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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:04APPLAUSE
00:08CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
00:29Good afternoon and welcome to the Countdown studio
00:32on the 31st of October.
00:34Wow, that makes it Halloween
00:36when the ghosts and ghouls and wraiths come out to play tonight.
00:40Yeah.
00:42So many locations claim to be the most haunted, Rachel,
00:45but there's a list now, apparently.
00:47And, apparently, the top place in the United Kingdom, here we go,
00:51all those living around Borley Rectory in Essex,
00:54stay indoors tonight, that's all I can say.
00:56Now, Borley Rectory, a nun and two headless horsemen.
01:01Of course. Got to be headless, haven't they?
01:03Or I'd have been sighted.
01:05The other one is Pendle Hill, home of the Pendle witches.
01:09People go clambering up that hill at night, deep at night,
01:12hoping to run into something, to be frightened.
01:15What about you? Do you like a good ghost story?
01:18Have you ever stumbled into a headless horseman?
01:20The scariest places I've ever been in the UK
01:23would either be the Etihad or Blackpool.
01:25LAUGHTER
01:27Nothing to do with ghosts.
01:29Nothing, but just the sheer...
01:31Oh, have you ever been to Blackpool?
01:33No!
01:35Just doing it for our producers' benefit,
01:37and obviously, Paul, before I get all the less of complaints.
01:40But, yeah, it's a horrible place.
01:42LAUGHTER
01:44Let's move on now, before people start trolling you
01:47and saying unkind things.
01:49Chris Sturdy's back, Rachel, who did so well yesterday,
01:52scoring for 89, a data manager from Barnes Green in West Sussex.
01:56Brilliant. Great performance.
01:58You're joined by a fellow UMIST graduate, Michael Culfred,
02:03a process control specialist from Burton-on-Trent,
02:06works at a brewery, enjoys cask ales and supports Burton Albium FC.
02:11Why not? You're deep in the heart of the centre of beer country,
02:15I guess, aren't you? It's wonderful.
02:17Yes, yes, we brew a lot of beer,
02:19and there's a lot of great beer brewed now in England,
02:21and a lot of great cask beers.
02:23They say the water's got something to do with it.
02:25That's why they started in Burton. It was very hard water.
02:28Made pale ales.
02:30I'll drink to that. I'll drink to that.
02:32Big round of applause now for Michael and Chris.
02:34APPLAUSE
02:39Now, over the corner,
02:41Susie's there, next to that spooky magician, Paul Zenon,
02:45who's been with us for a few days now and is amazing us.
02:49Thank you. I'll tell you what is spooky.
02:51What you were talking about before is I grew up in the shadow of Pendle Hill
02:54and then moved to Blackpool.
02:56How spooky can you get?
02:58You've got it all. You've got it all.
03:00Now, then, Chris, take us away. Chris Sturdy.
03:03A vowel, please. Thank you, Chris.
03:06U
03:08A consonant.
03:10H
03:12Another consonant.
03:14N
03:16A vowel.
03:18O
03:20Consonant.
03:23Another consonant.
03:25M
03:27A vowel.
03:29E
03:31Consonant.
03:33T
03:35And a final vowel, please.
03:37And a final A.
03:39And here's the countdown clock.
03:52CLOCK TICKS
04:12Yes, Chris?
04:14Seven.
04:16A seven, Michael?
04:18Seven.
04:19A seven also, Chris?
04:21I've got unearthed as well.
04:24Swap notes. Digging up people now.
04:27Yeah, I tell you, this is going to be a very spooky episode, I can feel it,
04:30cos we've got unearthed, which kind of fits the theme.
04:33We've also got haunter in there for a seven.
04:38And not quite the same sort of scary, but there's neuroma as well,
04:41which is pretty scary in itself.
04:43Thank you very much. Well done. Well done indeed.
04:46Seven apiece. Now, Michael, your first letters game.
04:49Hello, Rachel. Hi, Michael.
04:51Can I have a consonant, please? You can.
04:54L
04:56And another.
04:58P
05:00And another.
05:02Y
05:04And a vowel.
05:06I
05:08And a vowel.
05:10E
05:12And a consonant, please.
05:14T
05:16And a vowel.
05:18U
05:20And a consonant.
