02:39Is that right?
02:40And you love compiling and solving cryptic crosswords.
02:43Yep, I do.
02:44Fantastic. Well, you're in the right place, you really are.
02:46When did you come over from Sydney?
02:48Just at the beginning of this year, actually.
02:50OK. And what brought you here?
02:52Just as an experience, isn't it? To get more culture.
02:56OK. And you planning to stay for a long time, or...?
02:59Two years is the visa.
03:01Oh, is that right?
03:02But maths teachers, I think, are in need.
03:05In demand?
03:06Yeah, exactly.
03:07Brilliant stuff. Well, good luck to you. Good luck to you both.
03:09Let's have a big round of applause for Martin and Dover.
03:12APPLAUSE
03:19Susie's over in the corner,
03:21and next to her, our resident trickster and all-round good guy,
03:25Paul Zen, and welcome back, Paul.
03:32Now, Martin, the day begins. Let us go.
03:36Afternoon, Rachel.
03:37Afternoon, Martin.
03:38Can I start with a vowel, please?
03:40Start today with O.
03:42And another?
03:43I.
03:44And a third?
03:46A.
03:47And a consonant?
03:49D.
03:50And another?
03:51N.
03:53And a third?
03:54P.
03:56And a vowel?
03:58U.
04:00And a consonant?
04:01T.
04:04And a final vowel, please?
04:08And a final I.
04:10And here's the Countdown Clock.
04:18CLOCK TICKS
04:41Martin?
04:42A seven.
04:43Dover?
04:44Seven.
04:45Thank you, Martin.
04:46Utopian.
04:47Now then, Dover.
04:48Outpaid.
04:51Outpaid?
04:52Yeah.
04:53Yeah, it's not there, unfortunately.
04:55I checked that one myself, I thought it would be in,
04:57but it's not.
04:58Sorry about that, Dover.
04:59Bad luck.
05:00What can we have there, Paul?
05:02Just another seven with...
05:04I think it's pronounced Opuntia.
05:06It is, yes.
05:08It's a cactus of a family that includes a prickly pear.
05:11OK. Anything else, Susie?
05:13No, that was it.
05:16Good afternoon, Rachel.
05:17Afternoon, Dover.
05:18Could I get a vowel, please?
05:20Start with A.
05:22And a consonant?
05:24G.
05:26A vowel?
05:28E.
05:30And a consonant, please?
05:32S.
05:33Another consonant?
05:35B.
05:37A vowel?
05:39O.
05:41A consonant, please?
05:43R.
05:44Another consonant?
05:46V.
05:48And a final consonant?
05:51And a final S.
05:53Stand by.
06:14MUSIC PLAYS
06:26Dover.
06:27Just a six.
06:28A six and Martin.
06:30Yeah, I'll stick with the six as well.
06:32Dover.
06:33Groves.
06:34And?
06:35Bravos, but without the E.
06:37Ah, yes, you could have put the E in as well.
06:39Yeah, that's what I was risking.
06:40Yeah, you can have it either with or without,
06:42as in the plural.
06:43A thug or a hired assassin.
06:45Really?
06:46Mm, the bold ones.
06:48Yeah.
06:49Paul.
06:50Just a seven there with borages.
06:53What on earth is that?
06:54Yeah, borage is a plant,
06:56it's a herbaceous plant from Europe
06:58with bright blue flowers and hairy leaves,
07:00and bees love it.
07:01There you go.
07:02All right.
07:03Very good.
07:04So, 13 plays, six, Dover on six,
07:06and it's Martin we turn to.
07:07Numbers again, Martin.
07:09Can I get one from the top, please, Rachel, and any other five?
07:11You can indeed.
07:12One large, five little coming up.
07:14And the first one of the day is nine,
07:17ten, two, two,
07:20six and 25.
07:22And the target.
07:24516.
07:26516.
07:41MUSIC PLAYS
07:59Martin?
