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00:00This programme contains strong language and adult humour.
00:04APPLAUSE
00:31Hello and welcome to Countdown.
00:33On this day in 1703, Samuel Pepys died
00:38and his diaries, of course, recorded the great fire of London
00:42and the plague, but unfortunately nothing about Adele
00:46or Robbie Williams, Rachel.
00:48Is that what's in your diary? Yes.
00:50Which one do you love more, Alice?
00:52I love Robbie Williams because I've met him a few times
00:55and he's very, very, very sexy.
00:58Well, there you go, you've heard it here probably second
01:01if you've met Anne in person.
01:03I've never kept a diary, have you?
01:05Yeah, always. Oh, really? Yeah.
01:07Because you don't remember, actually.
01:09No, I don't remember anything, but now I just have photos.
01:12That's my diary. Well, of course, you can now, can't you?
01:15You can have a photo and just jot a few words next to it.
01:19Yeah, without that, I wouldn't remember anything.
01:22Well, you can remember your maths, Rachel.
01:25Just about these days, yeah, baby brains hopefully fading.
01:28It's not showing.
01:30Let's meet our contestants.
01:32Ian is back for his fourth game
01:34and you're disguised as a buttercup today, Ian.
01:37I thought I'd go for a bit of colour this afternoon.
01:40You've done very well so far. Yeah.
01:42And up against you today is Wayne, who comes from Wrexham,
01:47and looks slightly like Richard Osman, don't you?
01:50I'm tall and have facial hair, yes.
01:53Yeah. And are you...
01:55Did your mother call you Wayne after Wayne Rooney?
01:58Thankfully not, although that's what people do,
02:01kind of tend to refer to when they find out my name.
02:04Oh. Frustrating, but there aren't really many other famous Waynes.
02:08No King Wayne, is there?
02:10No, I don't think there ever will be.
02:12OK. Round of applause for our contestants.
02:17Hi, Susie. Hi, Anne.
02:19There's John Wayne. Is that cheating? That's a surname.
02:22I just thought it was a famous Wayne anyway.
02:24That's true, actually, yeah.
02:26I'm thrilled to say, in Dictionary Corner, Robert Hardman,
02:30he knows more about the royal family than anyone.
02:34He's just finished, in time for the Jubilee,
02:38an amazingly thick book about the Queen.
02:42Lots of secrets we didn't know.
02:44I'll talk to you later, Robert. Thank you, Anne.
02:47Let's get on with the first game.
02:49Buttercup Ian, your letters.
02:52Hi, Rachel. Hi, Ian.
02:54May I get a consonant, please?
02:56Thank you. Start today with M.
02:59And a vowel.
03:01O.
03:03Consonant, please.
03:05Y.
03:06Another one.
03:08D.
03:10And a vowel.
03:12U.
03:14Another vowel.
03:16A.
03:18A consonant.
03:20L.
03:22Another consonant.
03:24S.
03:26And a final consonant, please.
03:29A final T.
03:31Let's play Countdown.
03:48CLOCK TICKS
04:04Ian? Seven.
04:06Wayne? Just a five.
04:08What's your five? Salty.
04:10Ian? Outlays.
04:12Well spotted, yeah. Good seven.
04:14Robert? I've got a six, Anne. Adults.
04:17Oh, very good.
04:19Yep. Our Dictionary Corner guests usually start with a three.
04:23Can't improve on that, actually.
04:25Outlays was also the only seven that we could find.
04:28Oh, good. OK. Wayne, your letters.
04:30Hi, Rachel. Hi, Wayne. Can I start with a vowel, please?
04:33You can indeed. Start with E.
04:35And another.
04:37U.
04:39And a consonant, please.
04:41R. And another.
04:43G.
04:45And another.
04:47L.
04:49And a vowel, please.
04:51A.
04:53And a consonant, please.
04:55T. And another.
04:57F.
04:59And a final vowel, please.
05:01Final E.
05:03Time starts now.
05:15ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
05:35Wayne?
05:36Most are six. Six.
05:38Ian? Eight.
05:40Your six, Wayne. Regale.
05:42Ian? Regulate.
05:44Yes. Very good indeed. Well done.
05:47That T-shirt's helping, isn't it?
05:49Over in the corner. Robert?