05:22S
05:24And a consonant.
05:26And lastly, W.
05:28And the clock starts now.
05:49CLOCK TICKS
06:01Michael, go for a six and...
06:04I've just got a five.
06:06And your five is sweet.
06:08Now, then, Michael, pistol.
06:10What was it, sorry? Pistol. Pistol.
06:12P-I-S-T-L-E.
06:14Erm, not there on its own, I'm afraid. I'm sorry.
06:17And, like, what can we have? Paul? Paul and Susie.
06:20Erm, not that spooky.
06:22Tenuous link to the horror theme at Pulse.
06:25But only a five, I'm afraid. Nothing...
06:28Oh, there's another one there with Westley.
06:30As in Westerly, but Westley is an alternative.
06:33So that will give you a six. Thank you.
06:35All right. 12 plays seven. Chris on 12.
06:38Chris, numbers. Here we go.
06:41I'll have one large and five small, please.
06:43Thank you, Chris. One big one, five little ones.
06:46Nothing too scary here.
06:48These numbers are nine, two, six, ten, eight,
06:53and a large one, 25.
06:55And the target, 388.
06:57388.
07:17MUSIC CONTINUES
07:29Well, Chris?
07:31387.
07:33One away, Michael.
07:35388, not written down, totally.
07:38OK, Michael.
07:40Eight times two is 16.
07:42Eight twos is 16.
07:4425.
07:45400.
07:46400.
07:51Nine minus six is three.
07:53I think you're a bit stuck, Michael.
07:55Yeah, sorry.
07:56Bad luck. Over to Chris.
07:58Chris.
07:59Pretty much there. Nine minus six is three.
08:02Plus ten.
08:03Yeah, nine minus six plus ten is 13.
08:06And that's one away.
08:08387.
08:09Oh, all right. How can you do it?
08:11Split the multiplication, say eight times 25 is 400.
08:16No, it's not, it's 200.
08:18Take away the six for 194 and times that by 2388.
08:23Oh, well done. Thank you, Rachel.
08:25APPLAUSE
08:27Bad luck there, Michael.
08:29It's early days, early days.
08:3119 playing seven, you're on seven,
08:33and we turn to our first teatime teaser,
08:35which is Immerse So, and the clue.
08:38He immerses himself in the topic so much so
08:41that he can recall every single detail.
08:44He immerses himself into the topic so much so
08:47that he can recall every single detail.
09:05Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
09:07He immerses himself into the topic so much so
09:10that he can recall every single detail.
09:13In fact, he memorises them.
09:16Memorises is the answer to that one.
09:1919 to seven, Chris in the lead.
09:21Michael, off we go. Letters game.
09:23Consonant, please, Rachel.
09:25Thank you, Michael. M.
09:28Consonant.
09:30D.
09:32And another.
09:34R.
09:36And another.
09:38S.
09:40And a vowel.
09:42O.
09:44And a vowel.
09:46E.
09:48Consonant.
09:50T.
09:52Vowel.
09:54A.
09:56And a consonant.
09:58And the last one, V.
10:00Go.
10:06MUSIC PLAYS
10:30Michael.
10:32Seven.
10:34Michael.
10:36Roasted.
10:38Chris.
10:40Stormed.
10:42And your contribution, Paul and Susie?
10:44The only one we got was an H with overmast.
10:47Yes.
10:49To provide a sailing ship with too high or too heavy a mast.
10:52Overmasted.
10:54APPLAUSE
10:56Brilliant.
10:58Perilous.
11:0026 to 14, Chris on 26.
11:03Vowel, please, Rachel.
11:05Thank you, Chris. O.
11:07Consonant.
11:09D.
11:11Consonant.
11:13N.
11:15Vowel, please.
11:17I.
11:19Consonant.
11:21S.
11:23Consonant.
11:25R.
11:27Vowel.
11:29A.
11:31U.
11:33And a final consonant.
11:36And a final S.
11:38Go down.
11:40MUSIC PLAYS
12:01MUSIC STOPS
12:09Well, Chris?
12:11Nine.
12:13Michael?
12:15Six.
12:17And your six is?
12:19Unsaid.
12:21Matt and Chris?
12:23Dinosaurs.
12:25Very good.