08:00Yeah, 516.
08:01And Dover?
08:03516, not properly written down.
08:06Let's hear from you, then.
08:07All right, so ten times 25.
08:09Ten, 25 to 250.
08:11Add on the two and the six.
08:13Two and the six, 258.
08:15And then times that by two.
08:16The other two, perfect.
08:17There we go.
08:18And Martin?
08:19A little bit different.
08:20Nine times two is 18.
08:21Nine, two is 18.
08:23Plus two is 20.
08:24Yep.
08:25Times 25.
08:26Again.
08:27Plus six.
08:28Lovely.
08:29516.
08:30Well done, guys.
08:31APPLAUSE
08:32Well done indeed.
08:33APPLAUSE
08:3423 plays 16.
08:36Martin in the lead as we go into our first Tea Time teaser,
08:38which is Girls Mean.
08:40And the clue...
08:41The girls would often say mean things about some of their colleagues.
08:45The girls would often say mean things about some of their colleagues.
08:51MUSIC PLAYS
09:00APPLAUSE
09:03MUSIC STOPS
09:06Welcome back, welcome back.
09:08I left you with the clue.
09:09The girls would often say mean things about some of their colleagues
09:13because they were...
09:15maligners.
09:16Maligners.
09:18Now, if you'd like to become a Countdown contestant,
09:21you can email countdown at channel4.com
09:24to request an application form
09:26or write to us at contestantsapplications,
09:29Countdown leads LS31JS.
09:3423 plays 16.
09:36Martin on 23.
09:38Dover, your chance to catch up.
09:40Let's just go.
09:41Hi, Rachel. Could I get a vowel, please?
09:43Thank you, Dover. E.
09:45And a consonant?
09:47R.
09:48Another consonant?
09:50N.
09:52One more?
09:54S.
09:55Could I now get a vowel, please?
09:57O.
09:59Another vowel?
10:01A.
10:03One more vowel?
10:05I.
10:07A consonant, please?
10:09M.
10:11And a final consonant?
10:13And a final K.
10:15Stand by.
10:17MUSIC PLAYS
10:29MUSIC CONTINUES
10:47Yes, Dover?
10:48An eight.
10:49An eight and?
10:50Yeah, eight as well.
10:51Two eights. Dover?
10:52Romanise.
10:53Martin?
10:54Monikers.
10:55Yeah, excellent nicknames.
10:57Very good.
11:02Good play. And in the corner?
11:04There's another eight there with moraines.
11:08Moraines, yeah.
11:09Geological term, sediment, masses of rock.
11:13And romaines as well, the lettuces.
11:15You could have two for eight.
11:17Well done. Eights wherever you look. Fantastic.
11:1931-24.
11:21Martin, off you go. Lettuce game.
11:23Can I start with a consonant, please?
11:25Martin, W.
11:27And another?
11:29G.
11:30And a vowel?
11:32O.
11:33And another vowel?
11:35U.
11:36And a third vowel?
11:38E.
11:40And a consonant?
11:41T.
11:43And another?
11:45R.
11:47And a vowel?
11:49I.
11:51And a final consonant, please?
11:53And a final N.
11:55Dover.
12:24Martin.
12:27I'll stick with an eight.
12:29Dover?
12:30Just seven.
12:31Your seven is?
12:32Galtier.
12:33Now, then, Martin.
12:34Towering.
12:35Yes. Very good.
12:36Good man.
12:41Mr Zenon.
12:43Now, towering is about towering as it gets with that one.
12:47There's another seven with outgrew, but I think that's about it.
12:50That's it, Susie?
12:51That's it, yeah.
12:53And now it's 39 to 24.
12:55Martin in the lead, but it's Dover's numbers game.
12:58Dover?
12:59Can we get three large and three small, please?
13:01Can indeed.
13:03Arping the ante with the math teacher.
13:05Three large and these three little ones are five, six, ten.