05:51Well, I started appropriately enough with Regale,
05:54but then at the last minute, Regulate.
05:57Yeah, very good.
05:59And Grateful is also there for another eight.
06:01So it is. Thank you.
06:03Ian, your numbers.
06:05Let's go for two large numbers, four small, please.
06:08Thank you, Ian. Two large, four little.
06:11Coming up, the first round of the day, numbers-wise,
06:14is 5, 1, 8, 7,
06:18and the big ones, 50 and 75.
06:21And your target to reach, 206.
06:24206.
06:26ELECTRONIC MUSIC PLAYS
06:41ELECTRONIC MUSIC CONTINUES
06:57Ian? 207.
06:59207, Wayne? No, I didn't get it.
07:01OK, Ian?
07:037 minus 5 is 2.
07:052.
07:06Times 75.
07:08Is 150.
07:10Add the 50. 200.
07:12And the 8. And take away the 1.
07:14And you haven't used the 1. Yep, 1 away.
07:17Rachel?
07:19Well, this one was possible.
07:21If you start with 75 minus 50 is 25,
07:24then it becomes a lot easier.
07:26Times that by 8 for 200 and add on the 5 and the 1.
07:29206.
07:31APPLAUSE
07:34Amazing, as always.
07:36First teaser coming up.
07:38Nail both. Nail both.
07:40And the clue, you need to nail both disciplines to be good at this.
07:44You need to nail both disciplines to be good at this.
07:47See you in a minute.
07:55APPLAUSE
08:02Welcome back. I left you with the clue,
08:04you need to nail both disciplines to be good at this.
08:07And the answer is by Athlon.
08:09Not too difficult.
08:11Scores 22-0, but a chance to catch up, Wayne.
08:15I didn't ask you what you did.
08:17I work as a CRM,
08:20customer relationship management analyst.
08:22Is that your dream job?
08:24No, my dream job was to be a postman.
08:26Oh, why?
08:28I enjoy walking, being in the outdoors.
08:30OK. Actually, it would be better as a postman
08:33who didn't have to post any letters.
08:35It would be better, yes, but I don't think I'd be paid for it.
08:38OK, your letter.
08:40Can I start with a consonant, please?
08:42Thank you, Wayne. S.
08:44And another.
08:46T.
08:48And a vowel.
08:49A.
08:51And a consonant, please.
08:53C.
08:54And a vowel.
08:56E.
08:58And a consonant.
09:00D.
09:02And a vowel.
09:04I.
09:05And another.
09:07O.
09:09And a final consonant, please.
09:11And a final S.
09:1330 seconds.
09:34MUSIC PLAYS
09:46Wayne? Just a six.
09:48Six. Ian?
09:50Seven. What's your six, Wayne?
09:52Casted. Ian?
09:54Posted. Yes, that's absolutely fine for seven.
09:57In the corner.
09:59Dissect? Yeah.
10:01Oh, it's a bit good. It is a bit good.
10:03A good seven, and I think that was as good as it got, actually.
10:06Coziest is also there for seven. OK, thank you.
10:08Ian, when you're not at work, do you also keep fishing anywhere?
10:13Yeah, I do lots of trail runs and park runs,
10:16but mainly trail runs, going on some trips.
10:19To where?
10:20The main one is over to the Swiss Alps,
10:23where we do a half marathon in the mountains.
10:26Wow. Do you climb up?
10:28Yeah, I've done it three times before all the lockdowns.
10:32Do you pass the cows on the way?
10:34So, usually we don't see them, but because it was such a long winter,
10:38the day we left, they started to bring the cows up onto the pastures to graze.
10:44So, when we were there, the whole town was taken over by these cows
10:48who had been indoors for a long time, so they were quite boisterous
10:52and it was quite hilarious just seeing cows everywhere,
10:55rubbing against the houses and the trees and everything.
10:58Fantastic. It was a good time.
11:00Your letters.
11:03May we start with the consonant, please, Rachel?
11:06Thank you, Ian. M.
11:08And a vowel.
11:10The cow's coming back. O.
11:12And a consonant.
11:14Oh, we're not going for the proper move. F.
11:17Almost. A consonant.
11:20R.
11:22And a vowel.
11:25E.
11:27And a consonant.
11:30T.
11:32A vowel.
11:34I.
11:36Another consonant.
11:38R.