12:27APPLAUSE
12:29That's it, or do you have another nine for us?
12:31Strangely enough, no more nines.
12:33That'll do. All right.
12:35So, 44 to 14, and, Michael, it's your numbers game.
12:38One large and the rest small, please.
12:41Thank you, Michael. One large, five little ones coming up for this round.
12:45They are 4, 2, 2, 8, 7 and 25.
12:53And the target, 779.
12:55779.
12:57MUSIC PLAYS
13:28Michael?
13:30784.
13:32784, Chris?
13:34777, not written down.
13:37Well, let's try it.
13:39So, 8 x 25 is 200.
13:43Yep.
13:45Minus 2.
13:47198.
13:49Times 8.
13:51Times 8.
13:53Oh, sorry, times 4, I beg your pardon.
13:55Minus 7.
13:57Minus the 7.
13:597 x 8.
14:015.
14:03Minus 2, no, sorry.
14:05And the other 2, 7 x 8.
14:07Yeah, sorry.
14:09Not close enough to what you did.
14:11Sorry about that.
14:13You're in luck, Michael.
14:15So, 25 x 4 x 8 is 800.
14:20800.
14:227 x 2...
14:2414.
14:26Take away.
14:28And the other 2.
14:30Yep.
14:32784, by the way.
14:34Well done, well done.
14:36Lucky there, Michael.
14:38But 779 is what we're asking Rachel to unscramble for us.
14:42Yes, if you start the same way.
14:4425 x 4 is 100.
14:48And then take away a 2 for 98.
14:51Times it by 8.
14:538.
14:554.
14:57And then you have 7 minus 2 for 5 to take away.
14:59779.
15:01Well done.
15:03Thanks, Rachel.
15:05As ever.
15:07So, 44 x 21.
15:09And with some trepidation, we turn to Paul Zenon in the corner.
15:12Now, Paul, what's up?
15:14Well, I'm going to talk about a guy you've probably heard of.
15:17I don't think anybody hasn't heard of him.
15:19Harry Houdini.
15:21Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, aged just 52.
15:26And for years after he died, for 10 years, in fact,
15:29his wife and an invited party of friends and guests used to hold a seance
15:33on top of a hotel called the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
15:38So they'd set up this kind of seance with a few of the kind of traditional accoutrements.
15:43For example, they had a couple of old-school slates, the original tablets these are,
15:49and a piece of chalk, and this was apparently to allow the spirits to leave a message,
15:53should they choose to.
15:55They also had a set of handcuffs, obviously tools of the trade.
16:00And the other thing that kind of related to that was a length of rope.
16:05And so basically this stuff was laid out, and so every year they'd gather.
16:09On this 10th anniversary, it went on longer than usual.
16:12But after an hour, nothing had happened.
16:15But then, five minutes later, as they sat in silence, still nothing happened.
16:22So they decided to call it a day.
16:24Houdini's wife, Bess, went over to the photograph she'd kept
16:27with a little battery-operated light she had on there.
16:30And it was for real.
16:32And she turned that off, and she said,
16:34he's not going to come, he's not going to arrive.
16:36Good night, Harry.
16:38And then she led the procession off the roof.
16:40But just as everybody left the roof,
16:42bearing in mind this is California and a totally clear starlit sky,
16:46there was a sudden flash of lightning, a peal of thunder,
16:50and a torrential downpour that lasted just 30 seconds.
16:53Now, some people might think that was a sign from above.
16:56Other people might have been more impressed if, say, for example,
17:01the handcuffs had actually opened themselves,
17:04or maybe in the piece of rope, Harry's signature figure of eight knot
17:10had appeared, or perhaps even a message would have appeared.
17:15Rosabelle believes it was the message he left with his wife, Bess,
17:19saying that if he ever came back, that's the secret code.
17:22But I'd like to think it was a bit classier than that.
17:25And so that torrential downpour, I think,
17:27was Harry's way of saying, happy Halloween.
17:30Oh, wonderful.
17:32APPLAUSE
17:34Thank you. 44 plays 21. Michael on 21.
17:38Chris, your letters game.
17:40Consonant, please. Thank you, Chris.
17:42L
17:44A vowel.
17:46E
17:48Another vowel.