13:09And the large, 175.
13:11And 25.
13:13And the target, 526.
13:15526.
13:22Dover.
13:49Dover.
13:52One away, Martin.
13:53Yeah, 525 as well.
13:55Now, then, Dover.
13:565 by 100, add 25.
13:59Yeah, 525. One away.
14:01And...
14:02I'll mix it up a bit. 100 times 6 minus 75.
14:05Lovely.
14:06There we go.
14:07Rachel, can you dig us out of this?
14:10I can dig you out.
14:11If you say 75 minus 25 is 50,
14:15times by 10 is 500,
14:18and then 100 divided by 5 is 20,
14:21and add on the 6, 526.
14:23Oh, wonderful.
14:24Thank you. Well done, Rachel.
14:27That's Emma.
14:29So, 46 to 31, Martin still in the lead,
14:32and we now turn to Paul Zenon.
14:35What are you going to do to us today?
14:38Well, today, Nick, we're talking about animal magic.
14:41And, again, it's the run-up to Halloween.
14:43Now, in the old days, you know,
14:45magicians have always been associated with animals.
14:47For ages, it would be kind of witches and warlocks
14:50and wizards with their familiars, you know?
14:52It would be cats and bats and owls.
14:54And then a bit later on, you had a magician
14:56pulling rabbits out of hats.
14:58Houdini made an elephant disappear.
15:00You had your Las Vegas performers producing tigers and lions.
15:04And probably one of the most famous animals they used
15:06would be one like this.
15:13But then that got a bit a little dated, too.
15:17And I'm going to... It's kind of frowned on to use live animals
15:20because we like animals, you know?
15:22Animals are nice. We don't want to harm them.
15:24Except flies.
15:26So I'm going to do a trick with a live fly now.
15:29You're not frightened of flies, are you? No, not at all.
15:31OK, cool. What I want you to do, Susie, is check out
15:33there's no-one hiding inside there. Nothing.
15:35OK. I want you to hold your right hand out like that.
15:38And now just hold the glass on there.
15:40Now, just a little bit higher.
15:42I want you to put your other hand on top.
15:44Check that out. There's nothing inside, you can see, in there.
15:47OK. I'm going to waggle my fingers on it
15:49and you'll see a live fly appear.
15:51Here we go.
15:53Whoop. Whoop.
15:56Nothing.
15:58I'll tell you what. I'll hold it.
16:00You waggle your fingers over the top.
16:03It's not a fly.
16:05The spider must have been after the fly.
16:07I'll tell you what, though. It's not that one.
16:09It's not that one you need to worry about.
16:11It's the one behind you.
16:14LAUGHTER
16:16It's all right, I got it.
16:18APPLAUSE
16:27It's not real.
16:29I love it. Thank you so much, Paul.
16:3146-31, Martin on 46.
16:33Martin, your letters again.
16:35Thank you. Can I start with a consonant, please?
16:37Thank you, Martin. Z.
16:39Can I have a better one, please?
16:41C.
16:43And a vowel?
16:45A.
16:47And another vowel?
16:49E.
16:51And a third vowel?
16:53U.
16:55And a consonant?
16:57T.
16:59And another consonant?
17:01D.
17:03And another consonant?
17:06S.
17:08And a final consonant, please?
17:10And a final R.
17:12And it's countdown.
17:36MUSIC
17:44Martin?
17:46Seven.
17:48And Dover?
17:50Just six.
17:52Traced.
17:54Thank you, Martin. Custard.
17:56Custard.
17:58Now, Paul and Susie, what have you concocted?
18:00Not as much fun as custard,
18:02but there is an eight there with traduces.
18:04The traduce is to speak badly or tell lies about someone.
18:06Indeed.
18:08APPLAUSE
18:10Thanks, Susie.
18:1253-31.
18:14Dover, your letters again.
18:16Could I get a vowel, please?