11:40And a final vowel, please.
11:43A final I.
11:46Start the clock.
11:57CLOCK TICKS
12:18Ian?
12:19Six. Wayne?
12:21Just a five. What's your five?
12:23Remit. Ian?
12:25Sorry, I've gone wrong. Fitter, I've gone wrong. Only one T.
12:28OK. Well, lucky for Wayne.
12:30In the corner.
12:32I've got a six, Anne. Tremor.
12:34Very good.
12:36Not bad, because this one was tricky.
12:38There were a couple of sort of slightly obscure words there for seven.
12:42Triform, which simply means something consisting of three parts,
12:46and a rotifer, which in zoology
12:49is a minute, multicellular aquatic animal.
12:52We all knew that. Of course.
12:55Wayne, your numbers.
12:57Can I have one large and five small, please?
12:59You can indeed.
13:01One large, five little coming up, thank you, Wayne.
13:03And the five little ones for this round are two, ten, seven,
13:08eight and two, and the big one, 25.
13:12And your target, 767.
13:15767.
13:25CLOCK TICKS
13:48Wayne?
13:50775. OK.
13:52Not right now. Ian?
13:54OK. Wayne?
13:56See if I can remember how to do this now.
13:58Two times ten.
14:00Two times ten, 20.
14:02Add the seven. 27.
14:05Times by 25, that's 800, isn't it?
14:08675.
14:10I'm completely wrong, then.
14:12Sorry, Wayne. Sorry.
14:14It's obviously difficult, this one. Rachel?
14:16I found a way.
14:18With 25 times eight for 200.
14:2210 for 190.
14:24Times the two twos together for four.
14:27Times those together for 760.
14:29And whack on the remaining seven. 767.
14:32APPLAUSE
14:36That's all you had to do.
14:38Let's talk to Robert Hardman,
14:40who's been a Royal Correspondent for how many years?
14:43Oh, golly, 30 now, Anne.
14:4530. And has written, I think, the most extensive book on the Queen
14:51but to celebrate the Jubilee, the celebrations start next week.
14:55It must have been tough.
14:57Everyone always says there's nothing new left to say
14:59but actually you just start asking people
15:02and the thing about the Queen is people are very happy to talk about her
15:05because they have this enormous respect for her.
15:07So I was able to talk to Prime Ministers,
15:11even Presidents, her friends,
15:13and discovered everything from going back to her childhood.
15:17I mean, in the book there is a picture of her
15:19with her very oldest friend, Lord Airlie.
15:22They're both aged five at a birthday party.
15:25Right up to the likes of George Bush.
15:28And what stuck out in his mind?
15:30I think what stuck out for all of them is that she's sort of authentic.
15:34I think when you're in a world of politics
15:36where you can't really trust anyone that much,
15:39here is someone you can totally trust
15:41and people become very fond of her.
15:43You know, they're all...
15:45No-one had a bad word to say.
15:47People look back on their meetings with her,
15:49particularly if they got to stay at Buckingham Palace.
15:52They absolutely loved that, even if sometimes it didn't go to plan.
15:56What didn't go to plan?
15:58President Obama came in 2011 and had a wonderful evening.
16:02In fact, he was enjoying himself so much
16:04the Queen actually went up to George Osborne and said,
16:06could you get the President to go to bed because it's my bedtime?
16:09And he was back in his room at the Palace just reflecting
16:12on what a wonderful evening it had been and there was a knock on the door
16:15and he said, I'm very sorry, Mr President, there's a mouse.
16:18And he went, don't tell the First Lady, she can't stand mice.
16:21So he had a vermin infestation.
16:23It was the only room he ever stayed in as President
16:25that didn't have an en suite bathroom.
16:27He had to walk across a corridor and yet he absolutely loved it.
16:29For him, that was one of the high points of his eight years in charge.
16:32Were the Obamas very important to her
16:35because it was such a change in America to have a black President?
16:39It was a major change but they really did hit it off
16:43and there was nothing sort of synthetic about it.
16:45I mean, from the very start, Obama just...
16:48He said, actually, to one of his aides, he said,
16:51she reminds me of Toot, my grandmother.
16:53She just said, you know, totally straight, says what she believes.