17:50I
17:52Consonant.
17:54F
17:56Consonant.
17:57G
17:59A vowel.
18:01O
18:03Another vowel.
18:06U
18:08Consonant.
18:10S
18:12And a final consonant.
18:14And a final N.
18:16Stand by.
18:36MUSIC PLAYS
18:48Well, Chris?
18:50Risky eight. Michael?
18:52I'll go with a risky eight.
18:54Now then, Chris. Fowlings.
18:56Michael?
18:58Fowlings. You're both going to go down.
19:00I don't think we're going to be lucky there, unfortunately.
19:03Fowling is there as a noun,
19:05but otherwise,
19:07fowling on its own is not,
19:09which means we can't put the S on, I'm sorry.
19:11Bad luck. What can we have now, then?
19:13Paul?
19:15An eight with lignus.
19:17Wooden. Lignus.
19:19Yes, meaning wooden. Made of wood. Thank you.
19:21Lignus, indeed.
19:23APPLAUSE
19:2544 to 21.
19:27Michael, off we go. Letters game.
19:29Consonant, please, Rachel. Thank you, Michael.
19:31R.
19:33And another.
19:35T.
19:37And another.
19:39G.
19:41And another.
19:43T.
19:45A vowel.
19:47A.
19:49And another.
19:51I.
19:53And another.
19:55E.
19:57And a consonant.
19:59And a vowel.
20:01And the last one.
20:03O.
20:05Toto.
20:29MUSIC CONTINUES
20:35Well, Michael?
20:37Eight. Chris?
20:39Seven. And your seven is?
20:41Storage. Michael?
20:43Grot. And Susie?
20:45Susie and Paul?
20:47There's an eight there with toastier,
20:49which has cropped up quite a lot recently, hasn't it?
20:51About three times this week, I think.
20:53Toastier. Strange, isn't it?
20:5544 to 29 now.
20:57And, yes, Chris Sturdy.
20:59Can I have an inverted T, please, Rachel?
21:01Thank you, Chris. One from the top.
21:03And five little Ns again.
21:05And for this round, they are...
21:075, 10,
21:096, 3,
21:119, and the large,
21:1375.
21:15And the target, 437.
21:174-3-7.
21:19MUSIC PLAYS
21:27MUSIC CONTINUES
21:49Well, Chris?
21:514-3-7. Michael?
21:534-3-7. Now then, Chris.
21:556 by 75 is 450.
21:57Yep.
21:59Minus 10. Minus 3.
22:01Perfect. 4-3-7. Michael?
22:03Yep. Same way? Yep.
22:05APPLAUSE
22:09So we advance to 54 to 39.
22:12Michael on 39.
22:14As we go to our second teatime teaser,
22:17which is Adore Guns.
22:19And the clue.
22:21Some parts of America adore guns,
22:23seemingly oblivious to the fact that they're this.
22:25Some parts of America adore guns,
22:27seemingly oblivious to the fact that they're this.
22:31MUSIC PLAYS
22:39APPLAUSE
22:47Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
22:49Some parts of America adore guns,
22:51seemingly oblivious to the fact that they're this.
22:53That they're dangerous.
22:55Although the gun lobby always says,
22:57well, it's people that are dangerous,
22:59ignoring the fact that the sole purpose of a gun
23:01is to be dangerous.
23:03But there we are. 54 to 39.
23:05Chris on 54.
23:07What shall we do? Michael?
23:09Letters game?
23:11Consonant, please, Rachel.
23:13Thank you, Michael. R.
23:15And another?
23:17F.
23:19And another?
23:21R.
23:23And another?
23:25P.
23:27And a vowel?
23:29I.
23:31And another?
23:33A.
23:35And another?
23:37I.
23:39A consonant?
23:41L.
23:43And a vowel?
23:45And the last one? E.
23:47Stand by.
23:49MUSIC PLAYS
24:18Michael?
24:20Six.
24:22Chris?
24:24Seven.
24:26So, Michael?
24:28Fairer.
24:30No. Chris?
24:32Frailer. Yes.
24:34Very good. Susie?
24:36That was absolutely... Moving on, moving on.
24:3861 to 39. Chris, your letters game.
24:40I'll have a vowel, please. Thank you, Chris.