18:18Thank you, Dover. I.
18:20And another vowel?
18:22O.
18:24A consonant now?
18:26C.
18:28Another consonant?
18:30S.
18:32T.
18:34A vowel, please?
18:36E.
18:38And a consonant?
18:40L.
18:44And another vowel?
18:46U.
18:48And a final consonant?
18:50And a final S.
18:52Stand by.
18:54MUSIC
19:02MUSIC CONTINUES
19:24Hmm. Dover?
19:26Seven.
19:28And?
19:30Outliers.
19:32Nah, then.
19:34Lousiest.
19:36Yeah, both excellent. Very good. Lousiest.
19:38And in the corner?
19:40Er, nothing else, really.
19:42No, ironically, lousiest was the best.
19:44That's it, Susie?
19:46Yeah, that loads for me, too.
19:48Thank you. 61-31.
19:50Martin, numbers have come round again for you.
19:52One from the top, please, and any other five.
19:54Thank you, Martin.
19:56Last choice from you for a while.
19:58Big Five, little R.
20:00Nine.
20:02Three.
20:04Five.
20:06Ten.
20:08Seven and 50, and the target.
20:10719.
20:12719.
20:14MUSIC
20:28MUSIC CONTINUES
20:40Martin?
20:42Yeah, 719.
20:44And Dover? Yep, 719.
20:46Martin?
20:48Right, so seven times three is 21.
20:50Seven three is 21. Plus 50 is 71.
20:52Yep. Times ten is 710.
20:54It is indeed. Add nine.
20:56719.
20:58And Dover?
21:00So I did five minus three.
21:02Two.
21:04Two times seven times 50.
21:06That is 700.
21:08And then add ten and add nine.
21:10Yep, a few ways for this one. Well done.
21:12Very good.
21:14APPLAUSE
21:16All right, time for our second tea time teaser,
21:18which is Dingle Run.
21:20And the clue.
21:22He was considered to be of low status,
21:24but was he beneath fish?
21:26He was considered to be of low status,
21:28but was he beneath fish?
21:30BELL RINGS
21:40APPLAUSE
21:46Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
21:48He was considered to be of low status,
21:50but was he beneath fish?
21:52Underling.
21:54Underling. What's a ling, Susie?
21:56A ling is...
21:58It's the name of a long-bodied edible marine fish.
22:00Several different types,
22:02including a couple of Australian ones, actually.
22:04So, related to the cod
22:06or, yeah,
22:08various families of fish.
22:10But it's long-bodied. It's related to long, the ling.
22:14All right, 71 to 41.
22:16Dover, try this letters game.
22:18Could I get a vowel, please?
22:20Thank you, Dover.
22:22And another vowel.
22:26And a consonant.
22:28And another.
22:32One more.
22:36And a vowel, please.
22:40Another vowel.
22:44And a consonant.
22:46T.
22:50And a final consonant.
22:52And a final B.
22:54Don't go.
23:16MUSIC PLAYS
23:26Dover.
23:28Seven.
23:30Martin.
23:32No, just a six on them.
23:34Gambit.
23:36Dover.
23:38Atomise.
23:40Atomise?
23:42There's no S, unfortunately.
23:44There's a seven there with a megabit.
23:46OK. Anything else, Susie?
23:48If you want to use the X,
23:50have moxie, guts or courage
23:52in an American sense.
23:54But, yeah, megabit was our best.
23:56Well done. Bad luck there, Dover.
23:5877 to 41. Martin, your letters game.
24:00Can I get a consonant, please, Rachel?
24:02Thank you, Martin.
24:04And another.
24:08And a vowel.
24:10And another vowel.
24:14And a consonant.
24:18And another.
24:22And another.
24:26And a vowel.
24:30And a final vowel, please.
24:32And a final I.
24:34And the clock starts now.
24:36MUSIC PLAYS
24:40MUSIC CONTINUES
25:04Martin.