16:56And what really struck him was the way she could talk about
16:59all these leaders that he'd just learned about in school,
17:02most of whom weren't even around when he was born
17:04and yet she'd met them and she could talk about them very, very frankly
17:07and yet at the same time make him very welcome.
17:09There was no sort of, you know, airs and graces.
17:12They really felt at home.
17:13When the Queen turned 90, the very first person,
17:16other than in the royal family, who came to say happy birthday was Obama.
17:20He flew in by helicopter to say hello
17:22and she wanted to pick him up from the helipad
17:24in Windsor Great Park in the car.
17:26Aw!
17:27And he'd never been driven by anyone other than Secret Service agents
17:30and there was this great tussle between the Queen,
17:34the Queen's staff and the White House
17:36because the President had only ever been driven
17:38by a special White House chauffeur.
17:41But the Queen said, well, he's our guest, Prince Philip will drive,
17:44and he did.
17:45Fantastic.
17:46Robert Hardman.
17:47APPLAUSE
17:49Thank you.
17:52Scores, 29-5.
17:54And, Ian, your letters.
17:56May I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
17:59Thank you, Ian. D.
18:01And another?
18:03P.
18:04And another?
18:06K.
18:08A vowel?
18:10E.
18:12Another vowel?
18:13O.
18:15Another vowel?
18:17I.
18:19A consonant?
18:21T.
18:23Another consonant?
18:25W.
18:27And a final consonant, please?
18:30A final N.
18:31Off you go.
18:40CLOCK TICKS
19:03Ian?
19:04Seven.
19:05Good. Wayne?
19:06Just a six.
19:07What's your six?
19:08Twined.
19:10Ian?
19:11Pointed.
19:12Good. Very good.
19:14Anything different over there?
19:16Pointed as well.
19:18Yep, and then a couple more sixes.
19:20Townie is there, and inkpot.
19:22You got to use the W, didn't you, which is clever.
19:26Thank you.
19:27Wayne, you work for a pet supermarket.
19:30What's your job?
19:32I work with customer data to ensure marketing goes to the right people
19:36based on their pets, what kind of things they buy.
19:39So you target the customers?
19:41Yes.
19:42Do you know what I'd like to be targeted for?
19:45No.
19:46No emails whatsoever.
19:48Your letters.
19:50Can I start with a consonant, please?
19:52Thank you, Wayne.
19:53S.
19:55And another?
19:57L.
19:58And a vowel, please?
20:00E.
20:02And another?
20:03E.
20:05And a consonant?
20:06G.
20:08And another?
20:10T.
20:11And a vowel, please?
20:13A.
20:15And a consonant?
20:17N.
20:19And a final vowel, please?
20:21Final U.
20:23Good luck.
20:38MUSIC PLAYS
20:54Wayne.
20:55Just a five.
20:56Five.
20:57Ian?
20:58Seven.
20:59Good.
21:00Wayne?
21:01Sleet.
21:02Ian?
21:03Elegant.
21:04Oh, good.
21:05Very nice.
21:06In the corner.
21:07Six for me, but it's regal again.
21:09Sultan.
21:10Very good.
21:11Susie, you can reach an eight, actually, Anne,
21:14with longuet, with an S at the end.
21:16L-A-N-G-U-E-T-S,
21:18which is a tongue-shaped part of an implement or tool.
21:21APPLAUSE
21:25Ian, your numbers.
21:27Let's go one large, five small, please.
21:30Thank you, Ian.
21:31One from the top five, little.
21:33Coming up for you, and this round is...
21:41..and the large one, 75.
21:43And your target, 667.
21:46667.
21:48MUSIC PLAYS
22:03MUSIC CONTINUES
22:18Ian?
22:19667.
22:20Wayne?
22:21667.
22:22Ian?
22:2375 x 9.
22:25675.
22:26Take away eight.
22:27Perfect. All there was to it.
22:29Wayne?
22:30I did it the same way.
22:32APPLAUSE
22:37Second teaser, cab break, cab break, and the clue.
22:40It sounds like Rupert's returned without a saddle.
22:43It sounds like Rupert's returned without a saddle.
22:46See you in a minute.
22:55APPLAUSE
23:02Welcome back. I left you with the clue.
23:04It sounds like Rupert's returned without a saddle.
23:08And the answer is bareback.
23:10The score's 53-15.
23:13Wayne, your letters.