24:42U.
24:44And a consonant?
24:46Another consonant?
24:48C.
24:50A vowel?
24:52E.
24:54Consonant?
24:56D.
24:58Another consonant?
25:00M.
25:02A vowel, please?
25:04I.
25:06Another vowel?
25:09U.
25:11And a final consonant?
25:13And a final G.
25:15Stand by.
25:45Well, Chris?
25:47Six.
25:49Michael? Six.
25:51And Chris?
25:53Imbued.
25:55Yes, Michael?
25:57I've got imbued as well.
25:59There we go. It's that second one now.
26:01Imbued.
26:03And in the corner?
26:05Yeah, not a lot. Just one of the six.
26:07This kind of Halloween horror thing's going right down the pan
26:10cos we've got Budgie.
26:12That doesn't work.
26:14Death in black.
26:16All right, then. Now, then, Susie,
26:18what have you got for us today?
26:20Origins of words being...
26:22Being.
26:24Prompted by an email from Terry Evans
26:26in lovely Kingsbridge in South Devon.
26:28He says,
26:30I'm puzzled by the origins of the word waxing
26:32as in lyrical or phases of the moon.
26:34And we have to look back
26:36to the Anglo-Saxons as so often.
26:38It's either the Anglo-Saxons or the Vikings normally.
26:40This time it's an Old English verb,
26:42waxen,
26:44which meant to grow or increase.
26:46And we've pretty much lost sight of that verb now.
26:48It's restricted only to a very few contexts.
26:52But it is there in waxing lyrical
26:54and when the moon waxes as well.
26:56So for the moon particularly,
26:58we talk about waxing and waning,
27:00the idea of growing and then diminishing again.
27:02Waste seems to come from the same root,
27:04perhaps with reference to childbirth
27:06because your waste grows when you're pregnant.
27:08So that's as simple as it gets.
27:10It's an Anglo-Saxon verb, as I say,
27:12which has been slightly lost over time.
27:14But it got me thinking about waxing lyrical,
27:16growing lyrical,
27:18growing sort of quite sentimental
27:20or just poetic.
27:22It was lyrical probably originally
27:24and it meant made for the lyre,
27:26the harp-like instrument that was the lyre.
27:28That goes back to the Greek lyre
27:30for the same instrument.
27:32In fact, the instrument was said to be Egyptian
27:34and it became then the emblem
27:36of lyric poetry.
27:38So it was poetry that was designed
27:40to have a musical accompaniment.
27:42Of course, as I say,
27:44we've kept the idea of lyrical
27:46and lyricism, etc.
27:48But when we talk about a song's lyrics,
27:50we're talking about the words.
27:52But yes, I hope I've answered Terry's question.
27:54Waxing and lyrical, both beautiful words.
27:56Oh, lovely. Well done.
27:58APPLAUSE
28:02What a treat.
28:04What a treat. Thank you, Susie.
28:06Fabulous. Michael.
28:08Here we go.
28:10Let us go.
28:12Consonant, please.
28:14Thank you, Michael. H.
28:16And another.
28:18T.
28:20And another.
28:22D.
28:24And another.
28:26V.
28:28And a vowel.
28:30O.
28:32E.
28:34And another.
28:36A.
28:38And a consonant.
28:40N.
28:42And a vowel.
28:44And a last one.
28:46O.
28:48Stand by.
29:02STAND BY
29:04STAND BY
29:06STAND BY
29:08STAND BY
29:10STAND BY
29:12STAND BY
29:14STAND BY
29:16Michael. Six.
29:18Chris. Seven.
29:20Michael. Hooted.
29:22Now then, Chris. Novated.
29:24Novated. Yes, legal term,
29:26and you replace a contract,
29:28put a new one in place of an old one.
29:30A real countdown favourite.
29:32What else have we got there? Paul.
29:34Just one of the seven there
29:36with, er, odonate.
29:38What's all that about?
29:40Yeah, that's another good countdown word, really.
29:42An odonate is a predatory insect
29:44from the family Odonata,
29:46so it includes dragonflies, damselflies, etc.
29:48We'll have that as a loose horror theme.
29:50OK.
29:52Yeah. Thank you.
29:54Well done. 74-45,
29:56and it's Chris.