25:06Just a six.
25:08Six, two.
25:10Now, then. Valour.
25:12And...molier?
25:14Molier.
25:18We're not having much luck today.
25:20Moiler is in,
25:22but not molier.
25:24Not the other way around, I'm sorry, Riff.
25:26Now, what else have we got?
25:28Louvre, I think, is lurking in there, is it?
25:30Yes, it is. Anything else?
25:32Just one other six with volume.
25:34Volume. Susie?
25:36We're done. Thank you.
25:38We're not done with you, Susie,
25:40because now...
25:42it's your origins of words time.
25:44Thank you to Peter Dale,
25:46who emailed in to say
25:48an expression that he can remember
25:50being used to describe ostracising someone
25:52was sending them to Coventry.
25:54Why Coventry, I wonder.
25:56And the phrase we know
25:58originated in the 17th century,
26:00and at that time Coventry would have been
26:02quite a small town,
26:04not the place it was today.
26:06There's quite a famous story
26:08attached to this expression.
26:10There's no direct evidence that it's true,
26:12but it is our best guess,
26:14and it makes perfect sense, given that otherwise
26:16it would be an extremely curious expression.
26:18And the story goes that
26:20Cromwell sent a group of
26:22royalist soldiers to be imprisoned
26:24in Coventry around 1648.
26:26Now, at that time, Coventry,
26:28it was said, was full of
26:30parliamentarians, so they were firm
26:32supporters of Cromwell and
26:34parliament. And so they shunned
26:36these royalist soldiers, refused to consult
26:38with them, refused to have any dialogue with them
26:40to help them with shelter, food,
26:42or indeed to work if they were
26:44indeed imprisoned. So
26:46the idea was that the extreme unpopularity
26:48of these royalist soldiers led
26:50to the expression being sent to Coventry.
26:52And indeed, it's also said that any
26:54soldiers who were stationed there
26:56for quite a few decades, even centuries
26:58afterwards, were extremely unpopular.
27:00Hence, being sent
27:02to Coventry. By around
27:041800, we know it was really, really established.
27:06There's a good definition of it in
27:08the famous Dictionary of the Vulgar
27:10Tongue, so the dictionary of the slang of the
27:12time, when it talks about
27:14a very military sense of the expression.
27:16To send one to Coventry, a punishment
27:18inflicted by officers of the army
27:20on such of their brethren as are
27:22testy, or have been guilty of improper
27:24behaviour, not worthy
27:26of a court-martial. The person
27:28sent to Coventry is considered as absent.
27:30No one must speak to or answer
27:32any question he asks, under
27:34penalty of being also sent to the
27:36same place. So,
27:38the idea again, very, very literal.
27:40It then became very popular during industrial
27:42disputes, etc. But we think it goes back
27:44to the Civil War. And the word just to end was another
27:46word that Peter used, which was ostracising.
27:48That goes all the way back to
27:50ancient Greek and fragments of pottery
27:52called ostracon. And upon
27:54these fragments of pottery, the name
27:56of a really unpopular citizen who was
27:58guilty of some sort of offence would be
28:00written, and if there were sufficient votes
28:02on these ostracon, they would be sent
28:04into exile. In other words, they would have been
28:06ostracised. Brilliant.
28:08Very good.
28:10APPLAUSE
28:14Two fascinating facts
28:16there, that's for sure. Dover,
28:18we're with you now. Letters game. Could I get
28:20a vowel, please? Thank you, Dover.
28:22U. And another one?
28:24E.
28:26And a consonant?
28:28P.
28:30And another?
28:32M.
28:34And a vowel, please?
28:36O.
28:38And another?
28:40A.
28:42Back to consonant? L.
28:44One more consonant?
28:46R.
28:48And a final vowel?
28:50And a final U.
28:52Tongue tongue.
29:23Now, Dover?
29:25Just five.
29:27Five. Martin?