23:15Can I start with a consonant, please?
23:17Thank you, Wayne. S
23:19And a vowel?
23:21E
23:23And another?
23:25I
23:26And a consonant, please?
23:28B
23:29And another?
23:31G
23:33And a vowel, please?
23:35E
23:37And a consonant, please?
23:39T
23:41And a final consonant, please?
23:44A final H.
23:4630 seconds.
24:01CLOCK TICKS
24:19Wayne?
24:20Six.
24:21Ian?
24:22Six.
24:23Wayne, your six?
24:25B days.
24:26Ian?
24:27Hedges.
24:28Was this difficult?
24:30Yeah, we could only get to a seven.
24:32What did you get, Robert?
24:34I got hedges as well. I got as far as six.
24:37There's edgiest and sighted, just to give you one letter more.
24:41Oh, I didn't see that.
24:43No. But then I wouldn't.
24:45Ian, your letters.
24:47May I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
24:50Thank you, Ian. L
24:52And another?
24:54W
24:55And a vowel?
24:57E
24:59And a consonant?
25:01N
25:03And another consonant?
25:05T
25:07A vowel?
25:09O
25:11Another vowel?
25:13I
25:15A consonant?
25:17H
25:19And a final vowel, please?
25:23A final A.
25:25Start the clock.
25:27T
25:29A
25:31V
25:33O
25:35T
25:37A
25:39V
25:41O
25:43T
25:45A
25:47V
25:49O
25:51T
25:53T
25:57Ian?
25:59Seven. Wayne?
26:01Just a five. What's your five?
26:03Twine. Ian?
26:05Elation. Yeah, very well done.
26:07Very nice.
26:09Robert, what did you get?
26:11I got a five. I think Shakespearean thane.
26:13Very good.
26:15Well, elation is a beautiful word
26:17and then it goes rapidly downhill with toenail,
26:19which is there for seven as well.
26:21Robert, over to you, Susie.
26:23Well, talking about the Queen today,
26:25obviously,
26:27so much part of British traditions.
26:29I thought I would talk about two words
26:31which are, I think, quintessentially British
26:33in their origins.
26:35And I'm going to start with the sandwich.
26:37I think most people know that sandwich is an eponym
26:39named after the fourth Earl of Sandwich,
26:41John Montagu,
26:43and he was apparently a notorious gambler.
26:45And so that he didn't have to leave
26:47the gaming table,
26:49he ordered slices of beef
26:51to be served to him
26:53within two slices of bread.
26:55And that enabled him to carry on with the game
26:57and he didn't have to get up and go for lunch.
26:59Hard to believe that was the very first
27:01sandwich ever served,
27:03but the first record goes back to 1762
27:05and it was given his name because of this habit
27:07of asking for a cold lunch
27:09that he could eat quite quickly at the gaming table.
27:11So that's the sandwich.
27:13And then there's the queue.
27:15The British, more than anybody, I think,
27:17are associated with a very orderly line-up
27:19for something.
27:21I think most of us who've tried to get on a bus
27:23or into any
27:25sort of hotly ticketed event
27:27will know that actually there's usually a stampede.
27:29But we are nonetheless associated
27:31with queues.
27:33And the word queue goes back
27:35to the French que, which is spelt
27:37the same way and it simply means a tail
27:39because a line of people looks a little bit like
27:41a curving tail of an animal.
27:43And that's where it came from in the 16th century
27:45and it ultimately goes back to the Latin
27:47corda, meaning a tail as well.
27:49But when it first came into English,
27:51it actually was restricted to heraldry.
27:53So on a shield, for example,
27:55the line of an animal
27:57or the tail of an animal would be called a queue.
27:59Then it came to mean a stick
28:01used in billiards and then a pigtail
28:03as well. So one that was very fashionable,
28:05particularly amongst gentlemen,
28:07they were called queues as well.
28:09It only came, it's about the early 19th century
28:11did it come to mean a line of people waiting
28:13for something. And in American English
28:15it is called a line to this day.
28:17But we stick with queue. And of course that
28:19stick used in the game of billiards
28:21is still called a queue, but in order to
28:23differentiate it from the line of orderly people
28:25it's now spelt C-U-E.
28:27Thank you, Susie. You're welcome.
28:29APPLAUSE
28:33Wayne, your letters.