29:58Final letters game, Chris.
30:00I'll have a vowel. Thank you, Chris.
30:02A.
30:04And a consonant.
30:06R. Another consonant.
30:08D.
30:10A vowel.
30:12O.
30:14A consonant, please.
30:16N.
30:18Consonant.
30:20P.
30:22Vowel.
30:24U.
30:26Consonant.
30:28L.
30:30And a final vowel.
30:32And a final E.
30:34Countdown.
30:56DRAMATIC MUSIC
31:06Well, Chris?
31:08Risky eight.
31:10Michael?
31:12Risky eight.
31:14Chris?
31:16Uploader.
31:18An uploader. Michael?
31:20Uploader.
31:22Down to you, Susie.
31:24Down to me to be mean.
31:26I'm sure it will be in the dictionary one day.
31:28It seems an obvious one to go in at the moment.
31:30It's not there, though. Just unloader, I'm afraid.
31:32Sorry. There we go.
31:34Stan's still there.
31:36Yes, Paul? An odd eight with Euroland.
31:38Yes.
31:40It is odd, isn't it, that it's been there?
31:42It comes up occasionally, Susie.
31:44It does, yes. Another ten for the Eurozone.
31:46So the members of the EU
31:48that have adopted the euro, potentially.
31:50I suppose if it were a staunch Brexiteer
31:52that would be a horror theme park, wouldn't it?
31:54LAUGHTER
31:56Well, there we are.
31:5874 of 45. Michael, final numbers game.
32:00Two large ones, please,
32:02and the rest small.
32:04Two large, four little, coming up.
32:06Thank you, Michael. Final one of the day.
32:08Nine, four,
32:10five, two,
32:12and the big one, 75,
32:14and 25, and the target...
32:16101.
32:18101.
32:20Come on.
32:50Here we go, Michael.
32:52101.
32:54Yes, Chris. And 101.
32:56I think so. Let's tear through this.
32:58Michael.
33:0075 plus 25. 100.
33:025 minus 4.
33:04And, fittingly, I put these kind of games into Room 101.
33:06Boring.
33:08All right. There we go.
33:10Yeah, absolutely.
33:12So, 84 plays 55.
33:14In we go to the final round.
33:16Gentlemen, firm fingers on the buzzer.
33:18Let's roll today's Countdown Conundrum.
33:24Michael.
33:26Venerable.
33:28Let's have a look.
33:30Oh, yes, it is.
33:32Well done.
33:34APPLAUSE
33:36A very good way to finish, Michael.
33:38Getting in the conundrum.
33:40That's all right. Particularly...
33:42from, er...
33:44from Chris, who's an expert on these things.
33:46On the anagrams, anyway.
33:48Well done. You win.
33:50You win. And Michael goes back to Burton-on-Trent
33:52with our applause ringing in your ears.
33:54Have a pint for me.
33:56Take this goodie bag with you.
33:58Thank you very much.
34:00See you tomorrow?
34:02Yes.
34:04Now, are you coming tomorrow?
34:06Seems to me you've got a bit of a season to give.
34:08Maybe just one last time, maybe, tomorrow.
34:10All right. We'll see you then.
34:12With Susie, of course, too.
34:14See you tomorrow.
34:16Not bad. Good pair.
34:18Good luck avoiding the headless horsemen on your way home.
34:20Solve the dots can be terrifying this time of year.
34:22Exactly. Thank you.
34:24See you tomorrow.
34:26Have a pleasant evening. Join us tomorrow.
34:28Same time, same place. You be sure of it.
34:30A very good afternoon to you.
34:32APPLAUSE
34:34Contact us by email at countdown at channel4.com,
34:36by Twitter at c4countdown,
34:38or write to us at countdown,
34:40Leeds, LS3, 1JS.
34:42You can also find our webpage
34:44at channel4.com forward slash countdown.
34:46APPLAUSE
34:508 o'clock tonight,
34:52Channel 4, The Zoo Life,
34:54Best Kept Secret.
34:56Back with our brand new series,
34:58and an elephant seriously overdue.
35:00Next up, what's your tipper?
35:02Coast or country?
35:04APPLAUSE
35:06CHEERING AND APPLAUSE