29:29Six. And a six. Dover?
29:31Polar. Polar and?
29:33Morale. Morale.
29:35Yeah, very good. Any more sixes
29:37or sevens? Can we beat it? Paul?
29:39There is a seven there, yes, with ampoules.
29:41No, it's not with an S, is it? No.
29:43Just ampoule. An ampoule. It's that small vial
29:45of liquid if you're being vaccinated.
29:47It'll be on the syringe. Oh, yeah.
29:49French for light bulb. It is, yeah.
29:52And the S, is it? No, that was our best for seven.
29:5489 plays 41.
29:56Martin, your letters go.
29:59Last one. Can I start with a consonant, please?
30:01Thank you, Martin. T.
30:03And another?
30:05S. And a third?
30:07H.
30:09And a vowel?
30:11I.
30:13And another?
30:15E. And a third?
30:17A. And a consonant?
30:19R.
30:21And another consonant?
30:23T.
30:27And a final vowel, please?
30:30And a final O.
30:33And here's the countdown clock.
30:49CLOCK TICKS
31:07Martin?
31:09Eight.
31:11Gilbert?
31:13Eight as well.
31:15Martin?
31:18I think that would be fine.
31:20Talking about frost, et cetera.
31:22And greyish-white is another definition of hoary as well,
31:25so very good.
31:33And in the corner?
31:35Yeah, there are another couple of eights there, actually,
31:37with toast here.
31:39Yeah. And rheostat.
31:41Oh, I love the rheostat. And dimmer.
31:43Yes, variable resistor, really.
31:4897, look at this, to 49.
31:50On the brink there, Martin.
31:52Dover, your numbers game.
31:54We'll go three large and three small.
31:56Thank you, Dover.
31:58Three from the top, three little to finish the day.
32:00And this last challenge is...
32:02Five, eight, eight,
32:0575, 25 and 50.
32:08And the target...
32:10970.
32:12970.
32:15MUSIC
32:43Yes, Dover?
32:45971.
32:48Martin?
32:50970.
32:51Thank you. Off we go.
32:5375 plus 50?
32:55125.
32:56Times eight?
32:57Is 1,000.
32:58Minus 25, minus five.
33:00Perfect. Well done again, 970.
33:02Very well done. Very well done.
33:07OK, into the final round.
33:09Things on buzzers, Dover, Martin?
33:11Let's roll today's countdown conundrum.
33:17Martin?
33:18Crispiest.
33:19Crispiest.
33:21I have little doubt. Let's roll it and see.
33:23Here we go.
33:25Crispiest. Fantastic.
33:31Well, you've done it, Martin.
33:33In the most efficient way possible.
33:35Fantastic. 117.
33:37You are an octo-champ.
33:39And you are our number one seed.
33:41I'll come back to you in a minute.
33:43Dover, you played pretty good.
33:45You played pretty good, but you're up against
33:47the number one seed.
33:49And good luck with your maths career here in London.
33:51Have a great time. Enjoy it fully.
33:53And tell your mates back home all about it, will you?
33:55Thanks very much.
33:57You take this goodie bag back.
34:01See you near Christmas in the final.
34:03That was brilliant. Great performance.
34:05Paul, we'll see you on Monday.
34:07Have a wonderful weekend with Susie, too.
34:09Not necessarily with Susie, but Susie, you too.
34:11Oh, well, thank you.
34:13He's a great player, isn't he?
34:15Number one seed and definitely the one to beat for the finals.
34:17I think so. The way shaping up.
34:19See you on Monday. Have a good weekend.
34:21Join us then. Two new contestants.
34:23Same time, same place. You'll be sure of it.
34:25A very good afternoon to you all.
34:27You can contact the programme by email
34:29at countdown at channel4.com
34:31by Twitter at C4 Countdown
34:33or write to us at
34:36You can also find our webpage
34:38at channel4.com
34:40forward slash countdown