28:35Can I start with a consonant, please? Thank you, Wayne.
28:37P. And another?
28:39S.
28:41And another?
28:43D. And a vowel, please?
28:45I.
28:47And a consonant, please?
28:49S.
28:51And a vowel, please?
28:53O. And another?
28:55E.
28:57And a
28:59consonant, please?
29:01M.
29:03And a final consonant,
29:05please? Final R.
29:07Let's play Countdown.
29:09MUSIC
29:40Wayne? Seven.
29:42Ian? Eight.
29:44Wayne? Imposed.
29:46Ian? Promised.
29:48Yes, well done. Excellent.
29:50Robert? Eight.
29:52Promises. Well done.
29:54Yeah, both excellent.
29:56No advance. OK.
29:58Round 13.
30:00Ian, your letters.
30:02May I have a consonant, please, Rachel?
30:04Thank you, Ian.
30:06N. And another?
30:08C.
30:10And a vowel?
30:12A.
30:14And another vowel?
30:16U.
30:18A consonant?
30:20P.
30:22Another consonant?
30:24R.
30:26A vowel?
30:28A.
30:30Another consonant?
30:32B.
30:34And a final vowel, please?
30:36A final vowel, please?
30:38A final O.
30:40Time starts now.
30:42MUSIC
31:06MUSIC
31:12Ian? Six.
31:14Wayne? Mr Five.
31:16What's your five? Brawn.
31:18Ian? Carbon.
31:20Carbon is absolutely fine.
31:22Unfortunately, brawn is B-R-A-W-N
31:24rather than the U, Wayne.
31:26But, yeah, it was another tricky one, this.
31:28Was it? Mm. How did you do, Robert?
31:30Five and another sort of royal-ish, royal oaks.
31:33Acorn.
31:35Oh, nice. Yeah, and carbon.
31:37That's the best that you could do. OK.
31:39Penultimate round.
31:41Wayne, your numbers.
31:43Hi, Rachel. Can I have two large and four small, please?
31:45You can, indeed.
31:47Two big, four little.
31:49Final one of the day.
31:51And this election is 4, 10, 8, 2.
31:55And the large ones, 25 and 50.
31:57And the target, 235.
32:00235.
32:02MUSIC
32:05MUSIC CONTINUES
32:07MUSIC CONTINUES
32:33Wayne? 235.
32:35Wayne? 235.
32:37OK, Wayne, off you go.
32:3950 x 4.
32:41200.
32:43Plus 25, plus 10.
32:45Yeah, nothing too complicated about that one.
32:47Ian?
32:49Same. Yeah.
32:51APPLAUSE
32:55Final round.
32:57Ian's on 90, Wayne's on 31.
33:00Fingers on buzzers.
33:02Let's count down conundrum.
33:04MUSIC
33:06MUSIC CONTINUES
33:33BELL
33:34Ian? Divisible.
33:36Let's have a look.
33:38Well done.
33:40APPLAUSE
33:42Right at the last knockings.
33:44First one I've got.
33:46Is it? Oh, you didn't need to tell everybody.
33:49Wayne, were you anywhere near?
33:51Er, no. OK.
33:53Well, thank you very much for being here.
33:55Thank you. Thank you for letting me tease you
33:57about your Christian name.
33:59Oh, that's absolutely fine. You're not the first.
34:01No. Well, it's your mother's fault, you know.
34:03LAUGHTER
34:04In commiserations. Thank you.
34:06Ian, well done. We'll see you again tomorrow.
34:08Yeah. Thank you, Susie.
34:10Thanks, Anne.
34:11Thank you to royal author Robert Hardman.
34:14You've whetted our appetite now. We'll see you tomorrow.
34:17Very good. I watched The Crown, so you feel like you know
34:19a bit of the inside, but you absolutely don't,
34:21but this is real stuff. Don't believe The Crown.
34:23Don't believe all of it. It's a shame, really,
34:25cos it's such fun. We're getting the proper gossip today.
34:27Yeah, we are.
34:29Thank you for watching. See you again tomorrow. Bye.
35:00And getting us into the spirit of it all,
35:02how did post-war Britain pull off this historic event?
35:04Secrets of the Queen's coronation,
35:06this Saturday here on Channel 4 at 9.
35:08Up next, a place in the sun.